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II 


OR    LIFE   IN  A^ 
H  CENTURY. 

four  fu"  pt^L^;;f  i;::r 


Tl,e  text  of  tMs  volu-  's  ^^^  been  brought  together  ^^u^^  f-'^;^  ^^  ^„,,  , 
records  not  before  pnntedth"      ,o„ces,  both  near  -J^L^^^^'.eount  is  given  ot 
gathered  from  a  gre^t.^^";;^       American  Colonies,  a  very  fuU  ^^^  ^^^^^^ 

Lriv  German  -^l!^"  l^"  t'^e  ia,,t,  and  in  «- P-^^^.^Tn^Yurning  their 
the  conditionof  German,  early         ^^^^  ^^,^,,ed  m  -"^^' ^  trmerica  is  depicted 
explanations  made  as  to    h^^^^^^^^^^  ^"^^Te     thel-  "riarch,)  hitherto  un-^W 
backs  on  fatherland      The  ,^^  Muhlenberg,  'f^      ^^^^  ^„d  Revolntionary 

and  produong  page.  ^^,  ^^  ^^,  ^^^ 


storians,  and  producng  pag^-  _^  ^^^  ^^^^^  ^^  ^^  0^„ 

^lor.  ^.   ^  ^„,,  the  Revolutionary  '^^^P^""  "  ,,^,,<ied  from  Continental 

The  »^li^^^;rtfpeculi      interest  to  all  P--"^„'^^^^  ^'^Jole  subject  of  the 

F;.km"  -shouW  be  of  pecul  ^^^^,^i„„,^.  Uistory     J^'^^^^^  to  be  treated  in  a 

.oldiers,  or  >.-ho  «;  f  f^^tvements  in  New  Jersey  w.l    be  fou     ^^^^     ^^^.^^  ^,^ 

Continental  -""^  ""^ ^from  that  customary  w.th   Py^^'^"^  ^   ^^^  .^told  in  many 

„ianner  very  different  fr°"  ;"        Revolution  have  been  told  a.  ^he 

story  of  the  great  batUes  of    l.K  ^^^  ^^^^  ^^  i-^-^^^^J ^r,  to'aelineate  the 

histories,  minor  "  •l"f^^>J^  ^^      ^ray  the  pictorial  effect  of  th  ^^^^^.^„,,,.  i,fe-_ 

^i„,ofthe  author  has  been  top  ^^^  ^^e  ^"'^'^^  ^  "^^  °'     ■.,,  the  Continental 

Tuaracteristies  °f  ^"^'-^^ter  t  4;°'"^  ^'"^'"'"' i  "' "mp    to  b     ome  familiar  with 
in  short  to  enable  l^'^/^^"^"!!  '  j^  the  bivouac,  in  the  camp,  to  be  ^^.^^^ 

^3,„,.,  to  view  it  on  *^- "^ ^X"    --«  "^  '^^'^  °":""inrgrera<^nevements,  but 
the  many  ">teresting  da>      ej^^  the  sense  of  per  ornung  great      ^^^^  ^.^^^  ^^  „,,,,,,, 

engaged  in  "«^'"g  \"o«  undercurrents  of  ^^^'^'^^^^ ^^^.^rs  devoted  to  the 
when  following  those  ordi   a^  ^^  ^^^,      ^^*'!°"^\tr  otil    an  effort  has  been 

are   delineated,   and  tn  ^^^^^  justified.  3^„^/,VA-Malick- 

adhered  to  the  Crown  -^°  ^^"^^^tains  a  very  full  record  of^he  ^^^^  ^.^^^.^^^ 

t„at-he  genealogical  -PP^"J\^^;.„g  fi,,e  ancestral  streams  flow  in.  ^^  ,^^^^ 

B,  tnck-Mellick-fam     .,   °"o     J^.^^^„  ,,,  ,,,  ,d  ^^B.  -"oj/  ^^„„  ^imrod  and 

■•Tmanemigrants   3/>^^"-  ■     ^^  H„„terdon  county,  N.  J., 

r^kline  and  Richard  I'  ^^     ^^,i^„a  county,  Pa.  ;^,d  previous  to 

^BethuelVincentofNoithnm  ^^  f  ^,„,,,orWwere  ^^^^  ^^^^ 

^      subscriptions  for  ov  r  for u  h     ^^  ^^^^  ^^.^^^iptiou  pr^c     of  J      ^^,^.^^,  suites  and 
'"!  :;anada. 

Thi,  Address  ,  r.-r'    r,- 

ANDREW  D.  MELLILK,  Jr., 


ma. 
that 
whU 
iisel 
cliaj 
least  .111. 


f,K^  New  Jersey  ®^'"'    ,    „     They  give  in  ™°^^^ev"m^»"^'' 


vSESrs- 


rinruiTie"*-^  ^  V       tViat  vou  navc  un 

York,  about  wiuc         .  ^^ 


-\  r 


J\)((  story  of  ai}  Old  par/T) 

OR 

Life  in  New  Jersey  in  the  Eighteenth  Century. 

WITH  A  GENEALOGICAL  APPENDIX 
Bv  Andrew^  D.  NIkluck,  Jr. 


BOOK  TO  BE  READ  By  everyone  interested  in  Old 
Colony  Days  ;  by  all  students  of  the  Revolutionary 
Period;  by  everyone  elaiming  a  German  Ancestry;  by 
every  Jerseynmn. 


WHAT  IS  SAID  OF  THIS  WORK. 

By  the  NEW  YORK   DAILY  TRIBUNE: 

Mr.  Mellick  has  tokl  in  Ihis  handsome  volnnie  not  only  the  story  of  his  first  German  pro- 
genitor m  America,  but  also  the  !.tory  of  an  infant  State.  He  has  grouped  about  his  theme 
such  historical  details  as  compose  a  singularly  graphic  and  trustworthy  picture  of  New  ler- 
sey  in  the  latter  half  of  the  eighteenth  century.  The  conditions  of  existence  were  by  no 
means  easy  for  the  Jersey  fanner  and  his  family,  and  Mr.  Mellick's  record  of  life  on  the  old 
farm  is  an  epitome  of  the  home  life  of  most  jersey  agriculturists  of  that  period  Our 
author's  account  of  the  religious  privileges  in  the  Jersey  of  the  time  is  calculated  to  make 
the  modern  congregation  wonder.  We  commend  to  the  reader  as  a  matter  of  interest  the 
author's  curious  chapter  on  the  drinking  habits  of  Jerseymen  in  the  last  century  Mr  Mel- 
lick's studies  of  New  Jersey  in  the  Revolution  are  careful  and  entertaining.  As'  to  her  Hes- 
sian invaders  he  believes  that  these  soldiers  were  much  slandered,  and  that  instead  of  being 
wild  beasts  in  human  guise,  they  were,  in  reality,  mild,  humane  and  simple-minded  men 
Ihe  "  Story  of  an  Old  Kami  "  will  give  pleasure  and  a  great  deal  of  out-of-the-wav  informa- 
,tion  to  every  American  reader,  aud  in  the  loyal  Jersevman  it  ought  to  inspire  pride  as  well 
pleasure. 

By  the  SATURDAY  REVIE-W,  of  London,  England: 

We  have  had  more  than  one  good  volume  lately,  on  life  and  manners  in  the  last  century 
111  what  are  now  the  United  States,  nut  Mr.  Mellick's  "Story  of  an  Old  FHrm  '■  is  perhaps 
the  most  entertaining  and  instructive  of  all,  as  it  is  unquestionably  the  most  exhaustive  It 
IS  surprising  what  an  amount  of  contemporary  materials  he  has'found  with  regard  to  the 
settlement  and  social  growth  of  the  small  and  comparatively  insignificant  State  of  New  Jer- 
sey. The  .story  in  truth  is  but  a  slight  and  scarcely  continuous  thread  running  through  the 
intricate  and  chequered  web  of  the  State  history.  Manyof  the  chapters  are  overflowinV  ^«ith 
interest,  entertainment  and  suggestion.  Beginning  in  173s.  he  paints  Colonial  manners 
habits,  siirronndmgs,  costumes,  etc.,  to  the  life,  goinginto  the  most  minute  and  miscellane- 
ous details,  and  quoting  freely  from  documentary  evidence.  This  work  has  clearly  been 
most  thoroughly  done,  which  explains  and  excuses  his  occasional  prolixity  ;  and  we  s'uspect 
that  his  facts  and  his  figures  may  be  pretty  implicitly  trusted. 

By  the  PHILADELPHIA  INQUIRER: 

"The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm,  or  Life  in  New  Jersey  in  the  Eighteenth  Century"  has 
already  been  pronounced  to  be  one  of  the  few  important  American  books  of  the  year  by  so 
much  considered  an  authority  a.s  the  London  Sa/urdar  Rl-2'h-w.  The  not  very  many  periodi- 
cals and  newsp.ipers  in  the  fnited  States,  which  devote  some  intelligence  aud  care  to  the 
discoven,'  ormeritorious  publications  among  the  mass  of  books  issued  weekly  from  the  press 
htive  already  spoken  with  delighted  surprise  at  the  appearance  of  thi.s  volume  in  a  little  ler- 
•seytowu.  As  to  the  contents  of  the  book  written  by  Mr.  .Andrew  D.  Mellick  Jr  of  Plain- 
field,  the  reviewer  can  only  plead  lack  of  space  for  giving  what  must  be  so  poor  an  idea  of 
the  wealth  of  bistorical  aud  traditionary  material  to  be  found  in  these  pages.  "The  Story  of 
an  Old  Farm"  is  a  storehouse  of  interesting  bits  of  information  relating  to  the  subject's  of 
which  It  treats,  and  much  of  the  contents  will  be  new  to  American  readers  Especially  is 
this  true  of  the  thorough  account  of  the  German  emigration  to  this  country,  aud  of  the  Ger- 
inan  settlements  m  New  Jersey  and  New  York.  The  chapter  on  the  Hessian  soldiers  shows 
th.at  the  officers  were  cultured  men,  while  the  privates  committed  few  of  the  ravages  in 
which  the  British  troops  set  an  example.  There  is  some  curious  iuformatiou  coiicernin<'  the 
nselessnessof  a  certain  kind  of  education  in  a  new  country,  and  an  extremely  entertaTning 
chapter  is  that  upon  medical  kno^vledge  and  practiees  in  tlie  last  century.  By  no  means  the 
least  interesting  portions  of  the  volume  are  the  locAI  anecdotes. 


„mble  I"  =•  ''^  [f,vm  suffi'^e  lo  o"."'"\'\^,e   au-f  ™^°^'  t°P^"  S"  "  Meet   and  the  conspicu- 

to  the  general  reaaei  ^ 

second  edition.  AMERICAN  HISTORY:  couscientioiis  research. 

as  well."  v„7cDTT<?ER  of  Newark,  New  Jersey  .  Andrew  D.  Mellick,  Jr-- 

^n^w^U^^il^dJiid  t  -V- -;|y  -I^^^J^e^;  Old  Parnr,   ^^^n^^^.^^. 

greatly  enhances  ''=  ^^'"  ^       gg  ^j  New  York  City  :  ^  ^;^  commenda- 

fnterest.    Only  a", rf^i^'^The  has  so  well  employed. 

Elizabeth.  Wooaori'ao  „    a-  ,      m    V  ■ 

commnnities."  ,„MrFNT   D    D.,  LL.  C,  of  Buffalo,  N-  ".■         They  are  admirably 

trv  rewarded.  ,««rA71NE  of  Philadelphia  ;  p,rin  "     He  has 

By  the  PENNSYLVAN  A  MAG^^^'^E  ^^^^^^^^,^^^  „  of  a"  0,d  Farin.^ 


\ 


V 


EASTERN  GABLE  OF  THE  OLD  STONE  HOUSE 

From  a  photogrcqjh  by  Percy  Morun. 


THE 


STORYofanOLDFARM 


OR 


Life  in  New  Jersey  in  the  Eighteenth 
Century 

By  ANDREW  D.  MELLICK.  Jr. 


hieckec. 


WITH  A  GENEALOGICAL  APPENDIX 


Zbe  'Clnionl0t=(Ba5cttc 
Soincrvillc,  new  Jcrscg 

1889. 


Entered  according  to  act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1889,  by 

ANDREW   D.  MELLICK,  Jr., 

of  Plainfield,  New  Jersey,  in  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


PREFACE. 


WHEN  the  writing  of  the  "Story  of  an  Old  Farm"  was 
undertaken  it  was  not  anticipated  that  the  completed 
volume  would  find  readers  beyond  a  limited  circle.  The  narra- 
tive it  was  supposed  would  prove  interesting  only  to  the  descend- 
ants of  the  founder  of  the  homestead  which  had  been  the 
inspiration  of  its  pages,  and,  perhaps,  also,  to  a  few  local  read- 
ers. But  as  the  work  progressed  its  scope  broadened,  until 
the  compilation  gradually  assumed  a  character  calculated  to 
interest  lovers  and  students  of  general  history.  Finally,  valuable 
material  accumulating,  the  author  found  embodied  in  the  chapters 
so  much  fresh  information  relating  to  colonial  and  Revolutionary 
times  in  New  Jersey  as  to  warrant  his  seeking  readers  beyond 
the  realm  of  kinsfolk  and  township  residents.  It  was  still  neces- 
sary to  preserve  the  original  plan  of  the  narrative,  but  it  is  hoped 
that  the  general  reader  will  take  in  good  part,  and  not  find 
objectionable,  the  slight  filament  of  family  annals  that  rims  through 
the  successive  chapters.  After  ail,  it  is  but  a  gossamer  thread, 
and  one  that  has  served  an  excellent  purpose — now  as  a  silken 
clue  to  the  labyrinth  of  histoi'ical  research,  and  always  as  the 
continuous  cord  upon  which  has  crystallized  a  mass  of  interesting 
facts,  traditions  and  incidents,  illustrative  of  times  and  customs 
now  long  bygone. 

If  there  is  any  virtue  in  writing  from  an  inward  impulse ,  the 
pages  of  the  "Story  of  an  Old  Farm"  should  furnish  easy  read- 
ing and  boar  the  marks  of  a  "free  and  joyous  expression." 
Thougli  not  by  birth  a  son  of  the  soil,  heredity,  environment 
and  sympathy  had  made  the  author  a  Jerseyman  to  the  core, 
and  in  telling  the  story  of  this  old  Somerset  farm  he  brought  to 


THE  STOBY  or  AN  Old  Fabm. 


^^  ,  u-ggt      Throughout  boy- 

.1,P  task  an  enthusiastic  love  for  *^''\  ]    geaminster  township, 
todtd  youth  all  su..ers  were  pa      J  .  B  ^^^^  ^ 
i,  which  this  ancestral  pl-*^^^;"  ^  ^^^^s,  breezy  uplands,  broad 
deep  affection  for  its  ^^^^S  f^^^^^  ^ff,e Uon  that  has  grown  wrth 
tadows  andbabbljy  str^a^s--an  .      .^^  ^^^  a 

each  year  of  later  Me.     ^^'' .  °  ^^nding  interest  in,  and  regard 
natural  beauties  inspired  a  '^^^jX^l^en  of  previous  generations 

Ctl^e  memories  of  those  men  -f  X^,  J^ad.     So  it  was  tha 
who  had  passed  therr  hves  «"  ^^^   ^J    ^^^  ^,,,  ;,eited,  tending  to 
!  desire  for  investigation  and  resea  ^^^  ^^^^^^sa- 

'di': Ige  all  that  could  be  learned       Ae  d  J^^  ^^^  ..  ^^a    Stone 
?        ,iot  only   of  such  persons  as  na  ,    ^^  the  county 

H:use''l.o-e,but  of  their  ^^^::^f:Jri^^^,  though 
^ndstate.    TbiB-tedn^Ae^  Ue^^^^^^^^^  ,,      ,^e, 

the  writing  of  this  book  ^^  ^°       completion  of  the  work. 

ultimately  powerfuUy  P-^;  ;'^  ^  ^^  J^^r.i.ce  but  an  explana- 
AU  of  the  foregomg  rs  ^°^  P^^f^J^a  in  the  two  chapters  hat 
tion.  The  true  preface  _rs  t°  ^e /^^^  j^^^.y  Homestead  and  its 
open  the  story.  They  wdl  \fj[^X^^Uon  of  this  volume 
ea  ly  founder,  and  make  P^-^  ^^^  ^  ^^^^  opening  pages  that 
S  yet,  all  things  coaBxdered     t  is  Jo  J    ^^^  ^^^^  ^^^ 

t  reader's  most  -^^^f^f^^^:^U  ^.nt  little  apprehension  is 
tains  forty  chapters.     Of  ^^f  f  ^^f^^^ements  therein  have  been 

aUowances  must  be  made.  /^«  ?  ^^  country,  is  pamted  by 
of  its  approach,  and  of  ^^^^  f^'^ays  prone  to  be  too  lavish 
11  hand  of  affection-an  artist  ^^^J  ?  ,j^,  boyish  eyes  of 
wUh  Ur.  Scenes  that  -^  -^;;iJd  with  a  faithfulness 
learly  thirty  years  ^go  ^re  now  ^ep  ^^.^^  ^^^^^mg 

2li  i  of  the  past,  rather  Aan  of Jh     p^^^^^^^  ^^^^^         ^^^^ 
these  chapters  the  walls  of  the  autuo  ^^^  ^^^^^y  ^lope  of 

*'f  a  loving  -niembrance,  fdl  aw  y,  ^  ;     J^^^^  -^V°  VTe^ 
'somerset  hill  on  ^^'^^ ^-'^  °^l'      the  meadows  that  bordei 
'   d  tMck  stone  walls,  lies  back  fiom   the  ^  ^^^^^ 

the  n^^h  branch  of  the  ^^^Z^tZ^^seen  with  the 
tes  itself  in  that  ^^^  Jth  ^  :^^^^^^^  accessories,  and 
eyes  of  memory— has 


Preface.  v 

its  surroundings  are  in  perfect  keeping  with  its  happy  expres- 
sions of  utilitarian  simplicity  and  homely  picturesqueness.  The 
short,  thick  turf  of  its  dooryard  is  shaded  by  contemplative  elms, 
and  studded  with  tall,  bvdbous  bushes  of  box  and  roses  of  Sharon. 
At  its  eastern  gable,  in  an  ancient  garden,  bloom  hereditary  lilies, 
sweet  peas  and  many-colored  asters.  The  little  windows  that 
pierce  the  western  gable  surve}-  a  colony  of  barns,  haymows  and 
strawricks ;  while  still  beyond,  an  old  orchard  flanks  the  high- 
way which  creeps  up  a  long  hill  until  it  disappears  over  its  crest, 
a  quarter  of  a  mile,  or  more,  away.  Plenteous  harvests  gladden 
the  fields,  fleecy  sheep  whiten  the  hillsides,  cattle,  deep  in  the 
clover  of  the  meadows,  are  steeped  in  sweet  content,  while  in 
the  house,  at  the  barns  and  on  the  surrounding  acres  is  to  be 
heard  the  voice  of  happy  industry.  This  is  memory's  picture — 
one  full  of  cherished  associations.  Now,  alas,  all  is  changed  ! 
Adversity  and  the  grave  have  played  sad  havoc  with  the  aspect 
and  condition  of  the  "Old  Farm,"  and  a  visitor  would  look  in 
vain  for  much  that  is  apparently  promised  by  these  pages. 

The  warmest  acknowledgments  of  the  author  are  due  to  the 
many  persons  who  by  their  knowledge  and  advice  have  aided  in 
the  preparation  of  this  work.  To  enumerate  them  all  would  be 
to  present  a  formidable  list  of  coadjutors.  It  would  be  the  sum  of 
ingratitude,  however,  not  to  express  the  deep  sense  of  obligations 
he  is  under  to  Doctor  John  C.  Honeyman  of  New  Germantown, 
N.  J.,  whose  patience  and  kindness  have  been  unremitting.  In 
the  genealogical  appendix  his  help  has  been  invaluable,  and  the 
chapter  treating  of  Zion  Lutheran  church  would  have  been  a 
mere  skeleton  of  its  present  proportions  without  the  information 
he  has  furnished.  In  many  other  ways  the  "Story  of  an  Old 
Farm"  has  greatly  benefited  bj'  Doctor  Honeyman's  intimate 
acquaintance  with  New  Jersey's  colonial  and  Revolutionary  his- 
tory. It  is  also  desired  to  make  partieidar  mention  of  the 
valuable  services  freely  given  by  William  P.  Sutphen,  Esq., 
of  Bedminster  township — a  life-long  resident  on  the  "Old  Farm" 
and  an  antiquarian  by  nature  and  habit.  To  him  the  author  is 
indebted  for  many  original  papers,  and  much  interesting  lore 
regarding  the  old  people  and  times  of  Bedminster.  Much  has 
also  been  learned  from  Adjutant-General  William  S.  Stryker  of 
Trenton,  an  eminent  authority  as  to  New  Jersey's  Revolutionary 


vi  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

period — from  William  Nelson,  Esq.  and  the  Honorable  Frederick 
W.  Ricord  of  the  State  Historical  Society — and  from  the  Reverend 
Henry  P.  Thompson  of  Readington,  N.  J.  Efficient  aid  has  been 
furnished  by  Charles  W.  Opdyke,  Esq.  of  Plainfield,  N.  J., 
William  0.  McDowell  Esq.  of  Newark,  N.  J.,  and  the  late 
S.  L.  M.  Barlow,  Esq.  of  New  York,  the  latter  having  kindly 
placed  at  the  author's  disposal  his  valuable  library  of  Americana. 
Here  is  also  the  proper  place  to  recognize  the  courtesy  of  the 
editors  of  the  Magazine  of  American  History,  the  Pennsylvania 
3Iagazine  of  History  and  Biography,  and  the  New  YorJc  Evening 
Post,  who  have  permitted  the  reproduction  in  this  volume  of 
considerable  matter  that  has  already  appeared  in  their  columns. 

On  the  coming  pages  there  will  be  foimd  numerous  statements 
of  a  historical  nature,  some  of  which  have  not  before  been  pub- 
lished, while  many  of  them  appear  for  the  first  time  in  a  con- 
secutive or  connected  form  or  order.  In  reaching  information 
that  may  appear  fresh  and  new  naturally  some  readers  wUl 
deplore  the  omission  of  foot  notes  containing  references  to 
authorities.  To  such  persons  it  is  desired  to  explain  that  much 
care  has  been  taken  in  preserving  and  tabulating  the  titles  of 
books,  the  names  of  authors  and  individuals,  and  the  evidence, 
generally,  upon  which  all  facts  and  statements,  new  or  old,  con- 
tained herein  are  based.  The  writer  will  at  any  time  cheerfully 
turn  to  these  notes  in  order  to  answer  personal  applications  for 
sources  of  information.  In  addition,  a  very  comprehensive  list 
of  authorities  will  be  found  in  the  appendix. 

And  now  ends  this  long  and  very  personal  prologue.     The  bell 
rings  !     The  curtain  rises  on  the  first  scene,  showing  the  Peapack 
stage,  with  horses  harnessed  and  luggage  strapped,  only  waiting 
for  you,  reader,  to  start  for  the  "  Old  Farm." 
Plainfield,  New  Jersey,  October  23,  1889. 


CONTENDS. 


CHAPTER     I. 

The  Peapack  Stage — Sunday  Mornino  at  Bedminster  Church— A 
Retired  IIami.et.  1-11. 
From  Soinerville  to  Bedminster — Scenes  on  the  Way — A  Loquacious  Stage- 
driver — An  Ancient  Tavern — The  Bhie  Hills— The  Revolutionary  Villajre  of 
Pluckamin — A  Picturesque  Ford— Van  der  Veer's  Mills — The  Venerable  Church 
of  Bedminster— Incidents  of  a  Morning  Service— The  Foot-1'ath  through  the 
Graveyard— A  Motley  Array  of  Vehicles — The  Small  Boy  and  the  Delightful 
Old  Lady — The  Village  of  the  Lesser  Cross  Roads— Rusty  Houses  and  Old- 
Fashioned  Gardens— A  Queer  Little  Shop— Wiseacres  at  the  Village  Store— The 
Old  Schoolhouse— Boyish  Reminiscences — The  Admonitory  Gad — The  Mine 
Brook  Swimming  Hole— Over  the  Hills  to  the  Old  Farm. 


CHAPTER     II. 

The  Old  Farm — Its  Upland  Acres,  Broad  Meadows,  and  Ancient 
Stone  Homestead.  12-21. 
Walking  North  From  the  Village^— Observations  by  the  Way — The  Charms 
of  a  Country  Road^A  Neglected  God's-acre — The  Confines  of  the  Old  Farm — 
A  Royal  Grove— The  Landscape  Full  of  Sentiment  and  Beauty — A  Buoyant 
Country,  and  Grassy  Cascades — The  Outlook  From  the  Long  Hill — Summer 
Vegetation  and  the  Lovely  Mystery  of  Color — The  Brawling  Peapack  Brook — 
A  Grand  Old  Maple — The  Old  Stone  House  Rests  on  a  Sunny  Bank  of  Tnrf^ 
fts  Comely,  Quaint  Presence,  and  Wealth  of  Old-fashioned  Accessories — A 
Charming  Rural  Picture — The  Interior  a  Bit  of  the  Old  World— The  Outer 
Kitchen  and  Dutch  Oven— The  Founders  of  This  Old  Homestead  in  1752— 
Why  Their  Story  is  Told  in  These  Pages. 


CHAPTER     III. 

Bendorf  on  the  Rhine — Johannes  Moelich   Emigrates  to  America — 
The  Condition  of  Germany  in  the  Seventeenth  and  Eighteenth 
Centuries.    22-34. 
Coblentz  and  its  Ancient  Town  Wall— The  Vast  Fortification  of  Erhenbriet- 

stein — Terraced  Vineyards  and    Valleys  Stored  with  Legend  and  Romance — 


viii  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

Bendorf  Surrounded  by  Apple  Orchards — The  Aspect  and  Architecture  of  the 
Town — One  of  the  Oldest  Churches  in  Germany — The  Home  of  Johannes  Moe- 

lick  and  His  Wife  Mariah  Katrina — He  Sets  Sail  for  America The  Great 

German  Exodus  and  its  Cause — German  Happiness  Before  the  Thirty  Years' 
War — The  Miseries  of  that  Contest — The  Country  People  Fly  From  Their  Dis- 
mantled Villages  and  Wasted  Lands — Peace  Banquets  are  Spread  in  1648 — But 
Little  Comfort  Comes  to  the  Rhine  Valley — Subsequent  Continental  Wars — 
Louis  XIV.  Devastates  the  Palatinate — Despotic  Princes,  Petty  Persecutions  and 
Cruel  Conscriptions — The  German  Turns  His  Back  on  Fatherland — The  Great 
Flood  of  Emigration  to  America. 


CHAPTER     IV. 

German  Expatriation— Thk  Distribution  of  Teuton  Emigrants  in  the 
American  Colonies.  35-49. 
First  Movement  to  America — William  Penn  and  Pennsylvania — Pastorious 
Settles  Germantown— Neuwied — Settlement  of  the  German  Valley  in  New  Jer- 
sey— Newburgh  Founded  by  Kockerthal — The  Great  Hegira  to  England  in  1709 
— Cause  of  the  Movement — Camping  on  Blackheath— Thirty  Eight  Hundred 
Palatines  Remove  to  Ireland — The  Sufferings  of  Heidelberg — Emigrants  from 
Heidelberg  Found  Newbern,  North  Carolina — Governor  Robert  Hunter — Ten 
Ship  Loads  of  Palatines  Brought  by  Him  to  New  York — Settlement  at  Living- 
ston Manor  on  the  Hudson,  and  in  Scoharie,  Montgomery,  and  Herkimer  Coun- 
ties, New  York — Disatisfaction  of  the  Colonists  with  Their  Treatment  by  the 
New  York  Authorities — Pennsylvania  Grows  in  Favor  with  Emigrants — Arri- 
vals between  1700  and  the  Revolution. 


CHAPTER     V. 

Johannes  Moelich  Reaches  Pennsylvania  in  1735 — His  Experiences 
In  Philadelphia  And  Germantown.  50-64. 
The  Crooked  Billet  Wharf — Arrival  of  the  Ship  Mercury  with  Johannes 
Moelich — The  Aspect  and  Area  of  the  City — Johann  Peter  Moelich— Impres- 
sions on  Landing — A  Walk  on  Chestnut  Street — A  Gang  of  Newly  Imported 
Negroes — The  Slave  Auction — Colonial  Houses — Quaint  Interiors — Dogs  as 
Meat  Roasters — Whipped  at  a  Cart's  Tail — Stocks  and  Pillory— Flinging  Eggs 
at  Malefactors — The  New  State  House — Visits  of  Savages  to  the  City — Indian 
King  Tavern — Christ  Church — Odd  Costumes — Quakers  and  Gallants — Old  Gen- 
tlemen and  Servants — Penn's  House — His  Second  Visit  to  Pennsylvania — 
William  Trent— The  Founding  of  Trenton  in  1719— The  Blue  Anchor  Tatern— 
Philadelphia  Equipage  in  1735 — Pack  Horses — Introduction  of  Wagons — Johan- 
nes Starts  for  Germantown— The  Ride  Through  the  Woods— The  Aspect  of  the 
Settlement. 


,      CHAPTER     VI. 

Letters  From  The  Old  Country — Bendorf  Comes  Under  The  Dominion 
Of  The  Murdering  Margrave  of  Anspach.    65-73. 
Joh.  Georg   Hager,   tlie   Village  Pr:i-ceptor    Writes  in  1745,  Giving  all  the 


Contents.  ix 

Bendorf  Gossip-  -  A  Great  Fire  Burns  all  the  Houses  Between  the  Stein-Gate  and 
the  Bach-Gate — Who  Have  Died,  Who  Have  Married,  Who  Grown  Rich  and 
Poor— Bendorf  Transferred  to  Anspach — -The  Many  Separate  Kingdonas  of  Ger- 
many— Fredericlc  and  Maria  Theresa — Despotic  German  Princes— Their  Taxes 
and  Oppressions — The  Idiosyncracies  and  Wickednesses  of  Bendorfs  New 
Ruler — German  Lawyers — A  Letter  from  Cousin  Joh.  Anton  Kirberger  in  1749 
— How  the  Second  Silesian  War  Distressed  the  Inhabitants  of  Bendorf — The 
Banks  of  the  Rhine  a  Highway  for  Troops  Marching  between  Holland  and 
Austra— Billets  and  Forages  Impoverish  the  People — More  German  History. 


CHAPTER     VII. 

Johannes  Moelich  Appears  in  New  Jersey  in  1747 — His  Brother  God- 
frey— Echoes  from  the  Ancient  Walls  of  Zion  Lutheran  Church 
AT  New  Gekmantown  In  Hunterdon  County.  74-96. 
Johannes  and  Godfrey  Moelich  in  Sussex  County,  N.  J. — In  1750  Johannes  Is 
Living  on  400  Acres  in  Readington  Tp.,  Hunterdon  County — He  and  His  Son- 
in-law,  Jacob  Kline,  there  Establish  a  Tannery— Our  Ancestor  Is  a  Warden  and 
Trustee  of  Zion  Lutheran  Church — Ralph  Smith  Conveys  the  Church  Property 
to  Johannes  Moelich  and  His  Co-Trustees  in  1749 — Balthazar  Pickel — David, 
Jonas  and  Tunis  Melick — The  Religious  Fervor  of  Early  German  Emigrants — 
"Father  Muhlenberg'"  Comes  from  Germany  to  Take  Charge  of  the  American 
Churches — His  Saintly  Character  and  Life  Labors — \n  Old  Time  Missionary 
Who  Could  Fight  the  Devil  But  Was  in  Terror  of  Women— Tlie  First  Perma- 
nent Pastor  of  the  Church  Is  Joh.  Albert  Weygand — \  Pastoral  Message  from 
the  Last  Century — Reverend  John  Peter  Gabriel  Muhlenberg,  Afterwards  the 
Revolutionary  General — Interesting  Information  Regarding  Zion's  Successive 
Pastors — The  Worthies  of  the  Congregation — A  Letter  from  Father  Muhlenberg 
to  Johannes'  Son  Aaron  and  His  Co-Trustees — William  Graft's  Long  and  Use- 
ful Pastorate — A  Methodist  Missionary  Makes  a  Schism  in  Zion — Henry  Miller 
and  His  Devout  Wife — How  Johannes  Signs  His  Name  to  Church  Documents — 
St.  Paul's  Church  in  Pluckamin,  Somerset  County— George  III.  Grants  a 
Royal  Charter  to  Zion  and  St.  Paul's — Aaron  Moelich,  One  of  the  Petitioners — 
The  Varied  Spelling  of  the  Family  Name — In  17.51  Johannes  Decides  Where  to- 
Plant  the  Permanent  Homestead — A  Survey  of  His  Family  in  That  Year. 


CHAPTER     VIII. 

Purchase  of  the  "Old  I-'arm"  in  1751— The  Title  and  Early  New 
Jersey  History.  97-111. 
Johannes  Buys  367  Acres  of  Land  in  Bedminster,  Somerset  Co. — Bedminster 
Indians — The  .^Igonquins  and  Naraticongs — Present  Traces  of  the  Red  Men — 
First  and  Last  Indian  Purchases — Fair  Dealings  with  the  Natives  by  New  Jer- 
sey People— Early  New  Jersey  History— Charles  II.'s  Grant  to  the  Duke  of 
York — He  Presents  New  Jersey  to  Sir  George  Carteret  and  Lord  .John  Berkeley 
— Origin  of  the  Name— Governor  Philip  Carteret  at  Elizabethtown — Pepys' 
Testimony  As  to  the  Virtu'e  of  Lady  Elizabeth  for  Whom  the  Town  Was 
Named — The  Claim  of  the  Elizal)ethtown  Associates  Under  the  Nicolls  Grant 
— Concessions  and  Agreements  Published  in  New  England  Increase  the  Popula- 


X  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

lion — Settlement    of    Piscalaway,    Woodbridge    and    Newark — The     Province 
Divided  into  East  and  West  Jersey — The  Sale  of  West  Jersey. 


CHAPTER     IX. 

The  Twenty-four'  Proprietors    of   East   New   Jersey — George   Wil- 

LOCKS   AND   THE   PeAPACK   PATENT.      112-128. 

Carteret  Dies,  and  His  Executors  Sell  East  New  Jersey — The  Twenty-four 
Proprietors — Their  Manner  of  Alienating  tlie  Whole  or  a  Portion  of  Individual 
Interests — Perth  Amboy,  the  Capital — The  Origin  of  the  Name — Population 
Under  the  Proprietors — Settlement  of  Monmouth  County — Interesting  Inform- 
ation Regarding  the  Morris  and  Stout  Families — Ancient  Dutcli  Settlers  of 
Bergen— Governors  Under  the  Proprietors — Surrender  of  the  Government  to 
the  Crown — John  Heywood,  Robert  Burnett  and  .James  Willocks — -In  1683 
Burnett  Conveys  One-eighth  of  His  Right  to  James  Willocks — Doctor  (jeorge 
Willocks  Inherits  from  His  Brother  James — He  Emigrates  to  East  .Jersey — His 
Possessions  and  Important  Offices — Willocks's  Ferries  to  Perth  Amboy — Saint 
Peter's  Chuich  at  Amboy  and  Its  I'enefactors — Tliomas  (iordon  Settles  near 
Plainfield — The  Proprietors  Convey  to  George  Willocks  and  John  Johnstone 
the  Peapack  Patent— Andrew  Hamilton  and  John  .Johnstone — Scotch  P^migra- 
tion  to  East  New  Jersey. 


CHAPTER     X. 

The  Story  of  the  Title  Co.mpleted — Early   Somerset    Land   Grants 

129-144. 
The  Peapuck  Patent  Includes  Nearly  all  of  Bedminster  Township — Dis- 
tinguished People  Associated  with  Somerset  Freeholds — Interesting  Facts 
-Concerning  Gonverneiir  Morris  and  the  Duchess  of  Gordon — The  First  Real 
JEstate  Purchase  in  Bedminster — Daniel  Axtell,  a  Son  of  the  English  Regicide 
.Buys  a  Large  Slice  of  tlie  Peapack  Patent — Some  Corrections  as  to  Generally 
Accepted  Beliefs  in  the  History  of  Somerset  Land  Titles — The  Vahie  of  Bed- 
.minster  Acres  in  1726 — William  .^xtell,  Patriot  and  Royalist— George  Willocks' 
Deatli — His  Will  and  its  Benefactions — It  Directs  Partition  and  Sale  of  Peapack 
Patent — No  Record  of  Such  Proceedings  Can  be  Found—Disagreements  Between 
the  Proprietors  and  the  Willocks  Heirs — John  Johnstone's  Will — Authorizes  a 
•Compromise  as  to  Peapack  Patent — George  Leslie,  in  1744,  Receives  a  Grant  of 
2,0(J0  Acres  Out  of  the  Patent — Its  Area  Includes  the  Present  Site  of  Bedminster 
■and  the  Old  Farm — the  Deed  from  George  Leslie  to  Johannes  Moelich — Thomas 
Bartow,  Secretary  of  the  Province — Judge  Samuel  Nevill  and  His  Laws — The 
"  New  American  Magazine  " — James  Parker,  New  Jersey's  First  Printer — The 
Bonds  Johannes  Gave  in  Buying  the  Farm — His  Signature  and  Handwriting — 
The  Pleasures  of  a  Manuscript  Lover. 


CHAPTER     XI. 

The    Building   of   the   "Old   Stone   House" — Redemptionees — White 
Slavery  in  the  Colonies,  14.5-155. 
Johannes  Occupies   the   Bedminster    Land — A    Temporary    Log    House     is 


Contents.  xi 

Erected — Scenes  at  its  Building — The  Raising  Dinner— The  Old  Stone  House  is 
Built  in  1752— Preparing  for  the  Work — Caspar  Berger,  a  Redeniptioiifir  Stone 
Mason,  Lavs  its  Walls— His  Advent  in  the  Colony  and  Sale— He  Obtains  His 
Freedom  by  Building  Stone  Houses— All  About  Redemptionei-s— Indented  Ser- 
vants and  Freewillers— Fraud  Practised  on  them  in  the  Old  Countries — Inhu- 
manities of  Ship  Captains — Colonial  Laws  as  to  Redemptioners — How  this  Class 
of  Emigrants  Thrived  in  the  Province— The  Walls  of  the  "Stone  House"  go  up 
Apace — Mariuh  Katrina  Carries  Mortar  on  Her  Head — The  Good  Wife  Objects 
to  so  Many  Windows— The  Completion  of  House  and  its  Appearance — The 
Hanging  of  the  Crane— The  First  Supper  in  the  Living  Room— A  Home  at  Last 
on  this  Peaceful  Bedminster  Hillside. 


CHAPTER     Xri. 

Johannes  Goes  to  the  Post  Office — Bedminster  and  the  Adjacent 
Townships  in  1752,  156-168. 
Perth  Amboy  the  Nearest  Post  Office — But  two  Post  Offices  in  the  Colony — 
Johannes  Starts  in  the  Capital  of  the  Province — Bedminster  Still  a  Wilderness — 
Tlie  Settlement  of  Morristown  and  Mendham — Lamington  (Jhurch  and  Jane 
McCrea — Basking  Ridge  and  its  Flourishing  Presbyterian  Community — Lord 
Stirling's  Residence — .Jacobus  Van  der  Veer's  Log  House — Establishing  Van 
•der  Veer's  Mills — Ephraim  McDowell's  Homestead — Johannes  Dismounts  at 
EoflT's  Tavern  at  Pluckamin — Christian  Eofl  as  Innkeeper — The  Origin  of  the 
Name  of  Pluckamin — Asjiect  of  the  Village  and  its  First  Storekeeper  John 
Boylan — Early  Families  of  the  Neighborhood — Colonel  McDaniel's  Saw  Mill — 
Somerville  Not  Yet  in  Existence— The  First  Court-Houses  of  Somerset  County 
— William  McDonald's  (irist  Mill — Johannes  Smokes  his  Pipe  as  He  Follows 
the  Trail  Over  Pluckamin  Hills — Wild  Beasts  and  Bounties  for  Their  Extirpa- 
tion— Our  Traveller  Descends  to  the  "Great  Raritan  Road"  and  Reaches 
Bound  Brook. 


CHAPTER     XIII. 

Bound   Brook    in  the    Olden    Time— The   Raiutan    Valley    in    1752, 

169-181. 
Somerset's  Oldest  Settlement — Indian  Corn  Grounds — How  Bound  Brook 
Derived  its  Name — The  First  Land  Purchase  in  the  County— Thomas  Codring- 
ton's  Homestead,  Raciiwackhana — The  Houses  of  George  Cussart  and  Samuel 
Thompson — Lord  Neil  Campbell  and  his  Plantation— The  Presbyterian  Church 
of  Bound  Brook  is  Founded  in  1700 — Michael  Field's  Bequests  to  the  Congrega- 
tion— Colonial  Lads  and  the  Pedagogues — William  Harris'  Tavern — Van  Nor- 
den's  Folly — Citizens  of  Bound  Brook  at  the  Time  of  Johannes'  Visit — Preva- 
lence of  Lotteries — Johannes  Rides  Down  the  Raritan  Valley — Country  More 
Thickly  Settled — English  and  Dutch  Residents — Raritan  Landing  and  its 
Industries — Mills  in  Franklin  Township — Cornelius  Lowe,  Jr's.,  Stone  Mansion 
—Johannes  Reaches  New  Brunswick. 


CHAPTER     XIV. 

From  an  Indian  Path  to  The  King's  Highway — New  Brunswick  and 
Historic  Piscataway.    182-199. 


xii  The  Story  of  an  Old  FaejVi. 

The  Oldest  Highway  in  New  Jersey — The  Lenni-Lenape  Path  From  the 
Hudson  to  the  Delaware — An  Indian  Thoroughfare  From  Minisink  to  the  Sea 
— The  Path  up  the  Raritan— The  Indian  Path  Becomes  the  Dutch  Trail— The 
English  Make  it  Their  Road  Across  the  Jerseys — The  Growth  of  Settlements 
Along  the  Path — Inians  Ferry  Established — The  Founding  of  New  Brunswick 
— -Its  First  Church  in  1717 — The  Aspect  of  the  King's  Highway  in  1748 — New 
Brunswick's  First  Charter — Its  Early  Citizens — The  Appearance  of  the  City  at 
the  Time  of  Johannes'  Visit— Our  Traveller  Continues  Elis  Journey — Historic 
Piscataway — Its  Ancient  Importance  and  Present  Torpor — Interesting  Frag- 
ments of  Antiquity  From  Its  Town  Records — The  Baptists  Build  a  "  Meetinge- 
House"  in  1685 — Edmund  Dunham,  in  1707,  Forms  the  First  Seventh-Day  Bap- 
tist Church  in  New  Jersey — St.  James  Episcopal  Church  is  Established  in  1704 
— Early  Missionary  Work  in  New  Jersey — A  Graveyard  Two  Centuries  Old — ■ 
Johannes  Rides  Along  the  King's  Highway  Through  Bonhamtown. 


CHAPTER     XV. 

The  Ancient  Capital  op  The  Province— Perth  Amboy  In  1752.    200-214. 

Perth  Amboy  in  the  Olden-Time — A  Chartered  City  in  1718 — Governors 
under  the  Crown — The  Pomp  of  the  Advent  of  Royal  Governors — -The  Early 
Beauty  of  Amboy — Love  Grove — Old  English  Fairs — George  Willocks's  Long 
Ferry — The  Town  Green  and  the  Royal  Cross  of  St.  George — The  Town  Hall, 
and  the  Scenes  it  Has  Witnessed — Thomas  Bartow,  his  House  and  Garden — The 
Homes  of  Doctor  John  Johnstone,  and  His  Son  Andrew — John  Watson,  The 
First  American  Painter — His  House  and  Collection  of  Paintings — The  Dwelling 
in  which  John  Nevill  Wrote  the  Laws  of  the  Province — The  Parker  Homestead, 
Built  in  1720 — George  Willocks  and  the  Old  Parsonage — The  Efleetiveness  of 
Colonial  Roofs — The  City's  Churches  in  1752 — Gilbert  Tennent  and  His  Severe 
Text — The  Religious  Atmosphere  of  the  Last  Century. 


CHAPTER     XVI. 

SociAi,  Aspect  op  Perth  Amboy  in  1752 — The  Gentry — Slavery- — 
Travelling.  215-232. 
The  Picturesqueness  of  Colonial  Times — Local  Color  of  Civilization  at  New 
Jersey's  Capital — Indians,  Soldiers,  Hunters  and  Redemptioners — The  Sturdy 
German  Yeomanry — Society  Distinctions — The  Magnificence  of  the  Gentry — 
We  Are  Introduced  to  a  King's  Councillor — His  Vain  Hopes  for  Amboy's  Com- 
mercial Greatness — The  Ladies  of  the  Last  Century — Hallam's  Theatre  Company 
at  the  Town  Hall — Sunday  Morning  at  St.  Peter's  Church — Pomp  and  Parade 
at  the  Capital — The  Mayor's  Mace  Bearer — Judicial  Wigs  and  Robes  of  Office — 
The  Flourish  and  Ceremony  upon  Opening  Court — The  Stately  Minuet,  and 
Royal  Governor's  Balls — The  Many  Negroes  To  Be  Seen  at  Amboy — A  Short 
History  of  Slavery  in  New  Jersey — The  British  Government  Fosters  the  Slave 
Trade — Extent  of  the  Traffic  in  the  Colonies — Cruel  Punishments  in  N.  J. — 
Burning,  Maiming  and  Hanging  Negroes — Somerset  County  Farmers  and  Their 
Slaves — Abolition  of  Slavery  in  New  Jersey — Johannes'  Choice  of  a  Tavern — 
Travel  Between  New  York  and  Philadelphia — The  Miseries  of  the  Journey — 
Clumsy  Sloops,  Springless  Wagons,  and  Bad  Roads. 


Contents.  xiii 

CHAPTER     XVII. 

Clearing  the  Bedminster  Land — Life  on  the  "Old  Farm"  From 
1752  TO  1763.  233-246. 
German  Farmers  in  New  Jersey — Johannes  Attacks  liis  Timbered  Hillsides — 
Manner  of  Clearing  Land — Primitive  Agriculture — Richness  of  the  Soil — The 
Land  Exhausted  Ultimately  for  Want  of  Nourishment— Lime  First  Used  as  a 
Fertilizer — Natural  Meadows  the  Only  Grass  Land — Introduction  of  Clover 
Seed  into  Somerset — Homemade  Ploughs  and  Other  Implements — Wheat,  Rye, 
and  Buckwheat  are  Cut  with  a  Sickle — Establishing  the  Tannery — Horticulture 
in  the  Olden  Time — Living,  in  the  "Old  Stone  House" — What  Colonial  Farm- 
ers Had  to  Eat — Some  Extraordinary  Dishes— The  Beverages  of  That  Time — 
The  Industries  of  Farm  Families — Old-Fashioned  Frolics  and  Amusements — A 
Visit  to  the  Bedrooms  and  Garret— Picturesque  Garb  and  Curious  Fabrics — 
Mariali  Katrina  as  a  House- Wife — A  View  of  the  Farm  Kitchen — Flax  and  its 
Uses — Delicate  Girls  at  a  Di.scount — The  Tribulations  of  Washing  Day — Aaron 
Malick  Marries  Charlotte  Miller — Changes  in  the  Family — .\nother  Letter 
from  the  Old  Country. 


CHAPTER     XVIII. 

The  Death  of  Johannes  and  Maeiah  in  1763— Changes  in  the  Town- 
ship— The  Dutch  Congrf-gations  of  the  Raritan  Valley — The 
Building  of  Bedminster  Church.    247-265. 

Johannes  in  his  Old  Age — He  and  His  Wife  Die  in  1763 — Aaron  Succeeds 
Him  in  the  "  Stone  House  " — Changes  in  Bedminster — Settlement  on  the  Axtell 
Tract — Jacobus  Van  Doren  and  Captain  Joseph  Nevius — The  Dutch  Reformed 
Churches  in  Somerset — The  Log  Church  at  North  Branch — Raritan  Church  at 
Van  Veghten's  Bridge — Three  Mile  Run,  Six  Mile  Run,  and  New  Brunswick 
Churches — The  Reverend  Theodorus  Jacobus  Frelinghuysen  as  Pastor  of  the 
United  Congregations — His  Son  John  Succeeds  Him  in  1750 — Dinah  Van  Bergh 
Marries  Dominie  Frelinghuysen — The  Young  Divinity  Student,  Jacob  R.  Har- 
denbergh— He  succeeds  His  Pastor,  and  Marries  His  Widow — Disparity  of  their 
Ages — The  Religious  Character  and  Attainments  of  the  Juffrouw  Hardenbergh — 
Reformed  Dutch  Congregation  of  Bedminster  Organized  in  1758 — The  Building 
of  the  New  Cliurch — Oonations  of  Jacobus  Van  der  Veer,  and  Guisbert  Sut- 
phen — Description  of  the  Edifice — The  First  Service. 


CHAPTER     XIX. 

More  Changes  in  Bedminster — The  Mills  on  Peapack  Brook — Boyish 
Reminiscences — Marriages  and  Deaths.    266-279. 

Aaron  Improves  the  Farm,  and  Enlarges  the  Tannery — A  Saw  and  Grist 
Mill  Established  on  Peapack  Brook  in  1751— William  .\llen,  the  First  Miller— 
His  Sons  Sell  the  Mill  to  Stephen  Hunt  in  1767— The  Building  of  the  "  Folley" 
— A  Famous  Rendezvous  for  Bedminster  Boys — Penetrating  the  Hogback — A 
Picture  of  the  Old  Grist  Mill  with  Its  Pond  and  Rock-paved  Stream — Youthful 
Remembrances — Fishing  and  Swimming  in  the  "Jinny-Hole" — Miss  Jane  Bailey, 
Bedminster's  Meg  Merrilcs — Rural  Sights  and  Sounds — The  Loss  of  Water  in 
Bedminster  Streams — Aaron's  Familv  Increases — Little  Elizabeth  Is  Killed  in 


xiv  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

the  Bark  Mill — Philip  and  Peter  Moelich  Marry  Sisters — Borrowing  Money  for 
Bedminster  Church — The  Ancient  Bond  of  Jacobus  Van  der  Veer,  Marcus  King 
and  Aaron  Malick — John  Van  der  Veer  Has  Five  Different  Ways  of  Spelling 
His  Surname — Mariah  Moelich  Marries  Simon  Ludewig  Himroth,  and  Removes- 
to  Pennsylvania — More  News  from  Bendorf — Another  Interesting  Letter  from 
the  Herr  Prieceptor. 


CHAPTER     XX. 

Thk  Muttering  That  Preceded  the  Storm  op  the  Eevolution — 
Stamp  Acts,  Revenue  Bills  and  Other  Unjust  Imposts  Weaken 
THE  Loyalty  of  the  New  Jersey  People — Arming  for  the  Fray. 
280-292. 
The  Approach  of  the  Heroic  Period  of  New  Jersey's  History — The  Stamp  Act 
and  Its  Repeal — New  Jersey's  .\ttitude  of  Hostility  to  Great  Britain — The  First 
Revolutionary  Newspaper  Is  Printed  at  Burlington — The  Boston  Post  Bill  and 
Tea  Duties — The  British  Government  Applies  the  Torch  of  Coercion — Organiz- 
ing for  Defence — The  Province  Sends  Deputies  to  the  Continental  Congress  in 
September,  1774 — Formation  of  Committees  of  Correspondence — The  Meetings 
of  the  Provincial  Congress — \n  Historic  Journey — Minutes  of  the  First  Meet- 
ings of  the  Bedminster  Committee  of  Observation  and  Inspection — Among  the 
Members  are  Aaron  Malick,  Cornelius  Lane,  .John  Wortman — An  Express- 
Rider  Flies  Through  New  Jersey  Announcing  the  Battle  of  Lexington — Hud- 
rick  Fisher  as  President  of  the  Second  Provincial  Congress — Three  Other  of 
Its  Officers  are  from  Somerset  County — John  Wortman  and  Guisbert  Sutphen 
of  the  Bedminster  Committee  Are  Sent  to  the  Congress  at  Trenton  on  May  25, 
1775 — Bedminster  Proceeds  to  Arm  for  Defence — A  New  Brunswick  Man 
Employed  to  Drill  the  Men — Stephen  Hunt  Is  Sent  to  New  York  to  Buy  Arms 
— The  Difficulty  of  Obtaining  Munitions  of  War — Leaden  Window  and  Clock 
Weights  and  Pewter  Dishes  Are  Run  into  Bullets — Treating  the  Men  When 
Training — The  Third  Session  of  Provincial  Congress  Convenes  on  the  Fifth  of 
August,  1775 — -A  Committee  of  Safety  Is  Appointed — Among  the  Members  Are 
Five  from  Somerset. 


CHAPTER     XXI. 

The    Declaration    of    Independence    and    the    Overthrow    of    the 
Provincial  Government — The    Arrest   of   the   Royal  Governor, 
William  Franklin.    293-303. 
The  Third  Session  of  New  Jersey's  Provincial  Congress — The  Agitations  and 
Excitements  that  Ruled  the  Hour — Complaints  of  the  People — Strengthening 
the   Militia — Meeting,  of  the  Second   Continental   Congress  in  Philadelphia — 
Declaration  of  Independence  Submitted  by  Jefferson — The  Appeal  for  the  Docu- 
ment Made  by  John  Witherspoon,  of  Somerset,  Insures  its   Acceptance  by   the 
Members — The  Most   Important  of  all  of  New  Jersey's  Provincial  Congresses 
Meets  on  June   10,  1776 — On  July  18  it  .\ssumes  the  Title  of  the  Convention  of 
the  State  of  New   Jersey — All   the   Colonial  Governors  Adhere   to  the  Crown 
Except  Jonathan  Trumbull  of  Conn. — Governor  William  Franklin  is  Arrested 
at  Perth  Amboy — His  Character,  Origin  and  History — William  Livingston,  the 
State's  First  Governor — He  Holds  the  Position  Owing  to  Repeated  Re-elections 


Contents. 


xv 


until  1792— A  Tribute  to  His  Services  and  Ability — William  Patterson  One  of 
New  Jersey's  Great  Men— His  Residence  on  the  Raritan— The  Beginning  of 
Things  for  the  United  States  of  America— The  Condition,  Area  and  Population  of 
the  Country  in  1776. 


CHAPTER     XXII. 

The  Turbulent  Sea  of  the  Revolution— The  Soldiers  of  Somerset 
—  William  Alexander,  Lord  Stirling  ;  Captain  Andrew  Malick; 
AND  Private  John  Malick.  .304-318. 
Notwithstanding  the  War  the  Industries  at  the  Old  Farm  Continue — Peter 
Malick  Inherits  from  his  Father  Land  Fronting  on  the  Lamington  Road 
— He  Builds  a  House  and  Settles  Where  is  now  the  Village  of  Bedminster — 
Aaron  Retains  the  Tannery,  Homestead  and  the  Rest  of  the  Farm — His  Brother 
Andrew  Settles  in  Sussex  County — In  1770  he  Aids  in  Founding  St.  James 
Lutheran  Church  Near  Phillipsburg — Andrew  is  Commissioned  as  Captain  in  the 
First  Battalion,  Sussex  Militia,  and  Serves  During  the  War— Aaron's  Son,  John,. 
Enlists  in  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  Company  of  the  First  Battalion — Somerset 
Militia— Lord  Stirling  is  its  First  Colonel— His  Home  in  Bernard  Township 
and  His  Military  Record— The  Noble  Services  of  New  Jersey  Militiamen— John 
Malick  as  a  Minute  Man— The  March  of  Colonel  Nathan  Heard  on  Long  Island 
— The  Tories  of  Kings  and  Queens  Counties— a  Special  Regiment  of  Hunterdon 
and  Somerset  Militia  is  Organized  to  Re-inforce  Washington's  Army — It  marches 
to  New  York  Under  Colonel  Stephen  Hunt  with  John  Malick  in  its  Ranks— 
The  Battle  of  Long  Island— The  Death  of  Col.  Philip  Johnston— The  Capture  of 
John  Malick  by  the  Enemy — He  is  Thrown  into  a  New  York  Sugar  House — 
The  Inhumanities  of  his  Jailor,  Provost-Marshall  Cunningham— The  Brutality 
of  the  Provost  in  Conducting  the  Execution  of  Nathan  Hale— John  Malick  is 
Exchanged  and  Re-enlists  in  the  Continental  Line — Washington's  Army  Enters 
New  Jersey. 


CHAPTER     XXIII. 

The  British  In  New  Jersey— Wa.«hington's  Retreat  To  The  Delaware — 
General  Lee  In  Somerset  County.  319-334. 
Cornwallis  Enters  New  Jersey — The  Garrison  at  Fort  Lee  Joins  the  Main 
Body  at  Hackensack — Retreat  and  Pursuit — Tories  and  Whigs  Alike  Plundered 
by  the  Enemy — Washington  Driven  from  New  Brunswick — His  Army  Melts 
Away  with  Each  Mile  of  the  March— What  Is  Left  of  the  Army  Cross  the 
Delaware  on  the  Eighth  of  December— The  British  go  into  Winter  Quarters  at 
Bordentown,  Trenton,  New  Brunswick,  and  Other  Towns— The  Rajjine,  Violence 
and  Cruelty  of  the  English  Forces — Individual  Instances  of  Sufferings  in  Somer- 
set and  Middlesex  Counties — The  Ayres,  Dunns  and  Dunhams  in  the  Revolu- 
tion—The Ferocity  Exhibited  by  Tories— Cavalry  Raids  on  Pluckamin— 
Amnesty  and  Protection  OHered  by  the  Enemy — Many  Become  Disaffected- 
Aaron,  Andrew,  and  Philip  Melick  Do  not  Waver  in  Their  Colonial  Sympathies 
— Peter  Melick  Accepts  a  Protection  Paper  from  the  British — His  Disaffection 
Fostered  by  Frequent  Visits  to  Perth  Amboy — The  Royal  Sentiment  Openly 
Displayed  at  That  Provincial  Capital— The  Attitude  of  the  Church  of  England 
During  the  Revolution — Methodists  Considered  Enemies  to  the  Public  Weal — 


xvi  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

Quakers  as  non-Combatants — General  Charles  Lee's  Army  Reaches  Bedminster 
on  December  12 — The  Appearance  His  Troops  Presented — Hunting-Shirts  for 
Uniforms  and  Fowling  Pieces  for  Guns — The  Jersey  Blues  are  Uniformed  by 
Patriotic  Women. 

CHAPTER     XXIV. 

The  Capture  of  General  Charles  Lee — His  Army  Encamps  on  Peter 
Melick's  Land  in  Bedminster  Township — The  Battle  of  Trenton. 
33-5-3.51. 
General  Lee's  Army  on  the  Night  of  December  12,  1776,  Encamps  on  Peter 
Melick's  Farm — Because  of  His  Disaffection  the  Troops  Damage  His  Property — 
Peter's  Daughter,  Catherine,  Lives  until  1863 — Her  Written  Statement  as  to 
what  Transpired  on  that  Night — The  "Old  Stone  House  "  Entertains  a  Number 
of  Mounted  Officers — Fresh  Details  as  to  the  Capture  of  Lee  at  Basking  Ridge 
— The  Generally  Accepted  Belief  that  His  Army  Lay  at  Vealtown  an  Error — 
Lee's  Character  and  Military  Achievements — The  Ridiculous  Appearance  Pre- 
sented by  Colonel  Sheldon's  Connecticut  Light  Horse — All  about  the  Siiteenth 
British  Light  Dragoons,  which  made  the  Capture — Aaron  Malick  is  Suspected  of 
Having  Notified  the  Enemy  of  Lee's  Whereabouts — He  is  Forced  to  go  to  New 
Germantown  to  Prove  His  Innocence — Sullivan  Marches  to  Pennsylvania  by  Way 
of  Lamington  and  Clinton — The  Effect  on  the  Country  of  Lee's  Capture — The 
Darkest  Days  of  the  Revolution  are  those  of  December,  1776 — Washington 
Undaunted — By  the  Tenth  of  December  His  Army  is  Reduced  to  Seventeen 
Hundred  Men — In  Less  than  Two  Weeks  He  Increases  His  Force  to  6,000 — He 
Crosses  the  Delaware  and  Captures  the  Hessians  at  Trenton — The  Efiect  of  the 
Victory  Upon  the  Country. 


CHAPTER     XXV. 

The  Hessians  in  New  Jersey— Just  a  Little  in  Their  Favor— A  Cor- 
rection of  Some  False  Traditions  That  Have  Been  Fostered  by 
PRE.IUDICED  Historians.  352-370. 
How  the  News  of  the  Battle  of  Trenton  Was  Received  at  the  "  Old  Stone 
House  " — Some  of  the  Hessian  Prisioners  Have  Probably  Been  Fellow  Towns- 
men of  Aaron  Malick  at  Bendorf — Sympathy  for  the  Germans — Prince  Charles 
Alexander  of  Anspach,  Eendorf's  Ruler,  Furnishes  George  III.  with  Two  Regi- 
ments— Detailed  Accounts  of  the  British  Army's  German  Auxiliaries — Repug- 
nance of  the  Hessians  to  Come  to  America— -How  Germany's  Despotic  Princes 
Justified  the  Mercenary  Traffic — .Schiller's  Protest  Against  His  Countrymen's 
Lives  and  Services  Being  Bartered  for  Gold — Tlie  Hatred  of  the  Americans  for 
the  Mercenaries — The  Terror  They  Inspired  Dissipated  by  Better  Acquaintance 
— Many  of  the  Barbarities  of  the  British  Unjustly  Charged  to  the  Hessians — 
Count  Donop's  Troops  Treat  the  People  of  Mount  Holly  with  Great  Civility — 
Uniforms  and  Equipments  of  Hessians — General  De  Heister's  Treatment  of 
Lord  Stirling — The  Courtesy  and  Good  Breeding  of  Hessian  Officers — Abundant 
Testimony  That  the  Memory  of  the  German  Troops  Has  Been  Held  in  Unde- 
served Obloquy — Many  Desert  and  Settle  in  America — Some  of  Their  Descend- 
ants Rank  Among  the  Leading  Men  of  the  Country — How  Christopher  Ludwick 
Entertained  Eight  Hessians  Captured  at  Germantown — Ludwick's  Wise  Policy 


Contents.  xvii 

Eesulted  in  Many  Desertions — President  George   AVasliington's  Coachman   an 
Ex-Hessian  Soldier. 


CHAPTER     XXVI. 

Washington's  March  From  Trenton  To  Morristown — The  Battles  Of 
AssHNPiNK  And  Princeton — The  American  Army  Encamped  At 
Plvckamin — Death  And  Burial  of  Captain  William  Leslie.  371- 
389. 
Cornwallis  Marches  his  Army  to  the  Delaware — The  Americans  Hold  the 
British  in  Check  on  the  Banks  of  Assunpink  Creek — Washington's  Army  Steals 
Away  under  Cover  of  the  Night  of  January  2 — Some  Descrijition  of  the  Com- 
mands Forming  this  Little  Army — The  Battle  of  Princeton — Why  so  Many 
Commisssioned  Officers  Were  Killeil — Captain  William  Leslie  of  the  iSeventeenth 
British  Regiment  Fatally  Wounded — John  Witherspoon,  the  President  of 
Princeton  College  and  the  Earl  of  Leven — Surgeon  Benjamin  Rush  takes  Charge 
of  the  Wounded  Leslie — His  Previous  Acquaintance  with  That  OflBcer's  Family 
— The  Exhausted  Condition  of  the  American  Army  Prevents  an  Attack  on 
Howe's  Base  of  Supplies  at  New  Brunswick — Washington  Marches  Up  the  Val- 
ley of  the  Millstone  Seeking  the  Protection  of  the  Hill  Country — The  Encamp- 
ment at  Millstone  on  the  Night  of  January  3 — -The  Army  Reaches  Pluckamin  on 
the  Afternoon  of  Saturday  the  4 — Leslie  Dies  on  Entering  the  Village — Inci- 
dents of  the  Encampment — One  Thousand  Laggards  Rejoin  the  Army — The 
Troops  Spent  Sunday,  at  Pluckamin — The  Country-People  Flock  to  the  Village 
— 230  Prisoners  in  the  Lutheran  Church — Aaron  Malick  Visits  the  Camp — 
Leslie  Is  buried  With  the  Honors  of  War — Captain  Stryker's  Troop  of  Light- 
horse  Captures  Cornwal lis' Baggage  Wagons — The  Array  Breaks  Camp  on  the 
Morning  of  the  6th,  and  Readies  Morristown  that  Evening — Formation  of  the 
Column  and  Line  of  March. 


CHAPTER     XXVII. 

Washington's   Army  at  Morristown   in   the  Winter   and   Spring  of 
1777 — The  Old  Farm  on  a  Militaby  Thoroughfare.    390-407. 

Bustle  and  Activity  in  Bedminster — Continental  Officers  at  the  "Old  Stone 
House  " — Washington  in  Somerset — Farmers  Made  Welcome  at  Morristown 
Camp — The  Different  Spirit  Animating  British  and  American  Soldiers — Form- 
ing a  New  Army — Where  Different  Generals  Quartered  at  Morristown — Festivi- 
ties in  Camp — The  Death  and  Military  Funerals  of  Colonels  Hitchcock  and  Ford 
— General  and  Mrs.  Washington  Meet  at  Pluckamin — What  Ladies  Were  in 
Camp — Mrs.  Washington's  Expenses  in  Going  to  and  from  Virginia — Successful 
Military  Enterprises  in  January — Washington  Orders  the  Disaffected  to  Deliver 
up  their  British  Amnesty  Papers — Peter  Melick's  Political  Change  of  Heart — 
DifTerent  Cantonments  in  New  Jersey — Somerset  Maidens  and  the  Handsome 
Major  Burr — The  Military  Attainments  of  General  Greene — His  Division 
Moves  to  Basking  Ridge — He  Quarters  at  Lord  Stirling's — The  Ladies  of  the 
Household  and  their  Guests — Governor  Livingston's  Three  Bright  Daughters 
at  the  Stirling  Mansion — Revolutionary  Society  at  Basking  Ridge — The  Second 
Establishment  of  New  Jersey — Colonel  Daniel  Morgan  Arrives  from  Virginia — 
The  Military  Record  of  this  Jerseyman. 
B 


xviii  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

CHAPTER     XXVIII. 

The  Continental  Army  in  Somerset  County  in  the  Spring  and  Sum- 
mer OF  1777 — Scenes  and  Incidents  at  Bound  Brook  and  Middle- 
brook — British  '  Efforts  to  March  to  the  Delaware  Defeated. 
408-426. 
Fighting  at  Bound  Brook — General  Lincoln  Narrowly  Escapes  Capture — Brig- 
adier-General Muhlenberg  Reaches  Morristown — German  Lutherans  Give  the 
Parson-Soldier  a  Warm  Welcome — He  Visits  the  "Old  Stone  House" — Dominie 
Muhlenberg  in  Virginia — Hunting  with  Washington — He  Becomes  a  Political 
as  Well  as  a  Religious  Leader — Is  Commissioned  Colonel  of  the  Eighth  Virginia 
Regiment — His  Farewell  Sermon — A  Dramatic  Incident — His  Military  Record 
— The  British  Display  Activity  in  Their  Camps — The  New  American  Army  and 
Its  Generals — Colonel  Clement  Biddle  and  His  Wife — The  Continental  Array 
Takes  Possession  of  the  Heights  in  the  Rear  of  Bound  Brook — Camp  Middle- 
brook  Established — Cider  Vinegar  as  a  Remedy  for  Fever — The  Campaign  Sud- 
denly Opens — Howe  Advances  in  Force  from  New  Brunswick — His  Endeavor  to 
Entice  Washington  from  His  Stronghold — Abandons  the  Attempt  to  Reach 
Philadelphia  by  Land — Falls  Back  to  New  Brunswick  and  Thence  to  Amboy — 
Cireene,  Muhlenberg,  Wayne,  and  Morgan  in  Pursuit — Washington  Advances  to 
New  Market — Howe  by  a  Rapid  Flank  Movement  Vainly  Endeavors  to  Sur- 
round the  Continental  Army — Lord  Stirling  and  Morgan  Fight  the  Enemy  at 
Plainfield  and  Woodbridge — Howe,  Outgeneraled  in  Every  Movement,  Evacu- 
ates the  State  on  June  30 — The  British  Embark  on  Transports — Anxiety  Lest 
Howe  Should  Combine  with  Burgoyne — Washington  Marches  to  the  Hudson — 
The  Fleet  Sails  out  of  "the  Hook" — The  Continental  Army  Hurries  Toward 
the  Delaware — Muhlenberg,  Commanding  Greene's  Division,  Marches  Through 
Bedminster — Sword  and  Holster  versus  Prayer-Book  and  Sermon — After  a  Long 
Delay  the  Fleet  Enters  Chesapeake  Bay — The  Army  Bids  Good-bye  to  New  Jer- 
sey for  that  Year. 

CHAPTER     XXIX. 

The  State  op  Religion  in  New  Jersey  in   the    Eighteenth   Century 
— The  Effect  of  the  Revolution  on  Public  Morals— The  Strong 
Dutch  Reformed  and  Presbyterian  Congregations  of  Bedminster 
— Curious  Church  Cu.stoms  and  Practiceis.    427-447. 
The  Continental  Army  Marches  Down  the  Delaware  to  the  Collision  on  the 
Brandywine — The  Reader  Abandons   Historic  Figures  for  the  Companionship 
of  Simpler  Forms  of  Humanity — Bedminister  People  Are  Not  Checked  in  Their 
Ordinary  Pursuits   by  the  War — Rigid  Views  Held  by  Our  Ancestors  As  to 
Amusements — The    Low   Condition   of  Religion   Early   in  the  Century — The 
Preaching  of  Frelinghuysen,  Dickinson,  Whitefield,  Edwards  and  Others  Ani- 
mates the  People  to  a  More  Vital'Piety — The  Rerolution  Has  an   Unfriendly 
Influence  on  Religious  Afi'airs — Church  Edifices  Used  for  War  Purposes — The 
R.   D.   and   Pres.   Congregations   Hold  Strongly  Together — The  Patriotism  of 
Domine  Hardenberg  and  the  Reward  for  His  Arrest — Intellectual  and  Educa- 
tional Influences  of  the  Pulpit — Sunday  at  the  Bedminster  Dutch  Church  in  the 
Olden  Time — Introduction  of  Singing  by  Note  Strenuously  Opposed — Sunday  a 
Dreary   Day   for  Children — How    Sunday    was    Observed   in   Ashbel    Green's 
Family — Ministers    and     Church    Members    Oppose    .Sunday    Schools — Aaron 


Contents.  xix 

Malick's  Church  Connections— Reverend  John  Eodgers  Supplies  Lamington 
Pres.  Pulpit ;  His  Character  and  War  Experiences— Presbyterians  During  the 
Revolution- The  Sacrifices  and  Sufferings  of  Its  Clergy  and  Laity— Sunday 
at  Lamington  Church— Cnrious  Practices  and  Observances— Betty  McCoy's 
Appetite  and  Piety— The  Elders  Take  a  Drink  with  the  Minister  Between  Ser- 
vices— An  Installation  Ball. 


CHAPTER     XXX. 

Revolutionary  Events  of  1777  and  1778— Washington's  Army  Again 
AT  Camp  Middlebrook  in  the  Winter  and  Spring  of  1779— Inter- 
esting Incidents  of  the  Encampment.  448-460. 
The  Advantages  Reaped  by  the  Americans  in  the  Campaigns  of  1777 
and  1778— Burgoyne's  Surrender  and  the  French  Alliance— The  Enemy's 
Retreat  Across  the  Jerseys— The  Battle  of  Monmouth — Curious  Scenes  at  the 
Sandy  Hook  Embarkation— Condition  of  the  Country  at  the  Close  of  1778 — 
Washington,  with  Eight  Brigades  of  Infantry,  the  Artillery  and  Some  Separate 
Commands,  Winters  in  Xew  Jersey— The  British  make  a  Futile  Effort  to  Recap- 
ture Burgoyne's  Cannon— Camps  Middlebrook  and  Pluckamin  Established  in 
December — Washington  Quarters  at  the  Wallace  flouse  at  Somerville — Mrs. 
Washington  Joins  her  Husband  in  Camp— Guests  at  Headquarters— The  Daily 
Dinner  an  Affair  of  Ceremony- Table  Service  and  Appointments — Interesting 
Facts  as  to  Household  Manners  and  Customs — The  Open  Winter  and  Warm 
Spring  of  1779 — Parson  General  Muhlenberg  Commands  Putnam's  Division — 
How  Soldier's  Log  Huts  were  Constructed — Muhlenberg  Gives  a  Ball  and 
Supper  on  New  Year's  Night — Where  the  Different  Generals  Quartered— Uni- 
versal Testimony  as  to  General  Greene's  ability — Derrick  Van  Veghten,  the 
aged  Patriot — Mrs.  Greene's  Brilliant  Qualities  Attract  Many  Visitors  to  the 
Van  Veghten  House — Middlebrook  Tavern — Mad  Anthony  Wayne's  Encamp- 
ment on  the  Weston  Road— This  Officer's  Reputation  in  Somerset. 


CHAPTER     XXXI. 

The  Artillery-  Park  at  Pluckamin — General  and  Mrs.  Knox  at  the 
Van  der  Veer  House — The  French  Alliance  Fete — General 
Steuben  at  Bound  Brook.  461-473. 
An  Attractive  Military  Village — The  Capacious  .\cademy  and  Its  Uses — The 
Artillery  Officers  and  Men  are  Uniformed  in  Black  and  Red — .\  Popular  Error 
Corrected  as  to  Revolutionary  Uniforms — How  the  Different  Regiments  Under 
Washington  were  Dressed — General  Knox  Quarters  with  Jacobus  Van  der  Veer 
near  Bedminster  Church — His  Popularity  in  the  Vicinity — Mrs.  Knox  Spends 
the  Winter  with  Her  Husband — Social  Intercourse  at  the  Van  der  Veer  House 
— Two  Young  Lady  Visitors  from  Boston — Tea  Drinkings  and  Hops  at  the 
Artillery  Park — The  Grand  Celebration  on  the  Anniversary  of  the  French 
Alliance — Washington,  his  Staff  and  Escort,  Reach  the  Park  at  Three  o'clock — 
Mrs.  Washington  and  the  President  of  Congress  Arrive  in  a  Coach  and  Four — 
Distinguished  Guests — The  Charms  of  Lady  Kitty  Stirling  Attract  William 
Duer  to  the  F^te^The  Banquet  in  the  Academy — Balls  in  the  Olden  Time — 
Washington  Opens  the  Dance  with  Mrs.  Knox — -Judge  Linn's  Daughter  and 
the  General  in  a  Stately  Minuet — The  Society  Reporter  in  Revolutionary  Days 


XX  The  Stokt  of  an  Old  Farm. 

— The  Death  of  Mrs.  Knox's  Infant  Daughter  in  July— The  Bigotry  of  the  Con- 
sistory of  the  D.  R.  Congregation  Prevents  tlie  Burial  of  the  Child  in  the  Grave- 
yard— Drills  and  Inspections  at  Camp  Middlebrook — General  Steuben  as  a 
Disciplinarian — His  Distinguished  Appearance — He  Quarters  at  the  Staats  House, 
Below  Bound  Brook— Entertainnjents  at  this  Old  Mansion. 


CHAPTER     XXXII. 

Festivities  and  Ceremonies  at  Camp  Middlebrook — The  French  Min- 
ister, M.  Gerard,  and  the  Spanish  Envoy,  Don  Juan  de  Miralles, 
Visit  Washington— The  Grand  Review  in  Their  Honor.  474-492. 
Social  Intercourse  in  the  Army — Frequent  Reunions  at  the  Different  Head- 
quarters— Mrs.  Greene's  Guests  and  Their  Amusements — Tea  Drinkings  and 
Little  Dances  at  the  Van  Veghten  House — The  Close  Friendships  of  Cornelia 
Lott  and  Mrs.  Greene — Brilliant  Young  Men  Connected  with  the  Army — Colo- 
nels Tilghman  and  Hamilton — Captain  Colfax  and  Washington's  Life  Guard — 
Colonel  Scammell's  Great  Sacrifice — Lady  Visitors  at  Washington's  Headquar- 
ters— Light  Horse  Harry  Lee  at  Phil's  Hill — Philip  Van  Horn  and  His  Five 
Handsome  D,aughters— The  Arrival  of  M.  Gerard  and  Don  -Juan  de  Miralles — 
The  Spanish  Envoy  and  His  Mission — The  Army  Parades  in  their  Honor — A 
Gala  Occasion  for  Old  Bound  Brook — The  Cirand  Stand  and  the  Costumes  of  its 
Occupants — The  Appearance  Presented  by  Washington,  His  Generals,  and  Guests 
on  the  Field — Disposition  of  the  Troops — Evolutions  and  Field  Manoeuvres  of  the 
Army — Enthusiasm  of  the  Multitude  when  the  Battalions  Pay  the  Marching 
Salute — ,'\.fter  the  Review  Steuben  Entertains  Washington,  the  Foreign  Guests 
and  Sixty  Officers — Merriment  and  Hilarity  at  the  Banquet  Under  the  Trees — 
The  Clever  Young  Men  of  the  Baron's  Military  Family — Indians  in  Camp — Five 
Soldiers  Sit  on  their  Coffins  Under  the  Gallows — The  Jersey  Brigade  in  the 
Indian  Campaign — In  July  the  Troops  Break  Camp  and  March  to  the  Hudson. 


CHAPTER     XXXIII. 

The  Wedding  of  William  Dder  and  Lady  Kitty  Stirling — Prince- 
ton College  in  the  Revolution — The  Famous  Raid  of  the 
Queen's  Rangers  Through  the  Raritan  Valley.  493-510. 
Wedding  Festivities  at  Basking  Ridge — Civic  and  Military  Guests — -How 
Lord  Stirling  Lost  His  New  Jersey  Property — Princeton  College  Has  Its  First 
Commencement  Since  the  Outbreak  of  the  War — Nassau  Hall  and  the  Presby- 
terian Church  Stripped  by  the  Enemy — The  Graduating  Class  of  1783 — Wash- 
ington and  Continental  Congress  Listen  to  the  Valedictorian,  Ashbel  Green — 
Echoes  from  the  Walls  of  "  Old  Nassau  " — The  Name  Occasioned  by  the  Humil- 
ity of  a  Royal  Governor — The  Founding  of  Presbyterianism  in  New  Jersey — 
Some  Early  Ecclesiastic  History — In  1747  the  College  Removed  from  Elizabeth- 
town  to  Newark — Reverend  Aaron  Burr,  Its  Second  President — The  Beginning 
of  Things  at  Princeton  in  1757 — The  Simplicity  of  the  College  Curriculum  in 
■Colonial  Times — In  October,  1779,  the  Queen's  American  Rangers  Raid  Through 
the  Raritan  Valley — Major  Robert  Rogers,  the  First  Commander  of  This  Parti- 
san Corps — Lieut. -Col.  John  Graves  Simcoe  Assumes  Command  in  1777 — This 
Raid  Conceded  to  Have  Been  a  Brilliant  Military  Enterprise — Its  Object  and 
the  Details  of  the  March — Destruction  of  Washington's  Boats  and  the  Dutch 


Contents.  xxi 

Reformed  Chiircli  at  Van  Vegliten's  Bridge — The  Court  House  and  Two  Dwell- 
ings Burned  at  Millstone — The  Rangers  Meet  Disaster  in  an  Ambuscade — Sim- 
coe  Is  Made  a  Prisoner — The  Raiders  Charge  Some  Mounted  Militia-men,  and 
Kill  Capt.  Peter  V.  Voorliees — They  Escape  to  South  River,  Joining  Their  Sup- 
porting Body  of  Infantry — Jonathan  Ford  Morris'  Services  to  Col.  Simcoe — The 
Sequence  of  This  Raid  Was  the  Founding  of  Somerville. 


CHAPTER     XXXIV. 

The  Cold  Winter  of  1780 — Washington's  Army  Again  at  Morris- 
town — Varied  and  Interesting  Camp  Experiences — Fighting  at 
Connecticut  Farms  and  Springfield.  511-527. 
The  Current  of  Bedminster  Domestic  Life — The  Army  Goes  into  Winter 
Quarters  Between  Morristown  and  Mendham — Family  Arrangements  at  Head- 
quarters— The  Main  Encampment  on  Kimball  Hill — Watch  Towers,  Beacons 
and  Alarm  Guns — Nearly  Five  Months  of  Snow — The  Frozen  Raritan  a  High- 
way for  Teams — The  Great  January  Storm — Citizens  and  Militia  Fighting  Snow 
Drifts — The  Army  in  an  Extremity  for  Food  and  Clothing — Some  Curious 
Examples  of  Currency  Depreciation — Lord  Stirling's  Unsuccessful  Enterprise  on 
Staten  Island — Elizabethtown  Surprised  and  the  Presbyterian  Church  Burned — 
Social  Features  of  Morristown  Camp  Life— Elizabeth  Schuyler's  Arrival  Causes 
a  Flutter  in  Military  Circles — Colonel  Tilghman  Describes  her  Fascinations — 
Her  Engagement  to  Colonel  Hamilton — Distinguished  Foreign  Visitors  at 
Morristown — Another  Grand  Review  and  Public  Ball.  Don  Juan  de  Miralles 
Dies  at  Headquarters — The  Ostentation  and  Display  at  his  Funeral — Dissatisfac- 
tion of  the  Soldiers  at  Remaining  so  Long  Unpaid — A  War  of  Plunder  on  the 
Inhabitants  Threatened — Dramatic  Scenes  at  an  Execution — Fighting  at  Con- 
necticut Farms  and  Springfield — The  Youthful  but  Gray-haired  Captain  Steele 
Commands  Mrs.  Washington's  Guard — Members  of  Congress  as  Volunteers  and 
Trencher  men — The  Jersey  Militia  Cover  Themselves  with  Glory^ — Breaking 
Camp  in  Kimball  Hill — Arrival  of  the  French  Army— The  Treachery  of  Arnold 
and  the  Death  of  Andre. 


CHAPTER     XXXV. 

The    Mutinies  of  The  Pennsylvania  and  New   Jersey    Lines — The 
French  Army  in  Bedminster  on  the  Way  To  Virginia— The  Hang- 
ing OF  Captain  Joshua  Huddy-  and  the  Case  of  Captain  Asgill. 
528-5^6. 
The   Last   of  Campaigning   in   Somerset   and   Morris  Counties — The   Peun. 
Troops  Mutiny  and  March  for  Philadelphia   under  their   Xon-Commissioned 
Officei-s — The  Country  People  Alarmed  Lest  Depredations  be  Committed- -Gen. 
Wayne's   Admirable  Behavior  Prevents   Excesses — Sir     Henry  Clinton   Sends 
Two  Tories,  Offering  the  Rebels  liis  Support,  and  Rewards  for  Desertion — The 
Spies  Delivered  by  the  Soldiers  to  American  Authorities — Congress  meets  the 
Insurgents  at  Princeton  and  Adjusts  Their  Difficulties — Two  Weeks  Later  the 
New  Jersey  Line  Mutinies  at  Pomptoh — The  Revolters  Are  Subdued,  and  their 
Ringleaders  Punished — Gates'  Disasters,  and  Greene's  Successes  at  the  South — 
La  Fayette's  Rapid  March  Through  New  Jersey — The  American  and  French 
Armies  Combine  in  July  on  The  Hudson — How  Washington  Deluded  .Sir  Henry 
Clinton— The  Operations  of  Cornwallis  in   Virginia — In  August    the    Allied 


xxii  The  Story  of  ax  Old  Farm. 

Armies  Suddenly  and  Rapidly  March  Southward — The  French  Army  in  Somer- 
set— Itinerary  and  Halts — The  Fine  Appearance  of  The  Foreign  Troops  Fill 
the  Country  People  with  Wonder — These  Beaux  Sabreurs  of  Lauzun's  Legion 
Turn  the  Heads  of  American  Girls^The  Fall  of  Yorktown — The  Provisional 
Treaty  of  Peace  November,  1872 — The  Story  of  Captain  Josiah  Huddy  and  his 
Murder  by  Captain  Lippencott — Washington  Decides  upon  Retaliation — 
C'apt.  Asgill  of  the  British  Foot  Guards,  a  Prisoner  Paroled  on  Limits,  is  sent 
to  the  Jersey  Line  at  Chatham  for  Execution — His  Approaching  fate  Enlists  the 
Sympathies  of  Europe  and  America — By  Order  of  Congress  in  November,  He 
is  Unconditionally  set  at  Liberty —  Why  This  Was  Done. 


CHAPTER     XXXVI. 

Peace — Prostration  of  the  Country  After  the  War — American  Loy- 
alists AND  Their  Experiences — The  Inquisition  Against  William 
Melick,  and  the  Confiscation  of  his  Property.  547-562. 
Cessation  of  Hostilities  April  18,  1783 — Final  Treaty  of  Peace  Signed  in 
Paris  September  3 — The  Disbanding  of  the  Army — The  Country's  Ungrateful 
Treatment  of  its  Soldiers — The  Pennsylvania  Line  Threaten  Congress — The 
National  Legislature  Forced  to  Retire  from  Philadelphia  to  Princeton — Instant 
and  Unbounded  Prosperity  Does  not  Follow  tlie  Close  of  the  War — The  Need 
of  a  Staple  and  Harmonious  Government — The  Confederation's  Fragile  Tie 
Almost  Broken — New  Jersey's  Eflbrts  to  Secure  Greater  Powers  for  the  General 
Government — Doctor  John  Witherspoon  Labors  to  that  End — The  Deterioration 
of  the  Character  of  Congressmen— The  Story  of  the  Conception,  Growth,  Adop- 
tion, and  Ratification  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States — New  Jersey  an 
Important  Factor  in  Founding  the  New  Government — The  Division  of  Families 
on  Political  Lines — Retributions  Meted  out  to  Loyalists— Aaron  Malick's  Letter 
to  His  Tory  Cousins — Godfrey  Melick's  Son  William,  Adhering  to  the  Crown, 
had  Entered  the  British  Army — In  1784  He  and  His  Brother  John  Emigrate  to 
New  Brunswick,  Canada — They  Become  Valued  and  Honored  Citizens  of  St . 
John,  N.  B. — Some  Account  of  Loyalists  During  and  After  the  War — The 
Dastardly  Acts  of  a  Few  Fasten  a  Stigma  on  the  Whole  Class — Whigs  and  Tor- 
ies Alike  Intolerent  of  Each  Others'  Convictions — The  Number  Disaffected  in 
New  Jersey — A  List  of  the  State's  Provincial  Officers  in  the  English  .Service — 
The  Inability  of  the  General  Government,  After  the  War,  to  Influence  the 
States  to  Act  Leniently  Toward  Tories — Many  Thousands  are  forced  to  Fly  the 
Country — What  England  Did  for  Her  Loyal  American  Subjects — The  Confisca- 
tion of  William  Melick's  Estate — His  Cousin  Captain  Andrew  Malick  Serves  as 
a  Juror  on  the  Inquisition — Interesting  Documents  Relating  to  the  Proceedings. 


CHAPTER    XXXYII. 

The  "Old  Stone  House''  in  1788 — The  First  Bedminster  Tavern — John 
Malick,  Innkeeper — The  Practice  op  Medicine  in  the  Last  Cen- 
tury.   563-575. 
Fishing  in  .Shallower  Waters— Family  Changes  in  the  "Old  Stone  House" — 
A  Survey  of  the  Household  in  178S — Bedminster  Tavern  Built   in  1786 — John 
Malick,  the  Revolutionary  Soldier  As  Innkeeper — Who  Met  in  His  Tap  Room 
and  on  His  Porch — The  Bill  That  Doctor  William  A.  McKissack  Presented  to 
John  Malick — A  County  Practitioner  of  the  Last  Century — The  Idiosyncracies 


Contents.  xxiii 

of  John's  Physician — A  History  of  Medicine  in  Xew  Jersey— Ministers  As  Phy- 
sicians—Old Woman  Doctors  and  Their  Herbs— Prejudice  and  Female  Modesty 
Retard  the  Science  of  Obstetrics — Medical  Literature — John  Wesley's  Extra- 
ordinary Volume  on  Physic — Medical  Progress  in  New  Jersey  Dates  from  the 
French  and  England  Wars — Mode  of  Education  in  the  Last  Century — Some 
Curious  Medical  Indentures— Lack  of  Colleges  and  Schools— Public  Sentiment 
Against  Dissection  and  Autopsies — The  Introduction  of  the  Study  of  Anatomy — 
The  Few  Drug  Stores  and  Chemist  Shops  Before  the  Revolution— Generous 
Doses  of  Obnoxious  Mixtures— The  People  Will  Pay  for  Drugs  but  Not  for 
Visits — Copious  Bleeding  Resorted  to  on  All  Occations — Small-poi  the  Scourge 
of  the  Last  Century — Inoculation  and  Vaccination  Arrest  Its  Ravages — An 
Extraordinary  Wedding  at  the  ''  Old  Stone  House  "—Charlotte's  Cousin,  Mar- 
garet Gibbs,  Becomes  the  Fifth  Wife  of  Daniel  Cooper — An  Inflexible  Judge- 
Sentences  His  Own  Son  to  Execution— How  Benjamin  Cooper  Escaped  the  Gal- 
lows. 


CHAPTER     XXXVIII. 

Some  Old  Manuscripts  akd  their  Stoky — The  Militia  and  General 
Trainings— County  Merchants  of  the  Olden  Time — Sloop  and 
Stage  Coach  Travel  at  the  Close  of  the  Century.  576-692. 
Examining  Old  Papers  Found  in  the  Stone  House— One  of  William  Livings- 
ton's Earliest  Gubernatorial  Signatures— Civic  and  Military  Commissions — The 
New  Jersey  Militia  after  the  Revolution — The  Magnificence  of  the  Rural 
Soldier — Scenes  at  General  Training  at  Pluckamin— Drills,  Ceremonies,  Games 
and  Horse  Races— Plenty  to  Eat  and  Drink,  and  Sometimes  a  Fight— The  Xew 
Militia  Laws  of  1815— The  Muster  Rolls  of  Daniel  Melick's  Company  of  Infan- 
try in  1806 — Who  composed  the  1st  Battalion,  '2d  Regiment,  Somerset  Brigade- 
Lieut.  William  Fulkerson  Buys  the  Bedminster  Tavern  Property  of  Aaron 
Malick  in  1800 — John  Malick  Removes  to  Schoharie  County,  N.  Y. — A  Wool 
Contract  in  1784  and  the  Value  of  Sheep — The  Xumber  of  Notes  and  Bonds 
Given  in  the  Last  Century — The  Want  of  a  Circulating  Medium — Introduction 
of  Financial  Institutions — Country  Storekeeping  in  Somerset — John  Boylan, 
George  I.  Bergen  and  John  Hunt — Some  Interesting  Old  Bills — Aaron  and 
Daniel  Melick's  Frequent  Visits  to  Xew  Brunswick— Bills  of  What  they  Pur- 
chased There— Xew  Brunswick's  Prosperity  at  the  Close  of  the  Century — 
Wagon  Traffic  Across  the  State— An  Endless  Procession  of  Loaded  Teams  Enter 
the  City — Some  of  Xew  Brunswick's  Merchants — Carrying  Trade  of  Sloops — How 
the  Passenger  Sloops  were  Constructed— The  Industries  of  Raritan  Landing — 
The  Introduction  of  Steamboats— The  Dangers  and  Delays  of  Travel  in  1794— 
The  Palmy  Days  of  Stage  Coaching — Thirty  Coaches  Reach  Xew  Brunswick  at 
One  Time— The  Bustle  and  Activity  their  Arrival  Creates — Ayres'  Tavern  at 
Dunham's  Corners— The  Landlord's  Pretty  Daughter. 


CHAPTER     XXXIX. 

The  Old  Papers  Continue  Their  Story — The  Reverend  John  Dukyea 
OF  the  Bedminster  R.  D.  Church— The  Tax  On  Carriage.? — Somer- 
set's Paupers — Daniel  Melick  Goes  to  Georgia— Slaveholding  On 
The  Old  Farm.    593-612. 
The  Reverend  John  Duryea  Collects  his  Salary  with  Difficulty— He  Soundly 

Berates  his  Congregation — Somerset's   Few   Carriages  in   the   Last   Century — 


xxiv  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

Aaron  Malick  Pays  a  Government  Tax  for  the  Use  of  One — The  People's  Pro- 
test Against  this  Impost — How  Somerset's  Paupers  Were  Treated — Aaron  and 
Daniel  as  Overseers  of  the  Poor — Some  Interesting  Bills  and  Papers  Showing 
Their  Care — Snuff  for  the  Widow  Bidderman,  Pork  for  Joseph  Nicholson,  and 
a  Shirt  in  which  To  Bury  Thomas  Gary — Xicholas  Arrosraith  Presents  a  Bill 
to  the  Overseers — All  About  This  Worthy  Citizen — Dr.  Robert  Henry  and  his 
Care  of  the  Poor — His  Revolutionary  Record — Lawyer  Thomas  P.  Johnson 
Argues  and  Loses  a  Case  for  the  Bedminster  Overseers — In  1792  Daniel  Melick 
Goes  on  a  Trading  Voyage  to  Georgia — Cutting  Off  Negroes'  Ears  and  Branding 
their  Foreheads — Raffles  and  Horse  Races — He  Boards  at  the  Widow  Spencer's 
at  Savannah — The  Goods  He  Buys  and  Sells — The  Voyage  Home  On  the  "Ship 
Jenny  " — In  1786  Aaron  Malick  Buys  Yombo,  His  First  Slave — His  Wife's 
Quaker  Nature  Rebels  Against  Slaveholding — Unprepossessing  Yombo,  and  his 
Idiosyncracies — A  Survey  of  the  Occupants  of  the  Old  Stone  House  in  1797 — 
Aaron  Buys  From  General  John  Taylor  a  Whole  Family  of  Slaves — Honest 
Black  Dick,  Nance,  and  their  Many  Children — Death  of  Charlotte  Malick — 
Slave  Life  on  the  Old  Farm — Pleasures  and  Privileges  of  the  Bondspeople — 
Dick  and  Nance  Give  a  Christmas  Party — They  and  Their  Flock  go  to  "General 
Training," — The  Death  and  Funeral  of  Aaron  Malick — His  Will  Directs  the 
Future  Manumission  of  Some  of  his  Slaves — Scenes  at  the  Vendue  of  his 
Effects — Dick,  Nance,  and  their  Youngest  Child  are  Bought  by  Daniel  Melick — 
The  Distribution  of  the  Other  Negroes — Daniel  at  the  Head  of  the  House- 
hold. 


CHAPTER     XL. 

What  the  Old  Papers  Have  to  Say  About  the  Drinking  Habits  of 
Our  Forefathers— The  Last  Cenury's  Tidal  Wave  of  Intemper- 
ance— National  Reform — Farewell  to  the  Old  Farm.  613-625. 
The  Story  of  the  Growth  of  Intemperance  in  the  American  Colonies — Ancient 
and  Modern  Laws  Concerning  Drunkenness  Compared — Intemperance  the  Grad- 
ual Growth  of  Many  Hundred  Years — Its  Worse  Stage  is  Reached  at  the  Close 
of  the  Last  and  the  Beginning  of  the  Present  Century — The  Introduction  of 
Rum  and  Apple-Jack  into  the  American  Colonies — Sweet,  Rich  Brandies  are 
Distilled  from  Peaches,  Pears,  Plums  and  Persimmons — Apple-Jack  Becomes  the 
New  Jersey  Standard  Tipple — The  First  Still  for  its  Manufacture  is  Set  up  in 
Morris  County — Some  Curious  Examples  of  the  Extent  of  the  Drinking  Vice — 
Tipsy  Ciuests  Dance  at  Weddings,  Tipsy  Mourners  Reel  at  Funerals — Even 
Clergymen  do  not  Escape  the  Contagion — Drinking  at  Installations  and  at  Con- 
sociation Meetings — Ministers  as  Distillers — The  Cultivation  of  Lands  Neglected 
and  Soil  Planted  with  Orchards — Eight  Distilleries  in  One  Township  Along  the 
Raritan — Early  Efforts  to  Stem  this  Overwlielming  Torrent  of  Human  Folly — 
The  Lamentations  and  Warnings  of  John  Wesley,  John  Adams,  and  Israel  Put- 
nam— Doctor  Benjamin  Rush  Becomes  the  Pioneer  of  Temperance  Reform — His 
Protest,  in  1777  Against  the  Government  Supplying  Liquor  to  the  Troops — In 
1785  He  Issues  His  Famous  Temperance  Tract — The  Doctor's  Tireless  Energy 
in  the  Cause  Enlists  Sympathy  of  Others — Lyman  Beecher's  Powerful  Sermons 
for  Reform — The  First  'Temperance  Society  in  1808— The  Progress  of  the 
Movement  Exceedingly  Slow — An  Unpropitious  Time  for  Instilling  Restrictive 
Ideas  in  the  People's  Minds — Crude  Views  as  to  Moderate  Drinking — It  is  1826 
Before  the  Cause  is  Recognized  as  a  Power  for  Good — -The  Rearing  of  the  Grand 
Superstructure  of  National  Reform — Farewell  to  the  Old  Farm — What  Our 
Searches  Have  Revealed — A  Final  Survey  of  its  Generations. 


ILI.USTK^V  IDIOMS. 

BASTEBN  GABLE  OF  THE  OLD  STONE  HOUSE Frontispiece 

BEDMINSTBR  CHURCH taci  ug  page  6 

EVANGELICAL  HEAD-OHUECH,  BENDOBF facing  page  92 

THE  OLD  STONE  HOUSE facing  page  154 

[See  ADDENDA,  p.  713.] 


"  This  field  is  so  spncious,  that  it  were  easy  for  a  man  to  lose  him- 
self in  it:  and  if  I  should  spend  all  my  pilgrimage  in  this  walk,  my  time 
would  sooner  end  than  my  way." 

— Bishop  Hall. 


THE  STORY  OF  AN  OLD  FARM 


OR 


Life  in  New  Jersey  in  the  Eighteenth  Century. 


CHAPTER     I. 

The  Peapack  Stage — Sunday  Homing  at  Bedminster  Church — 
A  Retired  Hamlet. 

THE  traveller  by  the  old  highway — the  jjost  or  stage  road — 
leading  from  Somerville  to  Peapack,  in  Somerset  county, 
New  Jersey,  will  remember  the  village  of  the  Lesser  Cross  Roads, 
which  faces  one  when  some  eight  miles  on  the  journey,  perched 
on  the  southerly  side  of  a  sloping  eminence. 

"One  of  those  little  places  that  have  run 

Half  up  the  hill  beneath  the  blazing  sun, 

And  then  sat  down  to  rest,  as  if  to  say, 
'  I  climb  no  farther  upward,  come  what  may  ! ' " 

Just  here  is  located  the  "  (?)ld  Farm,"  whose  story,  or  ratlier 
the  story  of  whose  early  settlers  and  their  contemporaries,  it  is 
purposed  to  chronicle.  Let  us  visit  this  little  hamlet  and  learn 
something  of  its  history,  and  of  the  generations  that  have  lived, 
toiled  and  died  amid  the  cheerful  hills  and  smiling  valleys  of 
the  rolling  country  north  of  the  village ;  for  it  is  the  gateway  of 
Somerset's  most  pleasing  regions — the  approach  to  scenes  of 
quiet  beauty  and  pastoral  loveliness  unsurpassed  in  this  portion 
of  New  Jersey. 

We  will  choose  one  of  those  generous   June   days  when  early 

summer  has  veiled  its  youthful  bloom  in  a  maze  of  leaf,  mystery 

and  shade.     That  our  approach  to  this  secluded  village  may  be 

with   an   humble   spirit,    in  harmony   with  the  rural  calm  of  its 

homely  atmosphere,  we  will  journey  down — or  rather   up — by 

the  travel-stained  stage-wagon  that  for  so  many  years  has  lum- 
1 


2  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

bered  out  of  Somerville  every  afteraoon  about  three  o'clock. 
Squeezing  in  on  the  front  seat  by  the  driver's  side,  our  legs  and 
feet  are  soon  seemingly  inextricably  entangled  with  mail  bags, 
bundles,  whiffletrees  and  the  horses'  tails.  Well !  the  stage 
is  "  loaded  up,"  three  on  a  seat — twelve  inside — with  quite  a 
mountain  of  luggage  piled  up  behind.  Rattling  down  the  main 
street,  and  turning  north  on  the  Peapack  road,  the  town,  with  its 
outlying  villas  standing  amid  parterres  of  flowers  and  shaded 
gardens,  is  soon  left  behind.  Pounding  over  a  wooden  bridge 
that  spans  a  little  stream  the  fair-ground  is  passed,  and  the  team 
settles  down  to  its  regulation  jog  of  five  miles  an  hour,  over 
the  pleasant  levels  of  Bridgewater  township.  On  either  side  lie 
well-tUled  fields,  rich  with  the  promise  of  bounteous  harvests. 
Barn-swallows  twitter  in  a  farmyard  hard  by  ;  a  kingfisher,  with 
a  loud  cry,  sails  away  at  oui"  approach,  and  another  little  tenant 
of  the  air  salutes  us  from  behind  a  hedge  with  a  flood  of  sweet 
harmony.  From  over  the  fences  come  the  sound  of  whetting 
scythes,  the  rattle  of  mowing  knives,  and  the  talk  and  laughter 
of  the  haymakers ;  while  the  breeze  for  miles  away  is  fragrant 
with  the  perfume  of  freshly  tossed  clover-cocks. 

Insensibly  the  passengers  grow  more  sociably  inclined  as  they 
exclaim  over  the  charming  weather,  the  rustic  beauty  of  the 
landscape,  and  the  sweet  sounds  of  nature  on  every  side.  Our 
driver  proves  to  be  loquacious,  and  familiar  with  all  the  gossip 
of  the  long  road  he  has  travelled  twice  daily  for  many  years,  so 
he  soon  has  his  passengers  in  animated  talk  as  to  the  news  of 
their  respective  neighborhoods.  Stop  after  stop  is  made  at  farm- 
houses and  cottages  by  the  roadside ;  now  to  leave  a  morning 
paper — twelve  hours  from  the  New  York  press — now  a  bundle 
or  package,  which  latter  has  to  be  fished  from  under  the  seats, 
calling  out  nervous  giggles  from  the  women,  with  numerous 
"  oh  mys !" — "  that's  my  foot !" — and  like  ejaculations.  Now 
and  then  some  one  is  "  taken  up,''  or  "  let  down,"  the  last  stop 
for  that  purpose  having  been  to  discharge  a  stout  farmer's  wife 
from  the  rear  seat  of  the  stage  ;  the  intervening  passengers  must 
need  crouch,  half  standing,  holding  down  the  backs  of  the  seats, 
while  she  wades  to  the  door,  dragging  after  her  a  large  news- 
paper parcel,  a  spreading  turkey-feather  fan,  and  a  huge  paper 
bandbox  encased  in  blue  checked  gingham.     This  impedimenta 


From  Somekville  to  Peapack.  3 

carries  in  its  wake  several  hats  and  belongings  of  her  fellow  trav- 
ellers. The  stout  woman  receives  a  warm  welcome  from  two 
buxom  girls  and  a  sunburned  farmer,  who  wait  behind  a  paling 
fence,  with  a  background  of  well-sweep,  rusty  clapboards,  and 
porch  o'erclambered  with  honeysuckle  and  June  roses.  The 
wide-open,  brown  eyes  of  the  shorter  and  plumper  girl  take  in 
with  lively  interest  each  occupant  of  the  stage.  While  leaning 
gracefully  over  the  gate,  the  sunlight  burnishing  her  rich  waves 
of  chestnut  hair,  the  maiden's  glances  rest  a  little  longer,  per- 
haps, on  the  younger  men  of  the  party.  But  her  glimpse  of  the 
travelling  world  is  transitory,  for  soon  our  Jehu,  having  collected 
his  fare,  has  returned  a  fat  wallet  to  his  trouser-leg,  and  climbed 
over  the  front  wheels  to  his  seat.  The  stage  rattles  on,  and 
reaching  a  short  incline  bounces  over  a  ''  thankee-marm,"  send- 
ing the  trunks  on  the  shackly  rack  behind  springing  in  air, 
and  the  rebound  almost  bumping  together  the  knees  and  chins  of 
those  of  us  on  the  front  seat. 

We  are  now  on  the  new  road — so  the  driver  tells  us.  There  is 
certainly  nothing  in  the  highway  peculiarly  applicable  to  new- 
ness, but  like  the  New  Forest  in  England,  or  Harper's  New 
Monthly  Magazine  in  New  York,  having  once  been  new  it  never 
can  grow  old.  Besides,  it  must  be  new — you  can  see  for  your- 
self the  old  road  meandering  otF  toward  the  foot  hills  on  the  east, 
taking  in  on  its  way  an  ancient  weather-beaten  tavern,  that  once 
did  a  flourishing  business.  But  this  ''cut  off"  was  opened  some 
thirty  years  ago,  leaving  the  old  hostelrie  stranded  in  the  shal- 
lows of  deserted  traffic.  Should  the  ghost  of  its  former  pro- 
prietor, the  genial  Bill  Allen,  ever  walk  its  crumbling  porches,  he 
could  easily  discern  across  the  fields  the  tide  of  travel  setting  along 
the  new  road,  which  once  paid  tribute  in  a  silvery  stream  to  his 
now  decaying  til!. 

By  and  by  the  horses  are  tugging  and  straining  up  the  long 
ascent  of  a  spur  of  the  ''Blue"  range  of  New  Jersey  hills,  which 
the  people  hereabouts  delight  in  calling  "the  mountains." 
Reaching  the  crest,  we  pause  for  a  breathing,  and  enjoy  an 
extended  view  of  a  charminglandscape,  richly  diversified  with  the 
variegated  hues  of  the  luxuriant  June  vegetation.  In  the  fore- 
ground lies  the  Revolutionary  village  of  Pluckamin;  church 
spires    rising   above   the   dense  foliage   of  the  clustering  trees. 


4  The  Stoet  of  an  Old  Farm. 

mark  the  biding  places  of  other  little  villages  that  dot  the  undu- 
lating western  plain;  while,  far  north,  binding  the  horizon,  are 
billows  of  verdure — the  swelling  lulls  and  green  valleys  of  Bed- 
minster  and  Peapack.  On  descending  the  hill  and  crossing 
Chambers  brook,  which  is  the  line  between  Bridgewater  and  Bed- 
minster  townships,  one  of  the  oldest  houses  of  the  neighborhood  is 
passed.  It  was  built  in  1756  by  an  Irishman  named  Laferty,  who 
afterwards  became  unpleasantly  notorious  as  the  father  of  a  very 
beautiful  and  profligate  daughter,  who  brought  upon  more  than 
one  prominent  family  in  this  part  of  Somerset  much  shame  and 
grief.  Her  son,  hung  in  Somerville  the  early  part  of  this  cen- 
tury, is  the  only  white  man  who  has  suffered  capital  punish- 
ment in  this  county  since  the  Revolution. 

Presently  the  stage  is  clattering  through  the  main  street  of 
Pluckamin,  and  draws  up  in  front  of  the  tavern*  door,  offering 
to  the  village  loungers  who  adorn  the  empty  dry-goods  boxes  in 
front  of  the  several  stories,  their  daily  ten  minute  dose  of  mild 
excitement.  Here  the  mails  are  changed,  and  we  embrace  the 
opportunity  to  stretch  our  legs  on  the  tavern  porch.  Some  of  the 
party,  "athirst  with  breezy  progression,"  disappear  inside,  in 
search  of  what  a  jocose  Californian  would  call  "  interior  decora- 
tions," but  in  the  vernacular  of  this  part  of  the  country  is 
known  as  "a  leetle  apple."  This  is  historic  ground.  On  the 
open  space  facing  us,  where  the  different  roads  converge,  Wash- 
ington, Knox,  Greene  and  the  conquerors  at  Princeton  have 
stood  about,  and  talked  over  the  needs  and  plans  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary army.  Many  of  the  ancient  buildings  in  this  vicinity 
are  unchanged,  save  by  the  picturesque  hand  of  time,  since  those 
doughty  days.  But  we  must  be  off! — the  horses  have  been  wat- 
ered, the  driver  is  on  his  seat.  While  telling  the  story  of  the 
"Old  Farm,"  we  shall  more  than  once  have  occasion  to  visit 
Pluckamin,  and  repeople  its  streets  with  almost  forgotten 
worthies,  with  whom  we  can  gossip  at  our  leisure  over  those 
stormy  days  of  long  ago. 

The  next  point  of  interest  on  the  route  is  the  North  Branch 
of  the  Raritan,  which  the  road  crosses  where  it  flows  through  a 
shady  glen,  near  Van  der  Veer's  mills.  The  banks  are  fringed 
with  forest    trees     whose   interlacing  branches  form  over    the 

*Since  destroyed  by  fire. 


Crossing  the  North  Branch.  5 

devious  stream  a  roof  of  almost  impenetrable  foliage.  At  times 
the  waters  brawl  over  the  shallows,  offering  to  thirsty  cattle  a 
convenient  and  picturesque  ford;  but  now,  owing  to  early  sum- 
mer rains,  the  river  is  brimming.  Rumbling  over  the  bridge 
we  hear  the  musical  sound  of  falling  waters,  and  looking  up 
under  the  overhanging  boughs  discover  the  torrent  plunging 
headlong  over  the  dam*  in  an  impetuous  flood.  The  cool  after- 
noon breeze  blowing  down  the  river  comes  to  us  laden  with  deli- 
cious, woodsy,  watery  odors,  which  quicken  our  recollections  and 
agitate  our  youthful  remembrances.  Again  we  are  boys,  with 
cork  dobbers,  buckshot  sinkers  and  hickory  poles,  angling  in 
the  pond  above  for  the  slippery  catfish,  the  darting  dace,  or  the 
elusive  sucker.  Featherbed  Lane  is  what  they  call  the  bit  of 
road  beyond  the  bridge.  Successive  years  have  brought  succes- 
sive loads  of  stone,  until  the  roadway  has  risen  above  the  low- 
lands on  either  side,  and  travel  is  no  longer  impeded  by  the 
annual  spring  freshets,  as  of  yore.  Time  was  when  just  here  and 
beyond  stood  a  fine  forest  of  over  four  hundred  acres;  but  that 
was  during  the  life  of  that  eccentric  genius.  Doctor  Henry  Van 
der  Veer,  who  was  blessed  with  the  good  old  English  prejudice 
against  the  felling  of  timber.  But  with  his  death  came  the 
iconoclastic  heir,  who  soon  robbed  the  estate  of  its  chief  pride 
and  glory.  Let  us  hope  that  the  Doctor's  rest  in  Bedminster 
churchyard  was  undisturbed  by  the  ring  of  the  woodsman's  axe, 
and  the  crash  of  the  fall  of  the  sturdy  oaks  he  loved  so  well.  Let 
us  hope,  too,  for  the  hastening  of  the  time  when  Somerset's  farm- 
ers may  learn  the  agricultural  and  climatic  value  of  timber,  and 
be  as  eager  to  set  out  new  patches  of  woodland  as  they  are  now 
to  denude  the  already  tree-impoverished  country. 

At  the  next  turn  in  the  road  we  are  suddenly  confronted  by 
the  venerable  church  of  Bedminster,  standing  with  stately  dig- 
nity overlooking  an  attractive  little  green.  No  bewildering  maze 
of  tower,  transept,  clerestory,  gable,  or  rich  ornamentation 
impresses  the  beholder.  It  is  an  oblong  wooden  structure  painted 
white,  with  green  blinds  covering  its  double  rows  of  square  cap- 
ped windows,  and  with  an  octagonal  tower  which  supports  a 
round-topped  cupola.  It  is  not,  however,  without  good  architect- 
ural  proportions,  or  a  general  effect  which   is  imposing;   in  fact, 

*Fire  and  flood  have  since  destroyed  botli  mill  and  waterpower. 


6  The  Stoky  of  an  Old  Farm. 

it  is  an  excellent  example  of  what  Emerson  calls  the  only  orig- 
inal type  of  American  architecture,  the  New  England  Meeting- 
House.  But  to  appreciate  what  a  religious  and  social  factor  is 
Bedminster  Church  in  this  well-ordered  community,  it  should  be 
visited  on  the  first  day  of  the  week — on  a  pleasant  Sunday 
morning,  when  a  quiet  spirit  broods  over  field  and  wood,  when 
even  busy  nature  seems  at  rest  and  filled  with  calm  repose.  But 
the  world  awakens,  when,  with  gentle  swell,  over  the  valleys  and 
echoing  hills  sounds  the  sweet  music  of  the  swinging  bell,  peal- 
ing from  the  belfry  windows,  the  old,  old  invitation,  Come  to 
prayer!  Come  to  prayer!  They  come,  these  country  worship- 
pers, from  farm,  from  village  and  from  mill;  they  come  on  foot, 
in  wagons,  on  horseback;  some  by  the  dusty  highways,  some 
over  the  peaceful  meadows,  some  through  the  shady  lanes — the 
immense  congregation  gathers.  Many  approach  the  sanctuary 
over  the  green,  stepping  from  the  elastic  sward  to  the  broad 
portico  which  hospitably  faces  the  portals.  Others,  leaving  the 
highway  at  the  rear  of  the  building,  enter  the  churchyard  through 
a  little  wicket,  and  following  a  foot  path  that  lies  in  and  out 
among  the  graves  and  winds  along  the  side  of  the  edifice  they 
reach  the  porch  through  a  second  gate.  Others,  loitering  among 
the  grassy  mounds,  read  the  crumbling  inscripiions  on  the 
ancient  headstones;  while  little  groups  of  twos  and  threes,  in  som- 
bre garb,  stand  with  bent  head  and  reverential  attitude  over 
where  sleep  their  dead,  awaiting  resurrection. 

Not  the  least  interesting  feature  of  a  Sunday  morning  at  this 
old  church  is  the  motley  array  of  vehicles  standing  at  the  fences 
and  trees  on  both  sides  of  the  road  for  a  quarter  of  a  mile  or  less. 
A  strange  collection,  indeed,  embracing  every  kind  of  trap  in 
use  for  the  past  half  century.  Here,  is  a  sulky,  to  which  the 
spruce  young  farmer  has  driven  his  favorite  colt  to  "meetin;" 
there,  a  long-bodied,  black-covered  Jersey  wagon,  with  a  rotund 
old  lady  backing  out  over  the  front  wheel  and  whiflietrees,  aid- 
ing her  descent  by  clutching  at  the  cruppers  of  the  horses,  who 
are  passive  enough  after  a  week  at  plough  or  harrow.  More 
modern  equipages  are  not  wanting,  and  occasionally  is  to  be  seen 
the  old-time,  white-covered,  farm  wagon,  carpeted  with  straw, 
with  splint  chairs  from  the  farm-house  for  seats. 

An  old  country  church  like  this,  which  draws  its  people  from 


BEDMINSTER   CIIITRCII. 


Sunday   Morning  at  Bedminstkr  Chuuch.  7 

miles  around,  means  much  more  than  one  located  near  populous 
towns  and  cities.  It  is  the  beating  heart,  the  life-giving  cen- 
tre, around  which  all  the  neighborhood  interests  and  hopes  cii-- 
culate.  It  is  also  a  weekly  interchange  of  news  and  gossip,  and 
the  people  on  Sunday  morning  lay  in  a  store  for  the  coming  six 
days  not  altogether  confined  to  uses  of  religious  and  spiritual 
comfort.  As  the  hour  for  service  approaches  the  women  have 
passed  inside,  but  the  men  gather  about  the  door  or  under  the 
trees,  discussing  their  horses,  the  crops  and  whatever  may  have 
been  of  interest  during  the  past  week.  This  Sunday  morning 
talk  is  not  limited  to  the  one  sex,  for,  on  entering,  we  would  find 
the  wives  and  daughters  in  animated  converse  over  the  backs 
and  partitions  of  the  pews.  When  the  sexton  has  rung  tlie  last 
bell,  by  stoutly  pulling  two  ropes  depending  from  the  belfry  to 
the  vestibule  floor,  the  men  come  clattering  through  the  doors, 
which  face  the  congregation  on  either  side  of  the  pulpit.  The 
elders  and  deacons,  first  depositing  their  hats  on  the  sides  of  the 
tall  pulpit  stair,  seat  themselves  to  the  right  and  left  of  the  min- 
ister, their  faces  settling  into  the  dignified  composures  due  their 
official  positions.  Gradually  a  hush  pervades  the  congregation, 
preceding  the  solemn  invocation.  The  blessing  over,  a  stir  and 
bustle  in  the  rear  gallery  proclaim  the  large  choir  to  be  stand- 
ing. The  cheery-cheeked  girls  are  shaking  out  their  frocks,  the 
stalwart  youths  are  clearing  their  throats  ;  now  is  the  ear  of  every 
■child  in  the  assemblage  alert  to  hear  the  first  twang  of  the  tun- 
ing fork,  following  which  comes  the  long  concerted  "  do-mi-sol- 
do" of  the  choir.  They  have  the  pitch,  and  break  away  into  a 
loud  psalm  of  praise,  or  song  of  thanksgiving,  the  large  congre- 
gation taking  up  the  refrain,  till  the  old  church  rings  with  that 
most  jubilant  of  all  music,  hearty  congregational  singing. 

And  so  the  service  continues,  with  prayer  and  praise,  and 
sermon  and  doxology,  not  forgetting  the  collection,  taken  up  in 
funny  little  black  bags  poked  down  the  pews  at  the  end  of  long 
poles.  I  must  acknowledge  it  is  many  years  since  I  have  been 
in  this  time-honored  church ;  but,  doubtless,  there  have  been  few 
or  no  changes  since  the  closing  pastorate  of  Domine  Schenck, 
some  thirty  or  so  years  ago.  How  well  I  remember,  in  those 
days,  the  pleasure  with  which  a  certain  small  boy,  in  a  round- 
about   brass-buttoned  jacket  and   nankeen  trousers,  looked  for- 


8  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

ward  to  a  summer  Sunday  morning  at  the  old  church.  His  seat 
was  well  up  toward  the  pulpit,  and,  did  the  service  grow  weari- 
some, through  the  open  door  could  be  seen  the  horses  biting  at 
the  flies,  the  leaves  stirring  in  the  soft  south  breeze,  and  the  hov- 
ering butterflies  floating  in  the  sweet  sunshine  over  the  close- 
knit  turf  of  the  green.  Will  ever  be  forgotten  the  delightful  old 
lady  who  sat  in  a  great  square  pew  immediately  in  front  of  the 
one  occupied  by  that  same  small  boy  ;  and  who,  when  he,  lulled 
by  the  monotone  of  the  sermon,  or  the  droning  of  the  drowsy 
bees  that  circled  in  and  out  the  open  door,  nodded  with  sleep, 
would  surreptitiously  pass  behind  little  bunches  of  penny-royal, 
or  other  fragrant  herbs,  and  on  rare  occasions — ah  happy  day! — 
a  store-bought  peppermint  lozenge.  But  enough  of  boyhood  and 
Bedminster  church.  It  is  quite  time  for  us  to  be  looking  about 
the  village. 

All  this  time  our  stage-wagon  is  still  rolling  on;  not  very 
rapidly  it  is  true ;  the  horses  seem  exhausted  by  a  previous 
journey.  You  must  remember  they  have  dragged  a  heavy  load 
ft-om  Peapack — twelve  miles — this  morning;  now,  when  thus  far 
on  their  return,  tlie  slackening  trace  and  more  pronounced  jog 
proclaim  their  protest  against  speed.  Presently  our  goal  is  in 
plain  sight,  facing  us  as  we  drive  along  the  straight  road  which 
stretches  over  a  level  country,  'twixt  meadows,  orchards  and 
comfortable  homesteads.  The  attractive  parsonage,  with  its  sur- 
rounding glebe,  is  behind  us  on  the  left ;  beyond,  on  the  right, 
down  a  tree-embowered  lane,  a  glimpse  is  obtained  of  a  substan- 
tial farm  house  and  its  old-fashioned  garden.  On  we  roll,  pass- 
ing the  forge  with  its  waiting  horses,  loud-breathing  fire,  and 
dusky  interior,  until  the  stage  creaks  and  strains  as  it  mounts 
the  side  hill,  and  comes  to  a  stand-still  at  the  Bedminster  tavern, 
which  rests  on  the  edge  of  the  first  terrace  of  the  incline.  Here 
ends  our  ride;  Bedminster  and  the  Lesser  Cross  Roads,  owing 
to  a  recent  fiat  of  the  Post-office  Department  being  one  and  the 
same. 

First  impressions  are  not  always  to  be  relied  upon.  Perhaps 
you  do  not  like  my  village?  I  must  confess  it  has  an  air  rather 
unkempt  and  forlorn:  it  can  hardly  be  called  a  village, — -just  a 
wayside  hamlet.  In  the  last  century,  when  these  four  roads  met 
here,  or  rather,  the  two  highways   crossed  each  other,  the   nat- 


The  Lesser  Cross-Roads.  9 

ural  consequence  was  that  industrial  germ  of  all  new  settlements 
— a  blacksmith  shop.  Later  came  the  store  and  tavern.  Little 
houses  have  since  dropped  hap-hazard  along  the  roadsides,  but 
the  village  has  long  been  finished,  and  now  seems  quite  in  the 
decadence  of  age.  Its  most  pleasing  aspect  is  along  the  north 
road,  where  the  rusty  old  houses  with  their  gable  ends  fronting 
the  highway  picturesquely  cluster  in  patches  of  white  and  gray 
on  the  successive  terraces  that  form  the  ascending  hillside. 
Trees  and  generous  shade  were  evidently  not  considered 
adjuncts  to  rural  beauty  by  ''the  forefathers  of  the  hamlet;"  yet, 
notwithstanding  the  bareness  of  the  place,  it  has  a  quaintness  of 
its  own,  due  to  the  antiquated  houses  with  their  old-fashioned 
gardens,  which  offer  a  rather  pleasing  contrast  to  the  newness  of 
the  buildings  in  so  many  of  the  New  Jersey  villages  contiguous 
to  the  railways. 

The  small  structure  on  the  corner,  opposite'the  tavern,  is  that 
magazine  of  wonders,  a  country  store.  Is  it  not  a  funny  little 
shop  ?  Just  like  one  of  the  wooden  houses  that  come  in  the 
boxes  of  toy  villages.  Its  interior  is  odd  enough  to  satisfy  the 
most  diligent  searcher  after  the  queer  and  old.  The  counters 
are  worn  smooth  by  the  dorsal  extremities  of  the  neighborhood 
Solons,  who  have  gathered  herefor  sixty  years  of  evenings,  to  settle 
the  affairs  of  the  nation  and  comment  on  thegossip  of  the  country 
for  miles  around.  Many  an  ancient  joke  has  here  over  again  won  a 
laugh — many  a  marvelous  tale  has  been  listened  to  with  open- 
mouthed  wonder  by  country  lads,  who  have  tramped  miles  for 
the  pleasure  of  an  evening  in  general  society.  Although  it  is  a 
wee-store,  here  can  be  found  everything,  from  a  fishhook  to  a 
hayrake,  from  a  quart  of  molasses  to  a  grindstone.  Dress  pat- 
terns and  calicoes — fast  colors — rest  on  shelves  ;  nail  kegs  and 
sugar-barrels  offer  seats  for  waiting  customers  ;  boots,  pails  and 
trace-chains  decorate  the  ceiling  ;  while  dusty  jars  tempt  the 
school  children  to  barter  eggs  for  sticks  of  peppermint  and  win- 
tergreen,  or  the  succulent  Jackson-ball. 

Of  the  roads  focusing  here,  the  one  from  the  south  we  have 
travelled,  and  with  the  one  towards  the  north  we  shall  ,soon 
grow  familiar.  The  west  road  leads  to  Lamington,  New  Ger- 
mantown  and  the  pleasant  agricultural  lands  of  Hunterdon  j 
while    the   one  'on   the    east   stretches  away  beyond  the  North 


10  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

Branch  of  the  Raritan  river,  over  the  historic  hills  on  which  rest 
Liberty  Comer,  Basking  Ridge  and  Bernardsville,  villages  rich 
in  Revolutionary  reminiscences. 

Down  this  east  road  a  little  way — you  can  see  it  from  the  cor- 
ner— stands  the  school-house.  Your  guide  has  been  soundly 
thrashed  more  than  once  in  that  little  building,  or  in  one  on  the 
same  site  ;  but  that  was  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago, 
when  he,  a  brown-cheeked,  barefooted  boy,  trudged  over  these 
hills  each  morning  before  half  past  eight,  carrying  his  dinner  in 
a  tin  hlickie.  The  school  teacher  of  that  day  would  hardly  have 
appreciated  Anthony  Trollope's  suggestion,  that  those  school- 
masters, insisting  upon  following  the  doctrines  of  Solomon, 
should  perform  the  operation  under  chloroform.  Surely  the  boys 
of  that  time  have  not  forgotten  the  Cross  Roads  pedagogue,  who 
never  spared  the  rod,  or  rather  rods,  for  he  had  two.  With  one, 
a  young  sapling  cut  fresh  each  morning,  he  could  plant  a  welt  on 
the  shoulders  of  a  boy  six  feet  away.  This  was  but  the  admoni- 
tory gad.  When  serious  business  was  meant  the  luckless  cul- 
prit must  mount  the  back  of  a  larger  boy,  who,  gathering  the 
victim's  legs  under  his  arms,  tightened  his  trousers  over  the 
point  of  attack;  then  would  "the  teacher"  lay  on  with  a  short, 
sharp  switch.  The  office  of  under  boy  was  no  sinecure,  for  did 
the  descending  birch  miss  its  shining  mark,  it  must  needs  fall 
upon  the  coadjutor's  legs,  to  the  great  amusement  of  his  com- 
rades,— boys  are  such  unsympathetic  wretches !  I  wonder  do 
the  girls  still  have  standing  in  the  corner  of  the  school  lot  the 
stone  playhouse,  filled  with  broken  bits  of  china  ;  and  the  old 
stone  fort  in  the  opposite  corner,  is  it  still  intact,  and  well  sup- 
plied with  pebbles  to  resist  assault  I  I  will  go  bail  the  boys 
of  the  present  know,  as  well  as  did  we  old  fellows,  the  short  cut 
across  lots  to  the  Mine  Brook  hole,  a  deep  pool  guarded  by 
gnarled  oaks  and  overhanging  sycamores.  A  plunge  in  its  cool 
depths  must  at  any  time  be  the  ultima  thule  of  delight  in  a 
school  boy's  summer  nooning. 

The  day  wears  on.  You  will  soon  think  me  garrulous  if  I 
am  allowed  to  continue  talking  of  boyish  times  at  the  "Cross 
Roads."  The  stage  has  long  ago  lurched  and  jolted  eastward, 
and  is  now  creeping  along  the  road  that  stretches  over  the  bot- 
tom lands  beyond   the  river,  thus  avoiding  the  hills  which   we 


Farewell  to  the  Village. 


11 


must  proceed  to  climb.  You  are  forgiven  for  not  falling  in  love 
with  the  village — perhaps,  it  was  hardly  to  be  expected — but 
now  that  we  approach  the  ''Old  Farm,"  I  shall  be  disappointed, 
indeed,  if  you  fail  to  appreciate  the  singular  and  peculiar  beauties 
of  its  grassy  hillsides,  interspersed  with  ancient  orchards,  its 
broad  meadow  spaces,  its  groves  of  oaks,  and  streams  of  siuuous 
course. 


CHAPTER     11. 

The    Old    Farm — Its     Upland    Acres,    Broad    Meadows     and 
Ancient  Stone  House. 

He  who  loves  his  fellow  man,  and  he  who  loves  nature,  must 
be  fond  of  a  country  road ;  it  appeals  in  tones  both  human  and 
divine,  for  it  is  the  bond  connecting  the  works  of  the  Creator 
with  the  productions  of  humanity.  This  sentiment  is  peculiarly- 
appropriate  to  highways  that  traverse  distant  and  retired  neigh- 
borhoods, such  as  we  are  at  present  visiting.  The  road  run- 
ning north  from  Bedminster,  up  which  we  now  bend  our  steps, 
is  in  happy  accord  with  such  suggestion,  and  gives  most  agree- 
able promises  of  rural  loveliness  as  it  leaves  the  village  and 
wanders  over  the  hills,  hedged  in  by  banks  from  which  outcrop 
the  shale  forming  the  foundations  of  this  part  of  the  world.  The 
reddish  brown  roadway  lies  on  the  sunny  rise  in  pleasing  con- 
trast to  the  flushed,  time-stained  grays  of  the  gables  of  the  bor- 
dering houses,  which  peer  down  over  the  banks  from  their  set- 
tings of  sweet  briar,  marigolds  and  snowballs.  As  we  climb  the 
hill,  I,  at  least,  am  tilled  with  the  most  delightful  anticipations.^ 
In  approaching  a  spot  hallowed  by  memories  of  early  associa- 
tions it  is  always  better  to  alight  from  your  carriage  and  pro- 
ceed on  foot.  You  are  thus  nearer  to  nature's  heart  and  better 
able,  in  "pedestrial  observation  and  contemplation,  to  enjoy  the 
pleasures  of  recollection."  We  mount  for  a  quarter  of  a  mile  or 
less,  and  soon  see,  beyond,  the  rounded  tops  of  a  brave  bit  of 
timber.  It  is  the  confines  of  the  "  Old  Farm."  Originally  its 
lines  extended  to  and  embraced  much  of  the  "Cross  Roads;"  had 
the  early  owners  declined  to  sell,  that  settlement  would  have  been 
a  one-sided  affair:  different  parcels  have  been  conveyed,  none 
within  half  a  century,   until  the   tract  now  includes  about  one 


Approaching  the  Old  Farm.  13 

Tiundred  and  forty  acres.  The  farm  lies  to  the  right,  on  the  east 
side  of  the  highway.  Before  reaching  it  we  pass  a  neglected 
"God's-Acre."  It  is  the  simple  burial  place  of  slaves  and  their 
posterity,  who  once  formed  an  important  element  of  the  work-a- 
day  world  of  this  township.  The  headstones,  if  there  ever  were 
any,  have  long  since  disappeared ;  the  decrepit  fences  are  cov- 
ered with  a  rambling  growth  of  weeds  and  creeping  vines,  and 
the  rains  of  many  years  have  beaten  level  the  humble  mounds  of 
the  dusky  toUers. 

But  the  hoary  trees  of  the  deep  green  wood  beckon  us  on. 
Here  we  are — the  ''Old  Farm''  at  last.  Did  you  ever  see  a 
finer  patch  of  woodland  f  It  is  primitive  forest.  Venerable  oaks 
have  thrown  their  shade  over  the  slopes,  glades,  copses  and 
leafy  recesses  of  this  royal  grove,  since  the  days  the  Indians 
roamed  at  will  over  these  fair  lands.  Looking  far  in  the  tim- 
bered acres  to  where  the  shadows  and  sunlight  alternate,  and 
"  one  leafy  circle  melts  into  another,"  does  it  not  suggest  Sher- 
wood Forest  f  Free  from  underbrush,  with  the  majestic  trees, 
standing  at  stately  distances,  one  can  well  imagine  seeing,  where 
the  sunshine  darts  through  yon  sylvan  bower,  Robin  Hood  and 
his  merrie  men  kneeling  on  a  soft  bed  of  green  moss,  at  the 
base  of  a  sacred  oak,  while  jolly  Friar  Tuck  invokes  a  blessing 
on  some  new  marauding  enterprise. 

Let  us  push  on  over  the  breezy  uplands.  The  road  scales  a 
small  ridge,  then  lies  along  a  short  level,  and  sinks  into  a  little 
dell,  only  to  mount  higher  on  the  farther  side.  Its  trend  is  now 
eastward,  and  the  flanking  banks  are  surmounted  by  rusty  grey 
rail  fences,  whose  straddling  posts  rise  from  a  tangle  of  milk- 
weed, sumac,  wild  blackberry  and  alder  bushes.  Just  here  a 
long  lane  leads  to  a  colony  of  farm  buildings — the  Abram  D. 
Huff  homestead — with  a  background  of  dark  woods.  The  eye 
ranging  south  and  west  overlooks  a  charming  prospect  for  miles 
away.  The  ebbing  sunshine,  flooding  down  wide  streams  of  light, 
intensifies  every  shade  of  color  in  nature's  wonderful  mosaic  of 
tillage  and  fallow,  of  level  sweeps  of  pasture  and  waving  fields 
of  grain.  On  the  other  side  of  the  road  the  hillsides  of  the  "Old 
Farm"  fall  away  abruptly  in  great,  grassy  cascades,  till  they 
blend  with  the  meadows  that  stretch  to  a  line  of  waving  trees, 
marking  where  winds  a  silvery  stream  hastening  to  join  the  Rari- 


14  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

tan.  One  can  hardly  phrase  the  harmonies  that  dwell  in  the 
peaceful  atmosphere  of  such  a  landscape.  It  possesses  what 
some  one  has  said  of  the  Blue  Grass  region  of  Kentucky — "the 
quality  of  gracefulness."  The  face  of  the  country  is  buoyant 
and  I'olls  away  in  billowy  undulations,  now  subsiding  into  quiet 
valleys,  now  gently  ascending  woodland  slopes,  the  deep  soil  of 
the  green  fields  lying  in  continuous,  lawn-like  surfaces,  present- 
ing between  the  eye  and  the  horizon  in  every  direction  a  pano- 
rama of  symmetry  and  beauty. 

On  our  left  a  cross-country  road,  running  north  and  west, 
leads  to  the  Holland  neighborhood  and  divides  the  Huff  and 
Oppie  farms.  The  latter  is  a  little  fifty-acre  homestead  formerly 
a  part  of  the  "Old  Farm."  From  here  the  main  road  runs  due 
east  over  a  high  level,  and  soon  has  on  both  sides  the  broad 
upland  acres  of  our  ancestral  plantation.  Walking  on,  we  reach 
the  edge  of  a  long,  steep  descent,  known  for  a  century  past  as 
the  "  Melick  hill."  Here  the  road  plunges  down  over  a  series  of 
plateaus,  until,  nearly  two  thousand  feet  away,  it  disappears 
around  a  graceful  bend,  where  it  crosses  the  brawling  Peapack 
brook,  in  this  direction  the  boundary  of  the  farm. 

One  may  journey  many  miles  in  many  countries  without  find- 
ing a  lovelier  outlook  than  from  this  hill-top.  Perhaps  you  think 
that  the  fertile  valley  below,  luxuriant  with  the  freshness  of  gen- 
tle summer  showers,  smacks  too  much  of  utilitarian  beauty? 
True,  nature  does  not  here  present  herself  in  a  grand  or  majes- 
tic aspect;  precipitous  rocks,  bold  declivities  and  long  ranges  of 
serrated  peaks  are  not  features  of  the  landscape.  But  nature  in 
its  various  phases  fits  all  moods,  and  it  has  other  charms  than 
those  of  the  wildly  picturesque  ;  those  unveiled  in  the  homely 
and  restful  scene  of  these  peaceful  hillsides  have  a  quiet  fasci- 
nation, far  more  satisfactory  than  if  emanating  from  gorge, 
chasm,  or  upheaved  rocks.  It  is  the  domesticity  of  the  scene 
that  charms.  As  you  watch  the  slanting  sun  illumine  the  mead- 
ows with  their  meandering  brooks,  the  orchards,  farmsteads 
and  great  barns,  emblems  of  plenty ;  as  you  watch  the  afternoon 
shadows  settling  in  the  valley  and  slowly  creeping  upward  and 
backward  on  the  opposite  slope,  you  are  reminded  of  one  of  those 
lovely  vales  in  midland  England;  vales  which  Henry  James 
describes  as  mellow  and  bosky,  and  redolent  of  human  qualities. 


Descending  "Melick  Hill."  15 

We  are  told  that  one  born  with  a  soul  for  the  picturesque  finds 
in  American  landscapes  naught  but  harsh  lights,  without  shade, 
without  composition,  without  the  subtle  mystery  of  color.  Is 
that  true  ?  Standing  here  overlooking  this  charming  country- 
side, do  you  discover  anything  garish,  any  tones  that  offend  f 
Color — why  here  is  the  very  essence  of  the  mystery  of  color.  See 
yonder!  that  little  island  of  cloud-shadow  float  over  the  field  of 
bending  grain,  a  field  of  a  most  delicious  green  interspersed  with 
suggestions  of  yellow,  the  promise  of  golden  harvests  soon  to 
come.  Observe,  beyond  the  river!  how  in  those  broad  acres  of 
young  corn  the  tender  green  stands  out  against  the  rich  dark 
loam  from  which  it  draws  its  lusty  strength.  See,  too,  the  luxu- 
riant verdure  of  the  woodland,  topping  the  undulating  rise 
beyond  yon  sloping  pastures.  Here  are  light,  shadow,  form  and 
color,  and  all  that  go  to  make  a  picture  of  quiet,  restful  beauty, 
with  an  atmosphere  of  sweet  content.  Bear  with  my  enthusiasm. 
I  love  these  hills  and  all  that  can  be  seen  from  their  kindly 
sides. 

Come  !  we  will  go  down  into  the  valley.  The  terraces  give 
pleasant  breaks  to  the  steep  incline  of  the  road.  As  we  pro- 
ceed, the  faint  sound  of  mill-wheels  and  brooks  comes  up  from 
below,  and  the  air  is  fresh  and  cool  with  the  palpable  breath  of 
the  Waters  pouring  over  the  dam.  Presently,  across  the  fields 
on  the  left,  an  antique  orchard  intervening,  are  to  be  seen  the 
large  barns,  hovels  and  farm  buildings,  and  not  far  beyond,  a 
little  lower  down,  wreaths  of  blue  smoke  curl  above  the  long 
brown  roof  of  the  old  homestead.  Just  before  reaching  the  foot 
of  the  hill  we  come  to  a  grand  old  maple,  whose  spreading 
branches  have  for  a  century  of  summers  waved  a  leafy  welcome 
to  comers  to  the  "  Old  Farm."  To  you,  perhaps,  it  is  but  a 
fine  tree,  but  I  indeed  would  be  devoid  of  all  sensibility  if  deaf 
to  the  music  of  the  leaves  stirring  amid  its  venerable  branches. 
Their  sound  excites  the  most  agreeable  sensations,  awakens 
memories  of  the  many  happy,  youthful  days  that  have  witnessed 
my  return  to  the  j-efreshment  of  this  old  maple's  shade,  and  to  all 
the  pleasure  that  invariably  followed  a  visit  to  this  cherished 
homestead.  Here  we  leave  the  highway,  and,  turning  to  the 
left  up  a  short  incline,  are  in  front  of  the  Mecca  of  our  hopes — 
the  Old  Stone    House.       Facing  an   antiquated   door  yard  and 


16  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm, 

shaded  by  elms,  it  rests  lovingly  against  the  side  of  a  sunny 
bank  of  turf,  springing  from  the  grassy  slope  as  if  part  of  the 
geological  strata  rather  than  a  superstructure  raised  by  the  hand 
of  man.  They  builded  well  in  those  old  days,  and  now  the  walls 
of  this  sturdy  dwelling,  humanized  and  dignified  by  five  genera- 
tions of  occupants,  are  as  stanch  and  apparently  as  well  pre- 
served as  when  laid  in  1752  ;  as  firm  as  when  Johannes  Moelich 
erected  here  in  the  then  wilds  of  colonial  New  Jersey  a  home 
that  should  be  to  him  like  unto  those  ancient  houses  of  masonry 
he  had  always  known,  bordering  the  banks  of  the  winding  Rhine, 
in  far  away  fatherland. 

There  is  nothing  pretentious  about  this  dwelling ;  nothing 
suggestive  of  the  fine  mansion  ;  just  a  quaint  low  house,  with  a 
comely  old-time  presence.  Almost  a  cottage  in  size — it  has,  but 
nine  or  ten  rooms — the  whitewashed  walls,  massive  enough  for 
a  citadel,  are  pierced  in  a  hap-hazard  sort  of  way  with  odd  little 
windows,  from  which  twinkle  queer  diminutive  panes  of  glass. 
At  the  west  end  it  is  one  and  a  half  stories  high,  but  the  slope  of 
the  hill  gives  another  storey  at  the  eastern  gable.  Formerly  the 
roof  was  thatched  with  straw,  and  among  my  many  treasures 
prized  as  souvenirs  of  this  old  farm  are  a  pair  6f  the  original 
thatching  needles,  made  of  iron  and  shaped  like  a  sickle.  Build- 
ings, like  people,  have  facial  expressions  peculiar  to  themsfelves. 
This  homely  house  bears  on  its  aged  face  a  gentle  and  benign 
expression  of  invitation  and  welcome,  as  if  reflecting  a  great 
interior  heart,  beating  with  generous  hospitality. 

There  is  an  air  of  comfort  and  repose  about  this  farmhouse 
that  renders  it  distinctive  among  dwellings.  Without  the  osten- 
tation of  a  fine  villa,  or  the  pertness  of  an  ambitious  cottage,  it 
has  an  atmosphere  of  friendliness  and  good  cheer  that  fills  all 
comers  with  pleasant  anticipations.  Crossing  a  wooden-seated 
porch  the  open  door  ushers  us  into  an  ample  hall.  An  ancient 
time-piece  ticks  at  the  foot  of  the  stair  and  the  cool  evening 
breeze  draws  through  the  upper  half  of  the  rear  door,  beyond 
which  is  a  view  of  a  pleasant  stretch  of  meadow  disappearing 
down  a  steep  bank  into  a  belt  of  trees  bordering  a  mill  pond. 
From  the  back  porch  you  can  see  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  on  the 
east  the  buildings  of  Schomp's  grist  and  saw  mills.  Together  with 
their  contiguous  dwelling,  the  dam  and   the  beautifully   shaded 


The  Old  Stone  House.  17 

stream  below,  they  present  a  charming  rural  picture.  Formerly 
the  bottom  lands  on  this  side  of  Peapack  brook  were  checkered 
with  square  vats,  for  the  owners  of  the  "  Old  Farm  "  have  not 
only  been  farmers,  but  for  four  generations  were  tanners  of 
leather  and  grinders  of  bark.  But  the  tan  vats  have  long  been 
filled  up,  the  bark  mill  is  a  picturesque  ruin,  and  the  waters  that 
once  turned  its  busy  wheel  now  run  to  waste  in  their  sluices  and 
race-ways. 

But  to  return  to  the  Old  Stone  House.  You  see  it  is  only  a 
plain  farm-house,  after  all,  with  no  remarkable  staircases  or 
ancient  tiles  to  interest  the  visitor.  It  is  true  quaint  cupboards 
with  curious  little  panes  of  glass  peer  out  from  the  corners  of 
some  of  the  rooms,  and  those  extraordinarily  complicated  locks 
on  the  doors  are  of  German  manufacture,  and  were  put  on  at  the 
building  of  the  house.  The  incline  of  the  floors  is  not  due  to 
the  old  age  of  their  supports  or  the  weakening  of  the  walls — 
the  latter  will  not  weaken  till  some  inhuman  one  uses  their  foun- 
dations for  a  quarry.  But  when  this  old  house  was  new,  carpets 
were  unknown  among  farmers,  and  these  floors  were  laid  on  an 
incline  in  order  that  each  morning,  before  being  freshly  sanded, 
the  old  sand  and  dirt  could  be  more  readily  swept  into  the  hall. 
By  far  the  most  interesting  room  is  the  farm  kitchen,  or  living- 
room,  downstairs.  There  is  an  outer  kitchen  resting  against  the 
east  gable  in  which  is  built  the  great  Dutch  oven.  What  batches 
of  rye  and  wheaten  loaves  have  browned  in  this  capacious  sala- 
mander. On  opening  the  furnace  door  the  savory  fumes  of  bak- 
ing cake  seem  in  the  air ;  you  almost  see  the  plethoric  pans 
drawn  from  the  heated  vault,  the  rich  crusts,  puffed  with  the 
pride  of  their  own  sweetness,  towering  till  they  burst  in  golden 
crevices.  Picture  to  yourself  in  all  the  years  of  generous  living 
the  endless  procession  of  pies,  puddings,  creature-comforts  and 
dainty  delicacies  that  have  been  discharged  from  the  mouth  of 
this  broad  oven.  Both  tradition  and  memory  bear  witness  as  to 
there  having  always  been  good  cooks  in  the  Old  Stone  House. 

To  theeast  of  this  outer  kitchen  is  a  neglected'garden  begirt  by  a 

crazy  fence  of  ancient  construction.     Clambering  hop  and  other 

straggling  vines  partially  hide  the  weakness  of  the  aged  inclosure, 

while   a  luxuriant  growth    of  currant   and    gooseberry  bushes, 

intermingled  with  all  sorts  of  weeds   and   creepers,  give  to  the 
2 


18  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

fence  an  air  of  substantiability  which  it  is  far  from  possessing.^ 
The  black  loam,  enriched  with  j'ears  of  rotting  leaves,  plants 
and  vegetables,  feeds  patches  of  hereditary  lilies  and  old-time 
flowers,  grown  from  seeds  brought  from  Germany.  Several 
ancient  plum  and  twisted  quince  trees  cluster  in  one  corner,  their 
trunks  grey  with  the  lichen  of  time,  though  still  thrifty  from  the 
long  drinking  of  the  rich  juices  of  exuberant  vegetation.  Were 
it  later  in  the  season  a  few  choice  yellow  pumpkins  and  crooked- 
necked  summer  squashes  would  be  seen  turning  their  ripening 
backs  to  the  warm  sun,  swelling  with  the  possibility  of  future 
pies  ;  and  pale  green  cucumbers,  fattening  on  the  black  soil, 
would  sprawl  among  the  beds.  But  now  the  narrow  paths  are 
bordered  with  pinks  and  sweet-williams  ;  between  them  stand 
early  beets  in  sober  rows,  and  young  bean  vines  just  reaching- 
for  their  rusty  poles,  while  blossoming  potato  and  tomato  plants 
contribute  their  bit  of  color,  and  give  a  finish  to  this  old- 
fashioned  picture. 

The  threshold  of  the  farm  kitchen,  or  living-room,  even  in  my 
time  was  guarded  by  a  double  Dutch  door,  but  the  demon  of 
improvement  has  replaced  it  with  a  more  modern  entrance.  We 
can  step  directly  from  the  grass  and  trees  of  the  dooryard  to  its 
interior,  and  at  once  are  in  a  bit  of  the  old  world.  Coming  out 
of  the  daylight  the  room  seems  dark,  with  mysterious  corners 
and  outlets,  for  it  is  lighted  by  small  windows  set  deep  in  the 
thick  stone  walls.  As  for  the  outlets,  I  know  well  that  the  cor- 
ner one  farthest  from  the  door  leads  into  the  large  cool  cellar, 
where  are  firm  yellow  pats  of  butter  and  pans  of  rich  cream, 
where  stone  crocks  stand  on  the  earthen  floor  filled  with  moist 
pot-cheeses,  nut-cakes  and  all  manner  of  good  things,  while  cor- 
pulent jars  distended  with  sweets,  and  rows  of  pies  stuffed  with 
lusciousness,  adorn  wooden  shelves  hanging  from  the  ceiling. 
How  often  have  big-hearted  housewives  disappeared  within  its 
dark  recesses  only  to  return  laden  with  good  cheer  for  my 
delectation.  Most  of  the  furniture  of  this  room  dates  back  to  the 
last  century.  The  hugh  press  standing  against  the  west  wall 
was  built  in  Germany  before  1735,  and  is  a  curiosity  in  its  way. 
Though  the  wood  is  of  walnut  it  is  black  with  age,  and  its  height 
is  so  great  as  to  preclude  the  use  of  its  round  black  ball  legs, 
which  for  years  have  served  as  children's  playthings  in  the  gar- 


The  Old  Stone  House.  19 

ret.  This  massive  piece  of  brass-mounted  furniture  is  capped 
by  an  overhanging  cornice  that  projects  some  twelve  inches,  and 
has  stood  in  its  present  position  since  the  house  was  built. 

What  a  wealth  of  old  associations  cluster  about  the  dusky 
comers  of  this  low-ceilinged  room.  While  these  oaken  beams 
were  growing  dark  with  the  mellowing  hand  of  time,  golden- 
haired  children  have  sat  about  this  ancestral  hearthstone, 
building  in  the  glowing  embers  pictures  wrought  of  their 
budding  fancies.  These  same  beams,  still  unbent  by  the 
burden  of  age,  though  browTi  with  the  deposits  of  years, 
have  seen  those  same  children,  now  old  men  and  women, 
picturing  in  the  ashes  of  the  lighted  logs  the  memories  of  their 
past  lives.  And  so  the  generations  have  come  and  gone,  and  so 
they  have  moved  "  gently  down  the  stream  of  life  until  they 
have  slept  with  their  fathers;"  like  trees  of  the  forest,  the  old 
falling  that  the  young  may  thrive,  sending  out  offshoots  into 
the  world  until,  since  the  great  crane  was  first  hung  in  the  cav- 
ernous fireplace,  from  the  Gulf  to  the  Lakes,  from  the  ocean  to 
the  Rockies,  nearly  a  thousand  descendants  of  the  builder  of  this 
dear  old  home  have  peopled  our  broad  land. 

And  who  was  the  German  immigrant  who  felled  the  forest  of 
this  Bedrainster  valley?  Nobody  !  And  who  were  his  children 
and  his  children's  children,  who  have  wrested  from  these  sunny 
slopes  their  treasures  of  grain  and  abundant  grasses,  and  have 
dotted  the  pastures  below  with  glossy  cattle  ?  Just  nobodies  !  At 
least  so  the  world  would  say.  You  do  not  find  their  names 
emblazoned  on  the  pages  of  history,  nor  do  they  appear  high  among 
those  of  the  counseUers  of  the  nation.  Neither  have  their  vices 
or  profligacies  distinguished  them  as  subjects  for  memoirs,  plays 
or  novels.  An  honest,  simple,  God-fearing  folk ;  with  the 
homely  virtues  of  industry,  integrity,  frugality  and  hospitality, 
they  have  tilled  the  soil,  tanned  leather,  built  churches,  sup- 
ported schools,  occupied  modest  positions  of  public  honor  and 
trust  in  the  community,  and  fought  the  battles  of  their  country. 
Quietly  have  many  of  them  passed  their  uneventful  but  well- 
ordered  lives,  and  quietly  at  life's  close  have  they  lain  down  in 
Pluckamin  or  Bedminster  churchyard,  their  memories  embalmed 
in  the  respect  and  affection  of  their  fellows.  It  is  the  characters 
and  virtues  of  just  such  plain  people  that  have    constituted  the 


20  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 


bulwarks  and  strength  of  the  American  nation.  The  annals  of 
families  and  communities  are  the  real  basis  of  all  history.  We 
are  told  that  the  history  of  a  nation  is  to  be  read  in  its  politi- 
cal life.  An  obviously  true  proposition,  but  to  present  to  the 
mind  the  complete  progress  of  a  people,  it  is  not  only  necessary 
to  understand  the  superstructure  of  politics  and  civil  life,  but 
that  substratum  of  society,  as  well,  which  cultivates  the  arts  of 
peace  and  gradually  develops  the  country;  that  substratum  of  liv- 
ing men  and  women  of  their  time,  whose  acts  and  the  daily  rou- 
tine of  whose  existence  form  the  true  foundation  of  history. 

During  the  past  ten  years  it  has  been  my  pleasure  to  make  a 
study  of  that  little  slice  of  New  Jersey  embraced  within  Bed- 
minster  township,  or  rather  a  study  of  its  people  as  connected 
directly  and  indirectly  with  the  settlers  and  occupants  of  the 
"  Old  Farm."  As  such  investigations  and  researches  continued 
the  field  they  covered  gradually  widened  until  it  embraced  all 
the  middle  and  northern  counties,  and  to  some  extent  included 
the  state  at  large.  Over  two  hundred  ancient  documents,  letters, 
deeds,  bonds,  bills  and  manuscripts  have  been  collected.  In 
reading  between  the  lines  of  these  papers  one  finds  almost  a  com- 
plete historical  narrative  of  the  "old  times"  of  this  section. 
Light  is  thrown  upon  the  most  interesting  facts  as  to  the  cost  and 
manner  of  living,  the  fashion  in  dress,  the  habits,  characteristics, 
personal  relations  and  daily  life  of  the  inhabitants  of  New  Jersey 
in  the  last  century.  Knowing  that  throughout  this  country  there 
are  many  descendants  of  Johannes  Moelicli,  who  have  never  vis- 
ited the  "Old  Farm"  and  have  but  little  knowledge  of  its  history 
associated  with  their  own  families,  I  have  thought  it  a  duty,  and 
found  it  a  labor  of  love,  to  give  in  a  connected  form  the  result  of 
my  researches.  Having  drawn  on  the  preceding  pages  an  outline 
picture  of  these  homestead  acres,  and  of  the  approach  from  the 
railway,  in  the  coming  chaptei-s  an  endeavor  will  be  made  to  give 
some  idea  as  to  what  manner  of  people  were  their  early  settlers, 
from  whence  they  came,  and  why  they  came.  In  like  manner  I 
shall  hope  to  convey  to  the  reader  some  impressions  of  the  suc- 
ceeding generations  that  have  called  the  Old  Stone  House 
home.  With  their  story  will  be  interwoven  much  fact  and  some 
tradition,  regarding  the  experiences  of  the  New  Jersey  people  in 
the    eighteenth  century  and  such   matters  of   local  county  his- 


Somerset's  Historical  Background.  21 

tory  as  it  has  been  my  good  fortune  to  gather.  The  story  of  the 
"Old  Farm"  is  the  easier  told  because  of  its  setting.  Somerset 
landscapes  present  a  succession  of  beautiful  pictures,  whose 
charms  are  greatly  enhanced  by  their  historical  backgrounds. 
Every  comer  of  the  county  has  a  story  of  its  own  full  of  interest, 
and  as  we  walk  abroad  pursuing  our  task,  we  shall  find  on  all 
sides  pregnant  facts  and  well-grounded  traditions  moving  hand 
in  hand  down  the  long  avenues  of  the  past. 


CHAPTER     III. 

JBendorf  on  the  Bhlne — Johannes  Moelich  Emigrates  to  America 
in  1735 — The  Condition  of  Germany  in  the  Seventeenth  and 
Eighteenth  Centuries. 

The  storied  beauty  of  the  wiucling  Rhine  is  nowhere  more 
famed  than  in  the  vicinity  of  the  ancient  city  of  Coblentz — the 
"  Confluentes'''  of  Roman  days.  Here  have  nature  and  man  com- 
bined in  forming  a  scene  of  rare  and  picturesque  loveliness.  On 
reaching  this  quaint  settlement  it  is  not  the  old  town  with  its 
massive  walls  stretching  along  the  banks  of  the  Rhine  that  first 
impresses  one ;  nor  is  it  the  Moselle,  whose  waters  here  swell  the 
flood  of  the  greater  river.  It  is  the  majestic  fortress  of  Erhen- 
breitstein,  crowning  the  almost  perpendicular  rocks  on  the  far- 
ther shore,  four  hundred  feet  above  the  stream,  that  dominates 
the  scene  and  dwarfs  every  object. within  its  frowning  presence. 
This  vast  fortification,  the  Gibraltar  of  the  Rhine,  is  inaccessible 
on  three  sides,  and  dates  back  to  the  Franconian  King  Dagobert, 
in  the  seventh  century.  From  its  extensive  glacies,  fosses  and 
towers  the  eye  ranges  over  a  charming  and  varied  landscape, 
embracing  hillsides  terraced  with  vineyards,  bold  declivities 
stored  with  legends,  and  green  valleys  filled  with  the  romance  of 
the  Middle  Ages.  Immediately  below  are  the  palaces,  turrets 
and  red  roofs  of  the  second  city  of  importance  on  the  river.  The 
old  basilica  of  St.  Castor  elevates  its  hoary  towers  above  an  angle 
in  the  town  wall  where  the  rivers  join,  and  beyond  the  massive 
arches  of  a  bridge  of  heavy  blocks  of  stone  take  fourteen  huge 
strides  across  the  Moselle.  On  the  south,  in  plain  sight,  are  the 
stately,  grey-stone  battlements  of  the  royal  chateau  of  Stolzenfels, 
capping  a  timbered  eminence,  while  down  the  river  can  be  seen 
a  succession  of  picturesque  villages,  whose  long  Rhine  streets 
almost  form  one  continuous  settlement.     About  four  miles   away 


Bendorf  and  its  Ancient  Church.  23 

in  this  direction  the  convent  island  of  Niederwerth-  splits  the 
current  of  the  stream.  A  little  beyond  and  a  mile  or  so  back  from 
the  right  bank  of  the  river,  in  a  valley  surrounded  by  apple 
orchards,  rests  the  ancient  village  of  Bendorf. 

With  us  a  place  of  over  four  thousand  inhabitants  would 
feel  entitled  to  be  considered  a  town,  but  on  the  continent  of 
Europe  a  settlement  requires  more  than  population  to  attain  such 
dignity.  Bendorf  has  the  appearance  of  grey  antiquity  common 
to  most  of  the  old  settlements  along  the  Rhine.  Its  narrow 
streets,  without  sidewalks,  are  lined  with  low,  two-storey,  stone 
houses,  though  the  continuity  is  occasionally  broken  by  a  tall, 
steep,  red  roof  studded  withodddormers,  or  an  overhanging  gable, 
which  casts  a  deep  shadow  across  the  contracted  roadway.  Other 
architectural  surprises  are  not  wanting.  The  stroller  over 
the  rough  cobbles  of  the  ill-paved  streets  comes  again  and  again 
upon  an  antique  turret  protruding  from  the  upper  storey  of  some 
time-stained  structure,  or  upon  picturesque  wooden  houses,  with 
their  blackened  constructive  timbers  exposed,  enclosing  panels 
of  white  plaster.  Often  the  quaint  facades  are  curiously  carved 
with  heraldic  devices,  grotesque  conceits  and  odd  German  letter- 
ing. 

Ambushed  behind  a  shadowy  corner  is  a  venerable  Roman- 
esque church,  its  age-seamed  walls  and  mcdisevel  towers  bearing 
in  many  places  marks  of  the  devastating  hand  of  time.  It  may 
well  look  old,  as  it  is  claimed  that  the  edifice  was  completed  by 
the  Counts  of  Sayn  before  the  year  1205.  It  is  certainly  one  of  the 
most  ancient  in  Rhineland,  and  although  the  early  archives  of  the 
congregation  did  not  escape  the  conflagrations  of  the  Thirty 
Years'  and  other  wars,  the  architecture  of  the  main  struct- 
ure bears  abundant  evidence  of  its  antiquity.  It  is  a 
three-naved  basilica  of  purely  Roman  features  showing  no 
traces  in  its  original  outlines  of  the  transition  from  that  style 
to  the  Gothic.  Its  symmetry  has  been  marred,  however,  by 
some  "improver,"  who  in  the  pointed  period  replaced  a  round 
window,  that  formerly  adorned  the  circular-depressed  place  above 
the  main  entrance  with  a  long  one,  and  who  destroyed  the  agree- 
able proportions  of  its  facade  by  elevating  and  pointing  the  cen- 
tre of  the  front  wall.  At  the  same  time  a  Gothic  chapel  was 
erected,    and    later    a   modern    extension    was    constructed    on 


24  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

the  south-west,  in  which  the  Catholics  worship.  The  con- 
gregation housed  by  the  original,  or  main  building,  is  entitled 
the  Evangelical  Head-Church — Evangelische  Haupt-Kirche.  To- 
gether with  the  congregation  of  the  town  of  Winningen  it  was 
among  the  first  in  Grermany  to  fall  under  the  sway  of  the  Refor- 
mation. In  1578,  Count  Henry  IV  of  Sayn,  who  had  become  a 
foUower  of  Luther,  inherited  Bendorf.  He  at  once  established  a 
Lutheran  congregation  under  the  pastorate  of  Reverend  Johannes 
Camerarius  and  from  then  till  now  this  little  town  has  been  a 
stronghold  of  Protestantism.  More  than  one  American  congrega- 
tion can  trace  its  origin  to  this  Rhenish  Lutheran  Society,  and  in 
its  archives,  referring  to  the  first  part  of  the  last  century,  fre- 
quently appear  names  that  a  few  years  later  became  familiar  in 
Hunterdon  and  Somerset  counties,  New  Jersey.  Among  them 
those  of  MoELiCH  (Melick),  Klein  (Kline),  Himroth  (Himrod),. 
Fassbender,  Wortman  and  others. 

To  an  appreciative  American,  one  who  having  always  lived 
amid  the  new  loves  and  reveres  the  old,  there  are  few  experi- 
ences in  foreign  travel  more  satisfactory  than  the  mere  fact  of 
being  within  the  shadow  of  a  building  that  has  withstood  the  ele- 
ments for  five  or  six  centuries.  So  was  the  writer  affected  one 
summer  morning  a  few  years  ago,  while  standing  in  the  presence 
of  this  hoary  temple,  the  church  of  his  forefathers.  Looking  up 
at  the  crumbling  window-arches  that  pierced  its  grey,  gloomy 
facade,  it  was  difficult  to  realize  that  when  those  walls  were  new 
the  ruined  castles  which  frequent  this  part  of  the  Rhine  were 
alive  with  steel-encased  feudal  lords  and  their  armed  retainers  ; 
that  Barbarossa,  the  red-bearded  emperor,  had  just  sunk  beneath 
the  Asiatic  waves,  while  on  the  third  Crusade  ;  that  the  sunny 
lands  of  what  is  now  southern  France  were  running  with  the 
blood  of  those  devoted  peasants,  the  Albigenses,  in  the  unholy 
war  fathered  by  that  most  cruel  of  all  popes,  Innocent  III;  and 
prosecuted  by  that  most  bloodthirsty  of  all  commanders,  Simon 
de  Montfort,  that  the  haughty  English  barons,  on  the  banks  of 
the  Thames,  wei-e  extorting  from  wicked  and  degraded  King 
John,  Magna  Charta,  that  precious  document  that  proved  to 
be  the  foundation  of  the  liberties  of  all  English-speaking  people. 
But  a  truce  to  mediaeval  history ;  we  will  pass  over  five  hundred 
years. 


Johannes  Starts  for  America.  25 

Here  in  Bendorf,  in  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  centnry, 
lived  a  sturdy  burgher — a  tanner  and  a  freeholder  of  good 
repute — Johannes  Moelich,  who  was  born  on  the  twenty-sixth  of 
February,  1702.  His  family  comprised  four  children,  equally 
divided  as  to  sex,  and  his  wife  Maria  Catherina,  a  rotund  Ger- 
man matron  who  prided  herself  upon  being  the  daughter  of 
Gottfried  Kirberger,  the  burgomaster  of  Bendorf.  Having  been 
born  on  the  sixth  of  January,  1698,  she  was  nearly  four  years 
the  senior  of  her  husband,  to  whom  she  had  been  married  on  the 
first  of  November,  1723.  As  she  is  familiarly  known  in  family 
annals  as  IMariah  Katrina,  by  this  name  she  will  in  future  be 
designated  on  these  pages.  The  children  were :  Ehrenreich 
(Aaron),  born  the  twelfth  of  October,  1725  ;  Veronica  Gerdrutta 
(Fanny),  bom  on  the  twenty-first  of  November,  1727;  Andreas 
(Andrew),  born  on  the  twelfth  of  December,  1729 ;  and  Marie 
Cathrine,  born  on  the  sixth  of  December,  ]  733. 

One  morning,  while  the  year  1735  was  yet  young,  Johannes 
gathered  together  his  family,  his  household  goods  and  effects, 
including  considerable  furniture,  and  taking  with  him  his  young- 
est brother  Gottfried  (Godfrey),  departed  through  the  Bach-gate 
of  the  town  wall  to  the  bank  of  the  river.  Here  he  embarked 
on  one  of  the  clumsy  barges  of  that  day  and  floated  away,  borne 
up  by  Father  Rhine,  to  Eotterdam,  where  he  took  ship  and  sailed 
for  America.  This  emigrant  was  the  son  of  Johann  Wilhelm 
and  Anna  Katherine  Moelich,  who  came  to  Bendorf  in  1 688  from 
Winningen,*  a  town  on  the  Moselle,  four  miles  west  of  Coblentz. 
They  had  many  relatives  and  friends  in  both  places,  and 
we  can  well  fancy  that  the  departure  of  Johannes  and  his 
family  was  an  important  event  for  these  communities.  It 
would  be  interesting  to  learn  just  what  cause  led  to  his 
emigration.  It  could  not  have  been  poverty,  as  was  the  case 
with  many  of  the  thousands  of  his  countrymen  who  had  preceded 
him  across  the  water,  for  we  know  that  he  owned  property  in 
Bendorf  and  had  ready  money  for  investment  in  the  new  coimtry. 
Perhaps  he  appreciated  the  responsibility  of  his  little  family,  and 
hesitated  to  bring  up  his  children  under  a  government  that 
had  already  brought  much  misery  and  distress   on   its  subjects. 

*  For  description  of  Winningen  ami  Bendorf  see  introduction  to  genealogy  in 
appendix,  p.  6'J8. 


26  The  Stoet  of  an  Old  Farm. 

He  had  already  established  relations  beyound  the  sea,  his  younger 
brother  Johaun  Peter  having  landed  at  Philadelphia  in  1728, 
from  the  ship  Mortonhouse.  Doubtless  he  had  received  letters 
from  this  brother,  and  from  friends  among  the  many  emigrants 
who  had  found  an  asylum  in  America,  drawing  an  enticing 
picture  of  the  liberal  government  of  William  Penn,  which  had 
secured  to  them  in  the  fruitful  valleys  of  Pennsylvania  peaceful 
retreats  where  they  no  longer  feared  religious  persecution  or 
political  oppression.  Between  the  beginning  of  the  century  and 
the  time  of  Johannes'  emigration  some  seventy  thousand  Ger- 
mans had  turned  their  backs  on  the  mother  coimtry  and  sought 
homes  in  foreign  lands. 

The  old  world  and  its  jjeople,  two  hundred  years  ago,  were  well 
tired  of  each  other.  So  some  one  tells  us,  and  the  student  of  early 
emigration  to  the  American  colonies  soon  discovers  abmidant 
evidence  verifying  this  statement.  He  finds  that  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  seventeenth  and  early  in  the  eighteenth  centuries  a 
countless  host  of  dissatisfied  and  oppressed  Europeans,  turning 
their  faces  from  the  east,  embarked  on  the  fraU  vessels  of  that 
period.  For  weary  weeks  they  rolled  and  staggered  over  the 
briny  troughs  of  an  almost  unknown  sea,  whose  western  waves 
broke  on  the  shores  of  a  vast  continent  that  beckoned  them 
thitherward  as  a  haven  of  security  and  peace  ;  a  new  world  whose 
hospitable  harbors,  in  the  faith  of  these  migrators,  seemingly 
offered  promises  of  an  asylum  free  from  political  oppressions,  and 
a  retreat  full  of  that  repose  which  they  knew  from  bitter  exper- 
iences would  be  denied  them  in  their  own  countries. 

The  birth  of  society  is  no  older  than  is  the  love  of  man  for  the 
land  of  his  nativity.  All  ordinary  rules  and  principles  govern- 
ing the  actions  of  men  seem  contradicted  by  emigration  from  an 
old  to  a  new  country,  whereby  men  voluntarily  combat  the  dan- 
gers and  difficulties  of  savage  nature  in  a  wilderness  beyond  the 
seas,  after  abandoning  the  graves  of  their  ancestors,  the  friends 
of  a  life-time,  and  the  hearth-stones  around  which  have  centred 
all  the  affections  and  sympathetic  experiences  of  their  own  fam- 
ilies and  those  of  their  progenitors.  Yet,  at  the  time  of  which 
we  write,  notwithstanding  the  prevalence  of  this  universal  and 
world-wide  sentiment,  it  was  powerless  to  stem  the  great  tidal 
wave  of  humanity  that  rolled   irresistibly  America-ward.     Ship 


Why  Germans  Left  Fatherland.  27 

after  ship,  their  decks  crowded  with  Scotch  refugees,  dropped 
anchor  off  Pertli  Amboy,  enriching,  as  Grahaine  writes,  East 
Jersey  society  "  by  valuable  accessions  of  virtue  that  had  been 
refined  by  adversity,  and  piety  that  was  invigorated  by  persecu- 
tion." Quakers  and  Dissenters  from  Old  England  landed  in 
Pennsylvania,  and  Puritans  from  that  same  little  island  joined 
their  brethren  in  Massachusetts,  augmenting  that  sturdy  stock 
who  were  laying  the  foundations  of  the  future  American  nation. 
The  forests,  which  had  for  centuries  fringed  both  banks  of  the 
Delaware,  were  felled  by  the  brawny  arms  of  fair- haired  Swedes. 
Huguenots,  among  them  the  best  blood  of  France,  as  well  as  her 
most  skilled  artisans,  swelled  the  population  of  New  York  and 
the  more  southern  provinces,  while  rotund  Hollanders,  smoking 
long  Delft  pipes,  still  sailed  their  higli-pooped  shallops  up  Hud- 
son's river,  settling  on  its  shores,  and  penetrating  to  the  little 
Dutch  settlement  which  has  since  grown  to  be  the  capital  of  a 
great  State.  Though  home-seekers,  these  latter  had  not  left 
Holland  from  religious  or  political  motives. 

But  nowhere  on  the  continent  of  Europe  did  this  spirit  of 
unrest  hover  with  greater  persistency  than  over  the  beautiful  val- 
leys of  the  Rhine  and  its  tributaries.  The  cycle  of  the  eighteenth 
century  had  not  rolled  away  many  of  its  years  before  thousands 
of  Germans  had  turned  their  backs  on  all  they  would  naturally 
hold  most  dear  and  sought  homes  in  foreign  lands.  Expatriation 
is  a  severe  oi-deal  even  when  the  native  shores  of  the  exile  are 
stertile  and  barren  of  fruitfulness  ;  how  much  more  severe  must 
be  this  experience  to  one  who,  by  unjust  laws  and  an  unright- 
eous government,  is  forced  to  sever  the  invisible  links  of  affec- 
tion that  bind  him  to  a  land  of  pleasant  abundance,  and  a  home 
seated  amid  environments  of  picturesqueness  and  beauty. 

The  Teuton  is  by  nature  stable  ;  his  afl'ections  intuitively  take 
deep  root  in  the  soil  of  his  native  land,  and  no  one  holds  in 
greater  reverence  the  sacred  names  of  home  and  fatherland. 
How,  then,  do  we  account  for  this  great  exodus  from  Germany, 
especially  from  those  fair  regions  bordering  the  valleys  of  the 
Rhine,  the  Moselle,  the  Nahr  and  the  sinuous  Neckar  ?  If  his 
native  hills,  rivers  and  homesteads  are  so  dear,  how  is  it  that  at 
the  present  day  we  find  the  German  to  be  in  the  greatest  num- 
ber  of  all   the  foreign   population    in  far-away   America  ?     To 


28         Thk  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

properly  answer  this  question  it  will  be  necessary  to  consider 
the  political  aspect  of  Germany  at  the  time  referred  to,  and  to 
take  a  hurried  retrospective  glance  at  the  history  and  condition 
of  the  common  people  for  several  anterior  decades. 

One  does  not  delve  very  deep  in  Continental  annals  of  the 
eighteenth  century  without  discovering  that  at  this  time  the 
condition  of  Germany  was  most  deplorable.  Many  of  the  innum- 
erable kingdoms,  duchies,  principalities,  independent  towns  and 
free  cities  that  were  strewed  disconnectedly  over  the  land 
between  the  Rhine  and  the  Danube  had  rulers  who  claimed  an 
almost  absolute  sway  over  their  hapless  subjects.  They  often 
demanded  their  lives,  their  fortunes,  their  services  ;  the  latter  not 
called  upon  always  for  the  benefit  and  protection  of  their  own 
country  or  community,  but  to  be  bartered  for  gold  to  other  gov- 
ernments. Successive  furious  wars  had  raged  with  but  short 
intermission  for  several  generations.  And  the  end  was  not 
yet ;  the  map  of  Europe  was  to  undergo  many  changes,  and 
the  destiny  of  all  Germany  was  to  be  determined.  The  great 
Frederick  was  yet  to  mould  his  small  kingdom  into  the  powerful 
nation  of  Prussia.  Even  when  that  work  was  accomplished,  and 
fifty  years  after  that  illustrious  king  had  returned  from  the  Seven 
Years'  War,  the  German  people  gathered  themselves  together 
for  the  greatest  struggle  they  had  yet  attempted  ;  but  it  was  with 
happier  hearts  and  a  more  abounding  faith  that  they  entered 
into  this  contest,  for  they  felt  the  glow  of  a  national  patriotism, 
and  each  blow  struck  was  for  a  common  cause  and  fatherland. 
The  sun  of  peace,  prosperity  and  greatness,  as  has  been  well 
said,  did  not  rise  on  Germany  till  the  year  1813,  which  saw  the 
end  of  the  prolonged  struggle  that  may  be  considered  to  have 
commenced  with  the  Thirty  Years'  War. 

But  we  must  go  back  of  the  year  1700  to  look  for  the  original 
cause  of  German  emigration.  In  the  early  part  of  the  seven- 
teenth century  the  peasants,  burghers  and  the  great  middle- 
class  of  Germany  were  well  to  do.  The  prosperity  was  occa- 
sioned by  the  long  continued  peace,  giving  to  the  people  the 
opportunity  of  cultivating  their  fields  and  promoting  agriculture, 
the  foundation  of  opulence  in  all  countries.  Some  historians 
consider  that  garden  and  field  cultivation  in  1618  were  superior 
to  that  of  two  hundred  years  later,  arguing  that  the  present  cen- 


The  Thirty  Years'  War  Overwhelms  Germany.      29 

tury  has  only  seen  Germany  brought  back  agriculturally  to 
where  it  was  those  long  years  ago.  Tillage,  of  course,  produced 
much  less  variety,  many  of  the  grains  and  vegetables  of  the  pre- 
sent century  being  then  unknown.  Flax  was  a  staple,  and  much 
money  was  made  from  the  cultivation  of  anise  and  saffron. 
Everywhere  were  vineyards,  and  in  the  fields  were  to  be  seen 
hops,  wheat,  horsebeans,  turnips,  teazel  and  rape.  The  houses 
were  much  inferior  to  those  of  to-day,  but  they  were  not  defi- 
cient in  interior  comforts.  Many  a  German  matron  of  the  pre- 
sent time  exhibits  with  pride  the  curiously  carved  chairs  and 
cupboards,  ornamented  spinning  wheels,  and  treasures  of  earth- 
ernware  and  drinking  vessels  that,  having  escaped  the  vicissi- 
tudes of  the  years  gone  by,  have  been  handed  down  to  her  as 
precious  heirlooms  of  those  ancient  days. 

Yes,  it  was  a  happy  time  for  the  common  people  of  Germany. 
The  scars  of  war  were  healed.  Of  course  they  had  their  bur- 
dens. The  nobles  were  oppressive.  There  was  the  door  tax, 
the  window-tax,  and  other  heavy  impositions,  and  much  that  was 
earned  must  go  to  support  the  comforts  and  luxuries  of  the  cas- 
tles and  manorial  houses.  But  as  the  people  knew  nothing  of 
true  liberty  they  were  satisfied  and  happy  in  following  their 
peaceful  avocations.  They  gave  no  thought  to  war,  or  to  the 
fact  that  the  politics  of  Germany  was  a  bubbling  cauldron  of 
conflicting  interests,  on  the  verge  of  boiling  over,  and  little  they 
recked  of  the  horrors  in  store  for  them  in  the  near  future. 
What  did  they  know  of  the  bloody  horoscope  that  was  being 
cast  by  the  disputes  of  the  house  of  Hapsburg  and  the  German 
rulers,  or  of  the  princes  that  were  unfurling  the  banners  of  the 
two  hostile  religious  parties  ?  In  Catholic  commimities  the  inhab- 
itants were  well  content  with  their  parish  priests,  and  in  the 
Protestant  towns  and  hamlets  the  faithful  pastors  filled  all  the 
needs  of  the  people.  In  the  village  Gasfhaus,  in  the  evenings, 
there  may  have  been  talk  of  fighting  and  suffering  in  Bohemia  ; 
but  it  mattered  little  to  the  villagers,  as  they  drank  their  beer 
and  smoked  their  porcelain  pipes,  except  as  furnishing  subject 
for  chat  and  wonder.  As  the  months  and  years  roUed  on, 
rumors  grew  more  rife,  and  localities  named  grew  much  nearer ; 
by  1623  it  was  in  Thuringia  that  conflicts  were  reported  ;  by 
the  next  year  there  was  no  longer  any  doubt  that   Middle  Ger- 


30  The  Stoey  of  an  Old  Farm. 

many  was  being  overrun  by  foreign  troops;  in  a  few  months  the 
Spanish  soldiers,  under  General  Spinola,  broke  in  the  lower 
Palatinate,  and  all  the  miseries  of  war  fell  upon  the  entire  Rhine 
valley.  For  over  a  quarter  of  a  century  the  whole  country  was 
devastated  by  contesting  armies.  Hordes  of  Cossacks,  Poles, 
Walloons,  Irish,  Spaniards,  Italians,  English,  Danes,  Finns  and 
Swedes,  together  with  their  camp  followers,  tramped  over  Ger- 
man soil,  settling  like  swarms  of  locusts  on  the  comfortable  vil- 
lages and  fat  fields,  obliterating  in  a  few  months'  stay  in  a  local- 
ity every  vestige  of  the  accumulations  of  years  of  patient  toil. 

Readers  of  German  history  are  familiar  with  the  bitterness 
and  woe  of  the  next  three  decades, — an  epoch  fraught  with  such 
distress  that  the  mind  almost  refuses  to  contemplate  the  detailed 
and  prolonged  sufferings  of  the  German  people.  Gustav  Freytag, 
who  has  pictured  in  strong  outline  the  desolations  of  this 
time,  considers  the  reason  that  the  war  raged  for  a  whole  gener- 
ation and  exhausted  a  powerful  people  was  because  none  of  the 
contending  parties  were  able  to  prosecute  it  on  a  grand  or  deci- 
sive scale.  He  claims  that  the  largest  army  in  the  Thirty 
Years'  War  did  not  equal  an  ordinary  corps  of  modern  times. 
The  Austrian  commander,  Tilly,  thought  forty  thousand  to  be 
the  greatest  body  of  men  that  a  general  could  properly  handle ; 
during  the  war  it  was  rare  that  an  army  reached  that  magni- 
tude. The  fighting  was  mostly  done  by  smaller  bands  distrib- 
uted over  a  wide  area  of  country,  and  the  distress  brought  upon 
the  communities  was  not  more  caused  by  the  sacking  and  pil- 
lage of  the  soldiery  than  by  the  wretched  system  of  camp  follow- 
ers in  vogue  at  that  time.  Not  only  the  officers  but  the  privates, 
also,  were  accompanied  on  their  campaigns  by  wives,  mistresses 
and  children;  they,  in  their  train,  often  had  a  following  of  a 
much  worse  character,  and  all  the  dissolute  men  and  women  of  a 
community  were  generally  to  be  found  about  the  camp  of  an 
occupying  army. 

This  condition  of  affairs  was  not  confined  to  the  foreign  sol- 
diers, but  the  evil  also  attached  to  the  German  troops.  Wall- 
hausen  reckons  as  indispensable  to  a  German  regiment  of  infan- 
try four  thousand  women,  children  and  other  followers.  At  the 
close  of  the  war  in  1648,  General  Gronsfeld  reports  that  the 
Imperial  and  Bavarian  armies  contained  forty  thousand  drawing 


The  Treaty  of  Westphalia  Brings  Peace.  31 

rations,  and  one  hundred  and  forty  thousand  who  did  not.  These 
figures  give  some  slight  idea  of  the  horrors  of  war  at  that  period. 
Picture  an  army  made  up  of  many  nationalities,  with  its  greater 
army  of  followers,  largely  composed  of  the  depraved  of  both  sexes 
from  all  parts  of  Europe.  The  troops  were  paid,  clothed  and 
fed  by  their  respective  governments;  but  what  of  the  great  out- 
lying camp?  It  could  only  subsist  and  exist  by  thieving, 
oppression  and  crime.  The  thatch  was  torn  from  the  cottages 
that  the  horses  of  the  marauders  might  be  bedded.  The  cottages 
were  razed  to  furnish  materials  for  building  huts.  The  carts 
were  taken  from  the  yards,  the  oxen  from  their  stalls.  The  pas- 
sage of  an  army  meant  the  entire  disappearance-  of  all  the  cattle. 
The  immense  flocks  of  parish  sheep  that  nibbled  the  grass  on 
the  sides  of  the  stony  heights  and  roamed  over  the  abundant  ver- 
dure of  the  meadows  found  their  way  to  the  roasting-ovens  and 
stew-pots  of  the  great  mob,  and  the  national  wool  of  Germany, 
known  in  every  market  of  the  world,  was  lost  forever.  The 
large  cities  proved  a  place  of  refuge  for  the  upper  classes,  as  in 
them  some  semblance  of  government  and  order  was  maintained  ; 
but  for  the  country  people  there  were  no  such  retreats.  They 
were  robbed  and  maltreated  ;  and  if  they  did  not  promptlv  dis- 
close the  hiding  places  of  their  treasures,  were  beaten,  maimed 
and  often  killed.  Their  lads  swelled  the  ranks  of  the  soldiery; 
their  daughters,  alas,  were  often  kidnapped  and  coerced  into  the 
ranks  of  the  concubines.  Did  an  army  remain  long  in  one  local- 
ity fear  seized  upon  the  inhabitants;  and  the  effect  of  tlie  feel- 
ing of  terror  and  insecurity,  and  the  horribly  vicious  associations 
with  which  the}'  were  surrounded,  produced  a  condition  of 
despair  and  moral  recklessness  which  were  appalling.  Frequently 
the  villagers  themselves  turned  robbers,  wives  deserted  their 
husbai.ls,  children  their  parents,  and  many  fled  to  the  mountains 
and  forest  for  a  place  of  safety.  It  was  a  time  when  the  face  of 
Jehovah  seemed  turned  away  from  Germany — when  the  whole 
land  apparently  lay  under  the  shadow  of  the  Almighty  dis- 
pleasure ! 

The  middle  of  the  century  brought  peace.  The  thirty  years 
of  tears  and  blood  were  over.  The  graves  could  not  give  up 
their  dead  ;  the  treaty  of  Westphalia  might  assert  the  triumphs 
of  religious  and  political   liberty   in  Germany,  but   it   could  not 


32  The  Story  ok  an  Old  Farm. 

restore  the  virtue  of  the  dissolute,  nor  the  prosperity  of  the  com- 
munities. Nor  did  the  sorrows  end  with  the  war  ;  there  were 
still  desolated  homes,  abject  poverty  and  rampant  crime !  For 
thirty  years  the  vagi'ants  of  Europe  had  made  Germany  their 
abiding  place.  They  did  not  all  leave  with  the  troops,  but  wan- 
dered about  the  country,  a  disorderly  rabble,  terrorizing  the 
people.  Still  there  was  peace  !  Bells  were  ringing,  bonfires 
burning,  and  in  the  cities  peace  banquets  were  spread,  and 
anthems  sung.  The  rocky  fastnesses,  the  distant  forests  and  the 
larger  cities  gave  up  their  refugees.  The  people  again  gathered 
in  their  dismantled  villages  and  on  their  wasted  lands,  the  gut- 
ted fields  were  inspected,  holes  in  the  bams  repaired,  and  their 
damaged  and  often  tottering  houses  were  made  habitable.  The 
broken  links  of  society  were  welded,  and  the  forging  of  the  great 
chain  of  progress  and  growth  which  had  been  so  rudely  broken 
was  again  undertaken. 

Recuperation,  however,  was  slow,  and  the  impoverishment  of 
the  people  so  great  as  to  render  them  almost  helpless.  In  some 
neighborhoods  sixty  per  cent,  of  the  population  had  disappeared, 
and  three-fifths — yes,  four-fifths — of  all  property  had  been  dis- 
sipated. Furniture,  tools  and  utensils  were  gone,  and  the  peas- 
ants in  again  attempting  their  industrial  pursuits  found  them- 
selves almost  in  a  state  of  nature.  In  some  principalities  the 
improvement  was  more  rapid  than  in  others.  Prussia  was  raised 
from  the  lowest  depths  of  misery  and  desolation  by  the  energy 
and  wisdom  of  Frederic  William,  the  great  Elector,  who  ruled 
from  1640  to  1688,  and  in  the  south  and  east,  where  the  country 
enjoyed  the  blessings  of  peace  for  comparatively  a  number  of 
years,  slow  but  continued  strides  were  made  toward  betterment. 
But  on  the  western  frontier  and  along  the  valley  of  the  Rhine 
and  its  tributaries  no  such  opportunity  was  given  the  exhausted 
people  for  regeneration  and  revival.  Peace  had  not  come  to 
stay  !  For  nearly  a  century  yet,  these  fair  regions  were  to  lie 
devastated  and  prostrate,  the  plunder  and  fighting  ground  of 
France  and  her  allies. 

I  have  dwelt  thus  long  on  the  detailed  horrors  of  the  Thirty 
Years'  War/ and  the  subsequent  years,  because  it  was  a  time  fated 
to  have  a  momentous  effect  on  the  future  of  our  own  country. 
The  result  of  that  cruel  contest,  and  the  after-paralyzed   condi- 


Germany  the  Fighting  Ground  of  Europe.  33 

tion  of  affairs,  was  the  tide  of  emigration  that  rose  toward  the 
close  of  that  century,  swelled  to  a  great  flood  in  the  next  one 
hundred  years,  and  since  then  has  rolled,  and  even  now  is  rolling, 
a  vast  human  sea  of  Germans  across  the  American  continent. 
Without  doubt  other  influences  assisted  and  encouraged  this 
great  movement.  Despotic  princes,  petty  differences  between 
small  states,  sumptuary  laws,  extortions,  and  cruel  conscriptions 
in  later  wars,  all  helped  to  wean  the  German  from  his  country. 
The  revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes,  in  1685,  which  cost  France 
seven  hundred  thousand  of  her  best  citizens,  brought  much  suf- 
fering on  the  Protestants  of  Germany.  Huguenots  from  over 
the  borders  flocked  in  great  numbers  to  the  shelter  afforded  by 
the  Lutheran  Palatine  elector.  This  insured  to  that  prince  and 
his  people  the  vengeance  of  Madame  de  Maintenon  ;  she  gave 
peremptory  orders,  through  Louvois,  that  the  Palatinate  should 
be  utterly  destroyed,  and  one  hundred  thousand  French  soldiers 
were  despatched  by  Louis  XIV.  to  do  the  work.  Thousands  of 
Germans  were  forced  to  escape  religious  persecution  by  flight. 
But  tlie  original  idea  of  emigration,  the  first  setting  in  motion  of 
the  ball  of  expatriation,  was  due  to  that  foundation  of  aU  Ger- 
many's subsequent  miseries,  the  Thirty  Years'  War ;  and  had  it 
not  been  for  that  prolonged  conflict,  which  so  weakened  the 
country  as  to  render  the  people  unable  to  withstand  their  future 
trials,  our  nation  would  to-day  be  without  millions  of  citizens  who 
now  honor  it,  and  make  it  the  greater,  because  of  their  inteUi- 
gence,  industry,  frugality  and  virtue. 

In  1672  Louis  XIV.  astonished  Europe  by  the  rapidity  with 
which  he  conquered  three  provinces  and  forty  fortresses  in  Hol- 
land ;  but  the  dykes  were  cut  and  the  newly  elected  stadtholder, 
Wihi.im  of  Orange,  formed  an  alliance  with  Germany  and 
Spain.  In  the  several  years  of  war  that  followed,  the  Rhine 
country  was  repeatedly  ravaged,  the  devastation  earning  for 
General  Turenne  and  the  French  the  execration  of  the  world. 
Hardly  had  this  war  terminated  by  the  treaty  of  Nymeguen,  in 
1679,  before  Louis  XIV.  laid  claim  to  several  German  territor- 
ies, leading  to  another  distressing  contest  of  four  years,  the 
Rhenish  provinces  bearing  the  brunt  of  the  suffering.  The  treaty 
of  Ratisbon,  in  1684,  ended  this  conflict,  but  within  two  years 
William  III.  of  England  formed  the  league  of  Augsburg  against 
3 


34  The  Stoey  of  an  Old  Fahm. 

France,  and  in  1688  Louis'  army  was  again  desolating  the  Pal- 
atinate and  other  portion*  of  Germany  with  fire  and  sword, 
destroying  the  towns,  villages  and  castles,  until  to  this  day,  from 
Drachenfels  to  Heidelberg,  the  line  of  march  is  marked  by 
crumbling  walls,  ruined  battlements,  and  blown-up  towers.  A 
short  rest  was  brought  the  Germans  by  the  peace  of  Ryswick,  in 
1697 ;  but  it  is  useless  to  continue  the  narrative  of  Germany's 
wars  through  the  conflict  of  the  Spanish  Succession,  Frederic  the 
Great's  campaigns,  and  the  continuous  fighting  of  the  eighteenth 
century.  Sufficient  has  been  recounted  in  the  above  rapid 
review  to  bring  before  the  mind  of  the  reader  ample  evidence 
to  show  why  the  Germans,  especially  those  of  what  is  now 
Rhenish  Prussia,  should  have,  notwithstanding  their  love  of 
home,  been  so  impoverished  and  disheartened  as  to  be  constrained 
to  sorrowfully  turn  their  backs  on  Germany,  and  seek  in  the  new 
world  that  peace,  freedom  and  protection  which  had  been  denied 
to  them  and  their  fathers  on  theii-  native  soil. 


CHAPTER     IV. 

German  Expatriation — The  Distribution  of  Teuton  Emigrants  in 
the  American  Colonies. 

In  the  preceding  chapter  an  endeavor  has  been  made  to  show- 
that  even  early  in  the  seventeenth  century  the  Gei-nians  had 
good  cause  for  deserting  fjithei-land.  When  resolved  on  expatri- 
ation their  steps  nearly  all  turned  westward,  and  they  seemed  of 
one  mind  as  to  what  country  offered  the  greatest  inducements  to 
home-seekers,  and  presented  the  most  complete  assurances  of 
relief  from  the  heavy  burdens  under  which  they  had  groaned  in 
Europe.  The  tide  of  emigration  set  steadily  toward  America, 
and  from  those  early  days  till  now,  the  name  and  thought  of  our 
country  has  been  as  a  sweet  savor  in  the  nostrils  of  oppressed 
Teutons.  Commencing  as  a  little  rill  the  current  gradually 
increased  in  volume,  until,  as  we  learn  from  recently  published 
statistics,  between  1880  and  1884  the  yearly  exodus  from  Ger- 
many averaged  nearly  one  hundred  and  seventy-iive  thousand 
souls  ;  while  of  two  millions,  six  hundred  and  one  thousand  Ger- 
mans now  living  outside  of  the  Empire,  two  millions  are  citizens 
of  the  United  States. 

There  is  no  accurate  record  of  the  earliest  Teuton  emigration 
to  America.  Edward  Eggleston,  a  diligent  student  of  colonial 
history,  claims  that  Germans  came  with  the  colonists  of  Massa- 
chusetts Bay,  and,  without  doubt,  some  of  the  so-called  Dutch  of 
the  New  Netherlands  were  High  Dutch,  or  Germans,  from  the 
Rhine,  beyond  the  Holland  border.  Before  the  close  of 
the  Thirty  Years'  War  the  vast  movement  from  the  Rhine 
country  may  be  said  to  have  commenced,  and  the  year  1640 
found  Germans  settled  on  the  Delaware  in  the  Swedish 
colony    planted    by    the    Lutheran    king,    Gustavus  Adolphus. 


36  The  Story  of  an  Old  Fakm. 

But  until  1682  the  arrival  of  immigrants  in  this  country 
was  neither  frequent  nor  regular.  In  the  preceding  year 
William  Penn  had  advertised  to  the  world  his  liberal  govern- 
ment, and  oflfered  in  Pennsylvania  homes  for  the  persecuted  and 
oppressed  of  all  nations.  Penn  had  acquired  his  great  American 
grant  of  forty  thousand  square  miles  of  territory  from  the  Crown, 
in  payment  of  a  debt  of  sixteen  thousand  pounds  due  his  father. 
The  King  named  the  tract  after  the  elder  Peun,  and  it  is  inter- 
esting to  know,  as  illustrating  the  modesty  and  simplicity  of  the 
son,  that  he  strongly  objected  to  this  appellation,  even  going  so 
far  as  to  attempt  the  bribing  of  an  under-secretary,  that  the  name 
might  be  changed.  In  1683  Francis  Daniel  Pastorious,  a  Fran- 
conian  German  of  education,  arrived  with  other  immigrants  at 
Philadelphia,  taking  up  land  at  Germantown,  commencing  that 
settlement  with  thirteen  families.  Arents  Klincken  erected  the 
first  two-storey  house,  Penn  being  present,  and  helping  to  eat  the 
"  raising  dinner."  Within  a  few  years  the  settlement  was  aug- 
mented by  the  arrival  of  over  one  thousand  Germans,  among 
whom  were  the  ancestors  of  the  present  prominent  Pennsylvania 
families  of  Rittenhouse,  Shoemaker,  Carpenter,  Potts  and  Van 
Wart.  The  most  of  them  came  from  near  the  city  of  Worms,  in 
Westphalia.  They  must  have  felt  grateful  for  their  quiet 
provincial  homes  when  they  heard  of  the  dreadful  ravages  of  the 
French,  in  1689,  who  laid  waste  the  entire  country  from  which 
they  had  emigrated,  the  flames  rising  from  every  hamlet,  market 
place  and  parish  church  in  the  Duchy  of  Cleves,  in  which  Worms 
is  situated. 

The  greatest  influx  of  Germans  commenced  about  1700. 
Within  the  following  twenty-five  years  vast  numbers  fled  from 
the  desolations  and  persecutions  at  home  to  the  English  colonies 
in  America,  and  it  is  estimated  that  over  fifty  thousand  within 
that  time  reached  the  province  of  Pennsylvania.  A  few  miles 
from  Bendorf,  on  the  Rhine,  is  the  well  built  and  attractive  town 
of  Neuwied  ;  it  has  now  a  population  of  about  ten  thousand,  com- 
prising Romanists,  Lutherans,  Moravian  Brethren,  Baptists  and 
Jews,  who  live  together  in  harmony.  Count  Frederic  of  Wied, 
whose  descendants  still  occupy  the  spacious  palace  at  its  north 
end,  founded  the  town  in  1653,  on  the  site  of  the  village  of  Lan- 
gendorf,  which  was  entirely  destroyed  in  the  Thirty  Years'  War, 


The  Settlement  op  German  Valley,  N.  J.  87 

Here,  in  1705,  arrived  a  number  of  Lutherans,  who  had  fled  from 
persecutions  at  Wolfenbriittel  and  Halberstadt.  The  then  Count 
of  Wied,  who  welcomed  all  comers  without  distinction  of  religion, 
gave  them  residence  and  protection.  Here  they  remained 
for  some  time,  and  then  went  on  down  the  river  to  Holland, 
where  they  embarked,  in  1707,  for  New  York.  After  a  severe 
and  protracted  voyage  a  violent  storm  drove  their  small  ship 
south  of  Sandy  Hook,  obliging  the  master  to  take  refuge  in  the 
capes  of  the  Delaware,  and  ultimately  land  his  passengers  at 
Philadelphia.  Determined  to  continue  to  the  province  of  New 
York  the  immigrants  left  the  Quaker  City,  journeying  overland. 
Travelling  thitherward,  they  reached  the  crest  of  the  Schooley's 
Mountain  range,  in  Morris  County,  New  Jersey,  and  were  sud- 
denly confronted  by  the  view  of  a  charming  vallev.  Below  were 
the  pleasant  reaches  of  the  Musconetcong,  flowing  tranquilly 
between  grassy  banks,  with  rich  meadows  rolling  back  in  gentle 
undulations,  seeming  fairly  to  invite  settlement.  To  these  tem- 
pest-tossed wanderers  it  appeared,  indeed,  a  land  of  promise ; 
what  more  could  they  desire  in  a  search  for  homes  ?  New  York 
province  certainly  would  offer  no  richer  or  more  inviting  local- 
ity, so  here  they  decided  to  remain.  Descending  the  mountain  side 
they  drove  their  tent  stakes,  and  laid  their  hearth-stones,  as  the 
commencement  of  a  settlement  which  has  been  known  from  that 
day  to  this  as  the  German  Valley.  It  is  claimed  that  many  now 
well-known  families  in  Morris,  Hunterdon  and  Somerset  Counties 
take  their  origin  from  this  ancient  little  Lutheran  community.* 


*This  account  of  the  first  settlement  of  German  Valley  is  based  on  statements 
made  in  Rupps'  "  Early  German  Emigrants  to  Pennsylvania,"  Mott's  "First 
Century  of  Hunterdon  County,"  Blauvelt's  "Historical  Sketch  of  the  German 
Reformed  and  Presbyterian  Church  of  German  Valley,"  and  Snell's  "History  of 
Hunterdon  and  Somerset  Counties."  Persons  well  informed  in  the  history  of 
Morris  and  Hunterdon  doubt  this  story  ;  indeed,  do  not  hesitate  to  deny  the  pos- 
sibility of  its  truth.  Various  objections  are  made  to  the  belief  that  these  Bruns- 
wick and  Prussian  emigrants  were  the  progenitors  of  the  present  resident  Ger- 
man families  of  Clinton,  Lebanon  and  Tewksbury,  in  Hunterdon,  and  of  Wash- 
ington, in  Morris  county.  The  most  tenable  one  advanced  is  that  there  is  not  a 
particle  of  documentary  evidence  to  show  that  there  were  many,  if  any,  Ger- 
mans occupying  the  region  now  forming  those  townships  previous  to  the  year 
1720,  and  that  the  family  names  of  Pickel,  Welch,  Apgar,  Alspaugh,  Philhower, 
Kline,  Rhinehart,  Eick  and  others,  which  have  been  credited  as  being  those  of 
persons  descended  from  those  persecuted  immigrants,  can  all  be  accounted  for  as 
importations  after  the  year  1720,  and  most  of  them  after  1730. 


38  The  Story  op  an  Old  Fakm. 

Hendrick  Hudson,  after  his  voyage  in  the  "Half-Moon,"  in 
1609,  in  writing  of  the  locality  on  which  now,  a  populous  cres- 
cent, the  city  of  Newburgh  rests,  mentions  it  as  "a  pleasant 
place  to  build  a  town  on."  As  the  Palatine  parish  of  Quassaick, 
on  this  "pleasant  place,"  a  town  was  laid  out,  about  one  hun- 
dred years  later,  by  emigrants  from  Germany.  The  company 
comprised  forty-two  persons,  who,  under  the  guidance  of  their 
pastor,  Joshua  Kockerthal,  had  been  sent  to  America  by  Queen 
Anne,  who  had  guaranteed  them  nine  pence  a  day  for  a  year's 
support,  and  a  grant  of  land  on  which  to  settle.  They  had  been 
driven  to  the  fields  in  mid-winter  by  the  destruction  of  their 
homes  by  the  French,  and  had  applied  to  the  English  govern- 
ment for  aid,  as  Protestants  who  were  suffering  from  abject  pov- 
erty, because  of  their  religious  beliefs.  On  reaching  New  York 
Lord  Lovelace  had  them  transported  to  Quassaick  creek,  and 
ultimately  his  successor,  Grovernor  Hunter,  issued  to  them  a 
patent  for  twenty-one  hundred  and  ninety  acres  of  land.  The 
first  place  of  worship  in  Newburgh  was  a  little  Lutheran  church, 
twenty  feet  square,  built  by  these  foreigners.  The  settlement 
as  a  German  community  did  not  prosper.  The  Palatines, 
who  were  mostly  husbandmen,  found  the  rough  hillsides  much 
inferior  for  cultivation  to  the  rich  lands  they  had  known  over  the 
seas.  Attracted  by  descriptions  from  friends,  located  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, of  the  fertile  regions  they  inhabited,  the  individual  own- 
ers gradually  sold  the  plots  originally  apportioned  them  and 
removed  to  that  Quaker  colony.  By  1743  practically  the  place 
had  changed  from  a  German  settlement  to  a  Scotch-English' 
neighborhood.  Notwithstanding  the  comparatively  short  time 
the  Palatines  lived  on  Quassaick  creek,  they  left  an  indelible 
mark  on  the  country,  and  a  record  of  which  the  people  of  New- 
burgh are  still  proud.  That  city's  historian,  E.  M.  Rutten- 
ber,  writes  that  "no  citizens  of  more  substantial  worth  are  found 
under  the  flag  of  this,  their  native  land,  than  their  descendants; 
no  braver  men  were  in  the  armies  of  the  Revolution  than  Herki- 
mer and  Muhlenberg.  Had  they  done  nothing  in  the  parish  but 
made  clearings  in  its  forests  and  planted  fields  they  would  be 
entitled  to  grateful  remembrance;  but  they  did  more — they  gave 
to  it  its  first  church  and  its  first  govei'nment,  and  in  all  its  sub- 
sequent history  their  descendants  have  had  a  part." 


Thirteen  Thousand  Germans  Reach  London  in  1709.     39 

The  citizens  of  London  were  astonished  to  learn,  in  May  and 
June,  1709,  that  five  thousand  men,  women  and  children,  Ger- 
mans from  the  Rhine,  were  under  tents  in  the  suburbs.  By- 
October  the  number  had  increased  to  thirteen  thousand,  and 
comprised  husbandmen,  tradesmen,  school  teachers  and  minis- 
ters. These  emigrants  had  deserted  the  Palatinate,  owing  to 
French  oppression  and  the  persecution  by  their  prince,  the 
elector  John  William,  of  the  House  of  Newburgh,  who  had 
become  a  devoted  Romanist,  though  his  subjects  were  mainly 
Lutherans  and  Calvinists.  Professor  Henry  A.  Homes,  in  a 
paper  treating  of  this  emigration  read  before  the  Albany  Insti- 
tute in  1871,  holds  that  the  movement  was  due  not  altogether  to 
unbearable  persecutions,  but  largely  to  suggestions  made  to  the 
Palatines  in  their  own  country  by  agents  of  companies  who  were 
anxious  to  obtain  settlers  for  the  British  colonies  in  America, 
and  thus  give  value  to  the  company's  lands.  The  emigrants 
were  certainly  seized  with  the  idea  that  by  going  to  England 
its  government  would  transport  them  to  the  provinces  of  New 
York,  the  Carolinas  and  Pennsylvania.  Of  the  latter  pro^^nce 
they  knew  much,  as  many  Germans  were  already  there.  Pas- 
torious,  the  founder  of  Germantown,  had  published  circulars  in 
Germany,  extolling  the  colony  and  inviting  settlement.  Penn 
had  also  well  advertised  in  the  Palatinate  the  inducements  for 
settlers  offered  by  his  grant.  The  emigrants  may  have  heard  of 
the  success  of  Pastor  Kockerthal's  little  colony  which  had  gone 
to  New  York  the  previous  year,  and  they  were  all  eager  to  be 
transported  to  a  country  where  rich  lands  were  to  be  had  at  no 
cost,  and  where  their  efforts  for  subsistence  would  be  undis- 
turbed by  oppressions. 

The  English  government  was  much  distressed  by  the  arrival 
of  this  vast  number  of  impoverished  emigrants.  Their  coming 
not  having  been  anticipated,  no  plans  had  been  made  for  their 
distribution  in  the  colonies,  or  their  care  in  England.  Means 
were  taken  at  once  to  notify  the  Dutch  and  German  authorities 
that  no  more  would  be  received.  This  certainly  had  the  sym- 
pathy of  the  elector  Palatine,  who  had  already  published  an 
order  punishing  with  death  and  confiscation  all  subjects  who 
should  quit  their  native  country.  Great  efforts  were  made  to 
prevent  suffering  among  these  poor  people;  thousands  of  pounds 


40  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

were  collected  for  their  maintenance  from  churches  and  individ- 
uals all  over  England;  they  were  lodged  in  warehouses,  empty 
dwellings  and  in  barns,  and  the  queen  had  a  thousand  tents 
pitched  for  them  back  of  Greenwich,  on  Blackheath.  Here,  on 
that  historic  moor,  where  Wat  Tyler  and  Jack  Cade  had 
assembled  the  rebellious  men  of  Kent,  and  where  later,  Claiide 
Duval,  and  other  bold  riders  of  the  road,  were  wont  to  relieve 
belated  travellers  of  their  gold  and  jewels,  was  presented  the 
strange  spectacle  of  an  encampment  of  five  thousand  alien  peo- 
ple, speaking  an  alien  tongue,  awaiting  with  patience  and  confid- 
ence a  help  and  relief  they  felt  sure  would  come  from  the  sym- 
pathy and  compassion  of  Protestant  Englishmen. 

Although  Mortimer,  in  his  "History  of  England,"  says  it  was 
never  known  who  encouraged  them  to  this  emigration,  a  com- 
mittee of  the  House  of  Commons  appointed  in  1711  elicited 
facts,  as  its  report  shows,  going  to  prove  that  the  Queen's  gov- 
ernment was  not  altogether  guiltless  in  provoking  the  move- 
ment. The  Palatines  testified  that  they  had  left  their  country 
because  of  books  and  papers  containing  Queen  Anne's  picture 
that  had  been  distributed,  urging  their  coming  to  England  that 
they  might  be  sent  to  Her  Majesty's  plantations  in  the  colonies. 
It  is  hardly  to  be  believed  that  they  would  have  come  almost  at 
one  time,  and  in  such  great  numbers,  without  having  received 
encouragement  from  agents  or  others,  who  must,  at  least  appar- 
ently, have  made  promises  with  authority.  The  Germans  evi- 
dently expected  that  immediately  on  arrival  in  England  they 
were  to  be  dispatched  in  a  body  across  the  sea;  but  no  one 
stood  ready  to  carry  out  such  a  programme.  If  the  government 
had  made  promises  it  was  with  expectation  of  no  such  liberal 
response.  To  carry  thirteen  thousand  people  would  require  a 
great  fleet  of  the  small  vessels  of  that  time,  and  there  were  no 
ships  for  such  a  service.  Much  time  would  also  be  required  in 
pre])aring  for  their  arrival  in  America,  and  in  perfecting  arrange- 
ments for  their  final  settlement.  Notwithstanding  the  great 
efforts  made  by  the  English  people,  very  much  distress  followed 
this  unhappy  hegira.  Disease  decimated  their  ranks,  and 
many  wandered  about  England,  becoming  a  poverty-stricken 
incubus  on  the  parishes.  Numbers  of  the  younger  men  enlisted 
in  the   British  army  serving  in  Portugal,    and  some  made  their 


Palatines  Settle  in  Ireland  in  1710.  41 

own  way  to  Pennsylvania,  presumably  by  effecting  arrangements 
with  the  masters  of  vessels,  whereby,  on  arrival,  their  services 
were  to  be  sold  for  a  term  sufficient  to  secure  payment  of  their 
passage-money.  This  was  not  an  unusual  means  of  emigration 
to  the  colonies  at  that  time. 

The  Lord  Lieutenant  of  Ireland  petitioned  the  Queen  that 
some  of  the  people  might  be  sent  to  him,  and  by  February,  1710, 
thirty-eight  hundred  had  been  located  across  the  Irish  Sea,  in 
the  province  of  Munster,  near  Limerick.  The  government 
granted  them  temporary  help,  and  within  three  years  twenty- 
four  hundred  pounds  had  been  expended  on  their  removal  and 
maintenance  while  settling.  In  1715  they  became  naturalized 
citizens.  Professor  Homes  recites  in  his  monograph  that  they 
"  now  number  about  twelve  thousand  souls,  and,  under  the  name 
of  Palatinates,  continue  to  impress  a  peculiar  character  upon  the 
whole  district  they  inhabit,  both  in  a  social  and  economical  way." 
Farrar  writes  of  them,  in  the  beginning  of  this  century,  that  they 
have  " left  off  sauer-kraut  and  taken  up  potatoes,  though  still 
preserving  their  own  language;"  that  "their  superstitions  savor 
of  the  banks  of  the  Rhine,  and  in  their  dealings  they  are 
upright  and  honorable."  Kohl,  a  German  traveller  of  1840, 
testifies  that  they  have  not  lost  their  home  character  for  probity 
and  honor,  and  that  they  are  much  wealthier  than  any  of  their 
neighbors. 

According  to  "Luttrell's  Diary"  about  one-tenth  of  the  whole 
number  that  reached  England  were  returned  by  the  Crown  to 
Germany.  This  action  of  the  authorities  seems  to  have  been 
provoked  in  consequence  of  the  portion  returned  not  being  Prot- 
estants, and  for  that  reason  out  of  favor. 

Among  the  exiles  were  a  large  number  of  people  from  Heidel- 
berg. Professor  Rupp  thinks  that  more  than  six  thousand  per- 
sons had  left  thatvicinity  within  twelve  months.  They  had  suffered 
persecution  because  unable  to  change  their  religion  as  often  as 
did  their  government.  The  Elector  Palatine,  Frederic  II., 
became  a  Lutheran ;  Frederic  III.  turned  Calvinist ;  Ludovic  V. 
restored  the  Lutheran  Church,  while  his  son  and  successor 
embraced  the  Calvinist  faith  ;  he  was  succeeded  by  a  Catholic 
prince  who  cruelly  oppressed  the  Protestants.  All  travellers 
remember  with  pleasure  the  beautiful  university  town  of  Heidel- 


42  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

berg,  that,  almost  hidden  in  dense  foliage,  occupies  a  narrow 
bench  of  land  between  the  lofty  Konigstuhl  and  the  restless 
Neckar,  which  here  forces  its  foamy  way  through  a  narrow 
gorge  to  the  broad  Rhine  plain,  just  below.  Away  up  on  the 
side  of  the  mountain,  clinging  to  the  very  edge  of  a  wooded 
precipice,  is  the  most  magnificent  ruin  in  Middle  Europe.  The 
royal  residence  and  stronghold  of  generations  of  electors,  it  was 
three  hundred  years  in  growing  from  a  castle  to  a  palace ;  then 
•came  the  French,  with  their  claim  to  the  Palatinate,  and  this 
royal  architectural  pile  was  battered  and  desolated,  but  fortu- 
nately not  entirely  destroyed.  Beyond  the  castle,  higher  up,  on  a 
little  plateau,  is  a  restaurant  and  garden — the  Wolfsbrunnen. 
Here  the  citizens  of  the  town  meet  on  Sundays,  fete  days  and 
holidays  to  listen  to  music,  and  chat  under  the  trees  with  their 
neighbors.  As  they  blow  the  foam  from  their  cool  steins  of  beer 
and  overlook  the  ivy-clad  ruin,  with  its  quadrangles,  bastions, 
moated  exterior  walls,  and  graceful  interior  fagades  studded  with 
sculptures  and  statues,  they  must  find  abundant  subjects  for 
thought  and  conversation.  If  they  are  inclined  to  "mourn  over 
Israel  "  they  need  not  give  all  their  tears  to  the  defacement  of 
that  effective  mass  of  stone  ;  their  minds  and  sympathies  can 
revert  to  the  miseries  of  their  townspeople  in  the  years  gone  by, 
before  they  had  become  a  portion  of  United  Germany. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  Thirty  Years' War  the  imperial  Count 
Tilly  sacked  Heidelberg,  putting  five  hundred  of  the  inhabitants 
to  death.  Later  on,  in  the  same  war,  the  generals  of  the  French 
captured  the  city,  and  people  without  number  were  slaughtered. 
In  1688  the  French  were  again  in  Heidelboi-g ;  this  time  they 
burned  the  place  to  the  ground,  reducing  the  castle,  and  blowing 
up  its  ancient  and  massive  comer  tower,  although  the  walls  were 
twenty-one  feet  thick  ;  one-half  of  the  structure  fell  into  the 
moat  below,  where  it  lies  intact  to  this  day,  a  most  picturesque 
ruin.  Heidelberg  was  rebuilt  only  to  be  once  more,  in  1693, 
overwhelmed  by  the  armies  of  Louis  XIV.;  flames  again  rose 
from  every  building,  and  the  citizens — men,  women  and  chUdren 
— fifteen  thousand  in  numbei-,  stripped  of  everything,  were 
turned  at  night  into  the  fields.  Not  long  after,  the  elector 
induced  the  inhabitants  to  rebuild  the  town  under  a  promise  of 
liberty  of  conscience  and  thirty  years'   exemption   from  taxes. 


GkEMANS    in    VlRCJlNIA    AND    NORTH    CAROLINA.  43 

Witliin  a  few  years  this  same  elector,  growiiifj-  more  devoted  to 
his  IJomanist  faith,  served  God  in  his  fashion,  which  was  by 
breaking  his  promises,  and  beginning  severe  persecutions  against 
his  Protestant  subjects.  It  was  then,  Rupp  tells  us,  that  thou- 
sands from  this  vicinity,  despairing  of  a  future  at  home,  escaped  to 
England. 

Before  we  return  to  BJackheath,  where  we  left  some  of  them 
under  tents,  let  me  place  in  strong  contrast  to  the  wretchedness 
just  portrayed  the  picture  a  traveller  draws,  a  few  years  later,  of 
the  happiness  and  peace  of  (jernians  in  the  American  colonies. 
Some  time  before  1745  Germans  from  Pennsylvania  penetrated 
the  Shenandoah  Valley,  near  Harrisonburg,  Virginia.  The 
traveller,  before  referred  to,  visited  that  neighborhood  during  the 
Fi'ench  and  English  war,  and  writes  as  follows  of  the  country 
and  people  : 

The  low  grounds  upon  the  banks  of  the  Slienaniloali  Iviver  are  very  rich  and 
fertile.  Tliey  are  chiefly  settled  by  Germans,  wlio  gain:i  sufhcient  livelihood  by 
raising  stock  for  the  troops  and  sending  butter  down  into  the  lower  part  of  the 
country.  I  could  not  but  reflect  with  pleasure  on  the  situation  of  these  people 
and  think  if  there  is  such  a  thing  as  happiness  in  this  life  they  enjoy  it.  Far 
from  the  bustle  of  the  world  they  live  in  the  most  delightful  climate  and  on  the 
richest  soil  imaginable.  They  are  everywhere  surrounded  with  beautiful  pros- 
pects and  sylvan  scenes — lofty  mountains,  transparent  streams,  falls  of  water,  rich 
valleys  and  majestic  woods ;  the  whole  interspersed  with  an  infinite  variety  of 
flowery  shrubs  constitute  the  landscapes  surrounding  them.  They  are  subject  to 
few  diseases,  are  generally  robust  and  live  in  perfect  liberty.  They  know  no 
wants,  and  are  acquainted  with  but  few  vices.  They  possess  what  many  princes 
would  give  half  their  dominions  for — health,  contentment  and  tranquility  of  mind. 
— Howe's  Coll.  of  Va. 

The  Lord  Proprietors  of  Carolina  agreed,  in  1709,  with  Chris- 
topher de  Graffenried  and  Lewis  Michell,from  Switzerland,  to  sell 
to  them  ten  thousand  acres  of  land  in  one  body,  between  the  Cape 
Fear  and  Neuse  rivers.  They  formed  a  land  company,  and,  of 
course,  were  much  in  need  of  settlers.  They  covenanted  with  the 
English  authorities  for  the  transforof  aboutseven  hundred  of  these 
poor  Heidelberg  refugees  to  the  colony.  Before  the  end  of  the  year 
they  had  arrived  with  them  at  a  point  in  North  Carolina,  where 
the  rivers  Neuse  and  Trent  join.  Here  they  established  a  town, 
calling  it  New-Berne,  in  honor  of  Berne,  Switzerland,  de  Graffen- 
ried's  birthplace.  Each  man,  woman  and  child  was  granted  one 
hundred  acres  of  land,  tools  for  building  houses  and  cultivating 
the  soil,  and  with  provisions  for  twelve  mouths'  subsistence.      De 


44  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

Graffenried  proved  false  to  these  people.  In  their  ignorance,  they 
failed  to  secure  titles,  and  later  on  he  mortgaged  the  entire  grant 
for  eight  hundred  pounds,  and  the  lands  ultimately,  through  fore- 
closure, fell  into  the  hands  of  the  heirs  of  the  mortgagee.  Notwith- 
standing this  great  check  to  their  prosperity,  the  Germans,  by  their 
industry  and  economy,  acquired  other  property  and  comfortable 
homes.  Many  years  later  they  petitioned  the  king,  and  were  partly 
indemnitied  Vjy  a  grant  of  ten  thousand  acres,  free  for  ten  years 
from  quit-rents.  As  is  the  experience  of  all  new  colonies,  they 
at  first  suffered  great  trials  and  privations.  Before  two  years 
had  passed,  one  hundred  of  their  number  had  been  massacred  by 
the  Tuscarora  Indians.  But,  as  is  shown  by  Williamson,  the 
historian  of  North  Carolina,  their  industry  and  frugality 
triumphed  over  all  obstacles,  and  the  state  is  to-day  greatly  bene- 
fited by  the  wealth  and  holdings  of  the  descendants  of  these  perse- 
cuted emigrants  from  the  valley  of  the  Neckar. 

It  has  not  been  found  possible  to  properly  account  for  all  the 
thirteen  thousand  Palatines  who  reached  England.  Queen  Anne 
sent  some  of  them  to  Virginia,  settling  tliem  above  the  falls  of 
the  Rappahanock,  in  JSpottsylvania  County,  from  whence  they 
spread  into  several  adjoining  counties,  and  into  North  Carolina. 
Irving  mentions  that  when  George  Washington,  in  1748,  was  sur- 
veying lands  in  this  portion  of  Virginia,  he  was  followed  by  Ger- 
man immigrants  with  their  wives  and  children.  Most  of  them 
could  not  speak  English,  but  when  spoken  to  answered  in  their 
native  tongue.  "  Such  were  the  progenitors  of  the  sturdy  yeo- 
manry now  inhabiting  those  parts,  many  of  whom  still  preserve 
their  strong  German  characteristics." 

After  the  Irish  transportation,  the  largest  number  that  was 
moved  in  one  body,  and  probably  the  final  one  under  government 
auspices,  was  the  fleet-load  that  in  the  spring  of  1710  was  des- 
patched to  New  York.  Lord  Lovelace  having  died,  Robert  Hun- 
ter was  commissioned  as  "  Captain  General,  Goverxor-in-Chief 
of  and  to  the  provinces  of  New  York  and  New  Jersey  and 
territories  thereunto  belonging,  and  Vice-Admiral  and  Chan- 
cellor of  the  same."  Gordon  writes  of  him  as  a  man  of  merit 
and  personal  beauty,  and  a  friend  of  Steele,  Addison,  Swift  and 
the  wits  and  the  literati  of  that  day.  His  appointment  was  said 
to  have  been  due  to  the  influence  of  his  friend  Addison,  who  at 


GrOVERNOR    ROBERT    HuNTER    AND    THE    PALATINES.  45 

that  time  was  Under-Secretary  of  State.  He  had  received  in 
1705  the  commission  as  Lieutenant-Governor  of  Virginia,  but 
while  on  his  way  to  that  colony  his  ship  was  captured  by  the 
French,  who  carried  him  a  prisoner  to  Paris,  where  he  was  con- 
fined for  some  months.  On  reaching  the  colonies  Governor 
Hunter,  growing  much  interested  in  the  province  of  East  Jersey, 
became  a  large  owner  of  its  lands,  acquiring  tracts  and  planta- 
tions both  north  and  south  of  the  Raritan,  and  probably  in  Hun- 
terdon, for  we  find  that  in  1713—14,  when  that  county  was  set 
off,  it  was  named  in  his  honor.  The  Governor  established  a  home 
at  Perth  Amboy,  on  the  bluff  overlooking  the  lower  bay  and 
ocean.  Here  he  retired  when  in  need  of  rest  from  the  labors  of 
the  New  York  administration,  and  while  enjoying  the  beautiful 
panorama  of  hills,  islands  and  watery  expanse,  and  the  sea 
breezes  blowing  fresh  from  Sandy  Hook,  employed  his  leisure 
by  correspondence  with  Swift,  Addison,  and  other  English  friends. 
In  1719  Hunter  went  to  London  and  did  not  return  to  this 
country ;  while  there  he  exchanged  with  William  Burnett,  son 
of  the  celebrated  bishop,  who  succeeded  him  in  the  executive 
office.  He  did  not,  however,  lose  his  interest  in  New  Jersey, 
but  continued  to  acquire  land  in  the  province,  and  retained  his 
friendship  with  the  people  through  correspondence. 

Before  this  royal  governor  embarked  for  America  he  was 
invited  by  the  Board  of  Trade  to  make  suggestions  regarding 
the  disposition  of  the  remaining  Palatines.  Among  the  many 
plans  proposed  it  was  decided  to  transfer  them  to  the  New  York 
colony,  for  the  purpose  of  engaging  in  raising  and  manufacturing 
tar,  resin  and  turpentine  for  naval  purposes.  A  fleet  of  ten 
ships  set  sail  with  Governor  Hunter  in  March,  having  on  board, 
as  is  variously  estimated,  between  three  and  four  thousand  Gei'- 
mans.  They  covenanted  before  embarking  that  after  arrival 
they  would  labor  for  a  sufficient  time  to  discharge  the  cost  of 
their  transportation  and  settlement,  after  which  each  emigrant 
was  to  receive  forty  acres  of  land,  exempt  from  taxation  for 
seven  years.  The  voyage  was  of  nearly  iive  months'  duration, 
the  ships  arriving  at  intervals  between  the  middle  of  June  and 
the  last  of  July.  The  immigrants  were  encamped  on  Nut,  now 
Governor's  Island,  for  about  three  months,  when  a  tract  of  six  thou- 
sand acres  of  the  Livingston  patent  was  purchased  for  them,  one 


46  Thk  SioKY  OF  AN  Old  Fakm. 

hundred  miles  up  the  Hudson,  the  locality  now  being  embraced  in 
GermantowTi,  Columbia  County.  Eight  hundred  acres  were  also 
acquired  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river  at  the  present  location 
of  Saugerties,  in  Ulster  county.  To  these  two  points  most  of  the 
immigrants  were  removed.  Professor  Homes  names  twenty-two 
hundred  and  nine  as  the  greatest  number  settling  on  the  river; 
the  papers  signed  by  the  Palatines  themselves  in  the  "Docu- 
ments relating  to  the  Colonial  History  of  New  York"  reduce  the 
number  by  several  hundred,  and  Edward  Eggleston,  who 
has  lately  been  making  researches  in  the  British  Museum  on  the 
subject,  writes  me  that  "  in  the  manuscript  report  of  the  Board 
of  Trade  and  Plantations,  dated  1721,  the  number  of  Palatines 
settled  contiguous  to  Hudson's  river  is  set  down  at  twenty-two 
hundred  and  twenty-seven."  It  is  known  that  over  four  hun- 
dred died  during  the  voyage.  From  one  hundred  and  fifty  to 
two  hundred,  mostly  widows  and  sick  persons,  remained 
in  New  York  city,  and  the  orphans,  amounting  to  almost  as. 
many  more,  were  apprenticed  by  Governor  Hunter  in  New  York 
and  New  Jersey.  Among  the  poor  widows  was  Johanna  Zen- 
ger,  with  three  children,  one  of  whom,  John  Peter,  at  that  time, 
thirteen  years  old,  was  bound  to  William  Bradford,  printer. 
His,  it  was,  whose  trial  for  libel,  in  1734,  was  a  cause  celebre  in 
the  early  legal  history  of  the  city  of  New  York. 

The  manufacture  of  turpentine  and  naval  stores  did  not  prove 
a  successful  undertaking.  During  the  two  years  necessary  to 
await  the  result  of  their  labors,  the  Germans  grew  dissatisfied; 
they  complained  of  ill-treatment,  and  especially  of  the  bad  char- 
acter of  the  provisions  supplied  by  Livingston,  the  government 
inspector  and  contractor.  Growing  insubordinate.  Governor 
Hunter  attempted  coercion,  which  but  widened  the  breach ; 
many  wandered  off  seeking  new  homes,  and,  in  the  autumn  and 
spring  of  1712-13,  seven  hundred  deserted  the  Hudson,  and, 
making  their  way  sixty  miles  northwest,  settled  in  one  of  the 
fertile  valleys  of  Schoharie  county.  Owing  to  ignorance  regard- 
ing land-tenure,  and  the  carelessness  with  which  they  had  taken 
up  their  individual  holdings,  much  suffering  was  eventually  caused 
these  migrators  by  the  discovery  that  the  titles  to  many  of  their 
properties  were  invalid.  After  nearly  ten  years  of  harassing 
litigations  and  contests,  one  half  the  settlers  for  a  third  time  moved 


German  Gkievances  Against  Nkw  York.  47 

on,  floating  down  the  Susquehanna  river  for  three  hundred  miles, 
an(J  finally  finding  homes  under  the  friendly  government  of 
Pennsylvania.  Palatine  Bridge  and  township,  in  Montgomery 
County,  New  York,  indicate  the  point  to  which  a  second  portion 
of  these  Schoharie  Germans  removed,  and  a  third  contingent 
settled  in  Herkimer  county,  at  a  place  since  known  as  the  Ger- 
man Flats. 

The  Livingston  Manor  immigrants  always  felt  that  they  had 
great  cause  for  grievance  against  the  authorities  of  the  pro^nnce 
of  New  York.  Whether  they  were  right  or  not,  it  is  at  this  late 
day  difficult  to  determine,  but  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  exist- 
ence of  such  feeling  resulted  in  after  years  to  the  great  advan- 
tage of  Pennsylvania.  Peter  Kalm,  a  Swedish  naturalist,  who 
travelled  in  America  in  1748,  remarked  on  the  populousness  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  that  the  province  of  New  Y'orlc  had  much 
fewer  inhabitants.  He  explains  that  fact  in  the  following  man- 
ner : — "In  the  reign  of  Queen  Anne,  about  the  year  1709,  many 
Germans  came  hither,  who  got  a  tract  of  land  from  the  English 
government  which  they  might  settle.  After  they  had  lived  there 
some  time,  and  had  built  houses,  and  made  cornfields  and  mead- 
ows, under  several  pretences  they  were  repeatedly  deprived  of 
parts  of  their  land.  They  returned  violence  for  violence  and 
beat  those  who  thus  robbed  them  of  their  possessions.  The  most 
active  people  among  the  Germans  being  taken  up,  they  were 
roughly  treated  and  punished  with  the  utmost  vigor  of  the  law. 
This,  however,  so  far  exasperated  the  rest  that  the  greater  part 
of  them  left  their  houses  and  fields  and  went  to  settle  in  Pennsyl- 
vania. There  they  were  exceeding  well  received,  got  a  consid- 
erable tract  of  land  and  were  indulged  in  great  privileges,  which 
were  given  them  forever.  The  Germans,  not  satisfied  with 
being  themselves  removed  from  New  York,  wrote  to  their  rela- 
tions and  friends  and  advised  them,  if  ever  they  intended  to 
come  to  America,  not  to  go  to  New  York,  where  the  government 
had  shown  itself  so  inequitable.  This  advice  had  such  influence 
that  the  Germans,  who  afterwards  went  in  great  numbers  to 
North  America,  constantly  avoided  New  York  and  always  went 
to  Pennsylvania.  It  sometimes  happened  that  they  were  forced 
to  go  on  board  such  ships  as  were  bound  for  New  York,  but 
they  were  scarce  got  on  shore,  when  they  hastened  to  Pennsyl- 
vania, in  sight  of  all  the  inhabitants  of  New  York." 


48  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

By  this  time  the  fever  for  emigration  was  deeply  seated  in 
Germany.  Ship  after  ship  sailed  up  the  Delaware  from  over  the 
seas,  black  with  Palatines,  Hanoverians,  Saxons,  and  Austrian  and 
Swiss  Germans.  Spreading  over  the  present  counties  of  York, 
Lancaster,  Berks,  Adams,  Montgomery  and  Northampton,  they 
soon  made  their  industrious  presence  known  by  the  innumerable 
houses  of  logs  that  fastened  themselves  to  the  sloping  sides  of 
the  valleys,  and  by  the  shrinking  back  of  the  forests  from  the 
patches  of  well-tilled  clearings  that  began  to  mosaic  the  Pennsyl- 
vania wildernesses.  They  brought  with  them  their  axes,  mat- 
tocks and  mauls,  and  land  that  had  lain  for  ages  under  the  dark 
canopy  of  the  trees,  fattening  on  the  richness  of  decaying  leaves 
and  vegetation,  was  opened  to  the  warm  sunlight,  until  acres  of 
forest  were  converted  into  arable  tields,  smiling  with  the  results 
of  well-dii'ected  labor.  It  was  not  that  province  alone  which  bene- 
fited by  the  spirit  of  unrest  that  had  seized  upon  Europeans. 
Maine,  Virginia,  Georgia,  North  Carolina,  Mississippi  and  Louis- 
iana received  accessions  to  their  populations  by  the  arrival  of 
emigrants.  Gayarre,  the  historian  of  the  last  state,  says  that 
some  of  Louisiana's  best  citizens  and  wealthiest  sugar-planters 
have  sprung  from  a  little  colony  of  three  hundred  poor  Germans 
who  settled  on  the  river,  thirty  or  forty  miles  above  New 
Orleans,  in  1722.  But  it  was  toward  Pennsylvania  that  the 
great  tide  of  emigration  steadily  set.  By  1717  such  vast  num- 
bers were  arriving  as  to  cause  much  uneasiness  to  some  of  the 
early  English  settlers  in  the  province.  The  governor's  council 
in  that  year  made  note  of  the  fact  that  it  might  be  a  very  dan- 
gerous consequence,  having  so  many  foreigners  from  Germany 
daily  disposing  of  themselves,  without  producing  certificates 
from  where  they  came,  or  what  they  were,  and  without  making 
application  to  any  of  the  magistrates.  This  led  to  measures 
being  taken  whereby  all  arriving  immigrants  were  obliged  to  be 
registered  by  the  secretary  of  the  province.  In  that  way,  over 
thirty  thousand  names  of  the  later  foreign  arrivals  are  pre- 
served, and  on  file  at  the  state  house  in  Harrisburg.  This  unnec- 
essary fear  of  the  German  influx  did  not  prove  of  long  duration. 
We  find  the  royal  governor  saying,  in  1738,  "This  province  has 
been  for  some  years  the  asylum  of  the  distressed  Protestants  of 
the  Palatinate  and  other  parts  of  Germany  ;  and,    I    believe,  it 


Arrivals  in  Pennsylvania  before  the  Revolution.     49 

may  truthfully  be  said  that  the  present  flourishing  condition  of  it 
is  in  a  great  measure  owing  to  the  industry  of  those  people." 

Pennsylvania  continued,  up  to  the  time  of  the  Revolution,  to  be 
the  objective  point  for  Grerman  emigrants.  Ships,  brigantines, 
scows,  pinks  and  bilanders,  mostly  English  bottoms,  plied  with 
great  regularity  between  the  Maas  and  the  Delaware,  transport- 
ing the  Palatines,  as  they  seem  to  have  become  historically 
known,  from  Rotterdam  to  Philadelphia.  The  vessels  were 
small  and  the  voyages  prolonged,  but  the  frequency  with  which 
the  same  craft — as  shown  by  the  records — entered  the  capes  of 
the  Delaware,  implied  a  traffic  partaking  somewhat  of  the  char- 
acter of  a  ferry.  For,  year  after  year,  the  ships  ''  St.  Andrew," 
"Phoenix,"  "  Dragon,"  "  Patience,"  "  Mortonhouse,"  "  Pennsyl- 
vania," "Two  Brothers,"  "Nancy,"  and  many  others,  discharged 
their  human  cargoes  at  Philadelphia,  the  average  passenger-list 
embracing  one  hundred  and  fifty  souls.  In  the  year  1719  some 
six  thousand  are  said  to  have  landed,  and  Proud  avers  that  in 
the  year  1749  twelve  thousand  Germans  arrived  in  the  province. 
Sypher  claims  that  prior  to  1727  fifty  thousand  people,  mostly 
from  the  Rhine  country,  had  emigrated  to  the  Quaker  colony. 
In  1766  Benjamin  Franklin  testified  before  a  committee  of  the 
House  of  Commons  that  he  supposed  that  there  were  in  Pennsyl- 
vania about  one  hundred  and  sixty  thousand  white  inhabitants,  of 
whom  one-third  were  Quakers  and  one-third  Germans. 

And  so  it  was  that  each  twelve  months  saw  the  population  of 
the  province  much  increased  and  enriched  by  a  people  who 
brought  with  them  the  greatest  of  all  wealth,  industry  and  integ- 
rity, and  characters  that  had  been  superpoised  and  developed  by 
years  of  suffering  and  persecution. 


CHAPTER     V. 

Johannes  Moelich  Beaches  Pennsylvania  in  1735 — His  Experi- 
ences in  Fhiladelphia  and   Germantown. 

In  early  colonial  days  Kinp;,now  Water,  street,  in  Philadelphia, 
lay  close  to  the  edge  of  the  Delaware.  A  low,  one-storey,  ram- 
bling tavern-house  stood  fronting  it,  near  the  comer  of  Chestnut, 
its  creaking  sign  bearing  in  dull  paint  the  legend  of  a  crooked 
stick  of  wood.  It  was  here  that  Benjamin  Franklin  ate  his  first 
dinner  in  the  Quaker  City.  This  inn  gave  to  the  short  dock 
facing  it  the  name  of  the  Crooked  Billet  Wharf,  often  mentioned 
in  old-time  Philadelphia  annals.  Any  one  loitering  on  this  dock 
on  the  morning  of  the  twenty-ninth  of  May,  1735,  could  have 
heard  the  splash  of  a  right-bower,  and  the  rattle  of  an  anchor 
chain — but  hold !  a  historian  is  privileged  to  be  prosy  but  never  to 
be  untrue — nearly  seventy-five  years  must  elapse  before  a  Phila- 
delphian,  or  any  one  else,  will  hear  the  musical  clank  of  a  paying- 
out  cable,  and  in  the  meantime  many  a  stout  ship  will  drift  to  its 
destruction  on  the  rocks,  because  of  its  hawser  being  cut  by  sub- 
merged ledges.  Well !  the  loiterer  would  at  least  have  heard 
the  splash  of  the  anchor,  and,  on  looking  up,  discovered  the  ship 
"  Mercury,"  Captain  William  Wilson,  from  Rotterdam,  swinging 
round  to  the  tide.  As  she  lies  in  the  stream  the  vessel  shows 
repeated  marks  of  her  weeks  of  battling  with  the  fierce  waves 
of  the  Atlantic,  and  her  sides  are  streaked  by  the  salt  spray  of 
many  a  weary  gale. 

The  log  of  this  ship  has  not  been  preserved,  so  we  know  noth- 
ing of  the  particulars  of  her  voyage  or  of  the  date  of  sailing.  She 
was  without  doubt  a  small  vessel,  and  many  days  must  have 
elapsed  since  the  yellow  arms  of  Dutch  wind-miUs  had  waved 
farewells  to  her  passengers  from  behind  the  dunes  of  the  low  Hoi- 


The  "Mercury"  and  the  Passengers.  51 

land  coast.  Something  may  be  learned  of  the  time  usually  occu- 
pied in  such  a  voyage  from  a  German  MS.  in  the  library  of  the 
Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania,  which  recounts  the  incidents 
in  the  journey  of  David  Sholtze  and  eighteen  associate  Schwenck- 
felders.  They  set  sail  from  Rotterdam  on  the  twenty-fourth  of 
June,  1733,  on  the  brigantine  "  Pennsylvania  Merchant,"  Cap- 
tain John  Stedman.  The  journal  of  these  Germans  tells  of  but 
little  save  head  winds,  seasickness,  and  the  occasional  death  of  an 
emigrant.  The  first  occurred  on  the  eleventh  of  Jul3',  and  an 
account  is  given  of  the  body  being  sewn  in  a  sack,  weighted 
with  sand,  and  dropped  by  the  sailors  into  the  sea,  the  passengers 
singing  the  hymn,  '■^Niai  lasset  uns  den  Leih  bcc/rahen."  The  ship 
rested  for  seven  days  in  the  harbor  of  Plymoutli,  and  on  the 
twenty-eighth  of  September  reached  Philadelphia,  it  is  fair  to 
presume  that  the  "  Mercury's  "  passage  was  of  equal  length,  and 
that  it  was  yet  February  when  she  spread  her  canvas  at  the 
mouth  of  Maas,  and  made  her  first  bow  to  the  rollers  of  the 
North  Sea. 

Among  the  one  hundred  and  eighty-six  sun-burned,  weather- 
beaten  Germans  and  Swiss  who  leaned  over  her  tafFrail,  looking 
with  curious  eyes  upon  the  little  entry  port  of  Pennsylvania,  was 
Johannes  Moelich  and  his  family.  The  aspect  of  this  provincial 
town  in  its  setting  of  dark  forests  must  have  presented  a  strong 
contrast  to  the  animated  quays,  and  the  spires,  belfries,  lofty 
pinnacled  houses  and  dark  windmills  of  the  quaint  old  city  from 
which  he  had  embarked.  It  would  be  pleasant  to  be  able  to 
narrate  Johannes'  impressions  and  experiences  on  landing.  Had 
he  known  that  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  later  many  of  his 
posterity  would  have  been  glad  to  read  of  his  movements  in 
Philadelphia,  he  doubtless  would  have  kept  a  faithful  journal. 
In  the  absence  of  such  forethought  on  his  part  we  must  draw 
upon  our  knowledge  of  the  Quaker  City  in  those  early  days, 
and,  with  the  help  of  Watson,  that  delightfully  garrulous  Boswell 
of  old  Philadelphia,  we  shall  be  able  to  see  with  Johannes'  eyes 
as  he  and  his  family  make  their  way  up  into  the  city. 

It  was  now  over  fifty  years  since  the  little  ship  "  Welcome,"  of 
only  three  hundred  tons  burthen,  had  landed  William  Penn  in 
Pennsylvania,  and  its  capital  had  grown  in  population  to  some 
eight    thousand    souls,  among  whom   were   1,621   taxables   and 


52  The  Story  ok  an  Old  Farm. 

1,097  voters.  Thomas  Lawrence  was  mayor,  Philadelphia  hav- 
ing been  a  chartered  city  since  1701.  It  was  a  compact  little 
town  of  about  one  thousand  houses,  nearly  all  of  brick,  one  and 
two  storeys  high,  with  doublo-liipped  roofs,  although  occasionally 
a  more  pretentious  dwelling  elevated  its  dormers  above  a  third 
storey.  The  area  was  not  vety  extensive;  a  very  short  walk 
would  bring  one  to  the  outlying  commons  and  woods.  Beyond 
Fourth  street  the  houses  were  but  scattering ;  of  course 
there  were  no  pavements,  and  westerly  there  were  no  streets 
marked  out  beyond  Seventh.  The  highway  leading  out  of  town 
followed  the  line  of  High,  now  Market,  street,  and  after  crossing 
the  location  of  the  present  Eighth  street,  the  forest  commenced, 
and  extended  to  the  Schuylkill. 

Did  you  ask  was  there  any  one  to  welcome  Johannes?  Though 
no  message  from  below  had  announced  the  coming  of  the  "  Mer- 
cury, "  without  doubt  the  arrival  of  the  ship  was  soon  noised 
through  the  city  ;  let  us  hope  that  the  immigrant  was  expected 
and  that  when  he  landed  on  the  Crooked  Billet  Wharf  he  found 
awaiting  him  some  warm-hearted  compatriot,  who  seized  his  hand 
and  bade  him  a  hearty  welcome  to  America.  In  fancy,  at  least, 
we  will  picture  him  so  greeted.  "We  have  already  learned 
that  his  younger  brother,  Johan  Peter,  had  reached  Philadel- 
phia in  the  ship  "  Mortonhoase,"  Captain  John  Coultas,  on 
the  twenty-fourth  of  August,  1728.  Perhaps  he  was  among 
those  who  thronged  the  wharf  on  this  May  morning.  In  all 
the  thirty  thousand  names  of  foreigners  preserved  in  the 
Pennsylvania  archives  as  reaching  that  province  between 
the  years  1727  and  1776,  those  of  Johannes'  family  and  that 
of  Johan  Peter  are  the  only  Moelichs  that  appear. 

We  will  constitute  ourselves  one  of  the  party  as  they  leave  the 
wharf  and  make  their  way  along  Water  street,  the  children  hang- 
ing back  to  look  into  the  shop  windows,  for  in  the  year  1735 
that  street  was  the  centre  of  the  retail  trade  of  the  city.  They  are 
going  to  the  State  House  to  fuliil  the  first  duty  of  all  newly 
arrived  foreigners,  the  registering  of  their  names  with  the  secre- 
tary of  the  province.  What  is  more  delightful  than  the  first  few 
hours  spent  in  a  new  country,  where  everything  is  totally  differ- 
ent from  one's  ordinary  surroundings  1  Weeks  of  pleasur- 
able experiences  may  be  passed  later,  but   the   peculiar  charm 


First  Impressions  of  the  Quakek  City.  53 

of  the  first  uprolling  of  the  curtain  will  never  return.  Though 
their  own  country  had  been  rich  in  the  picturesque,  the  Moelichs 
found  much  to  excite  both  interest  and  wonder,  and  in  the  short 
time  occupied  in  reaching  the  State  House  they  received  many 
new  and  strange  impressions.  An  American  on  visiting  England 
or  the  Continent  for  the  first  time  finds  himself  attacked  by  a 
strange  illusion.  As  he  feels  himself  surrounded  by  an  atmos- 
phere of  hoar  antiquity,  while  wandering  from  one  ancient  town 
to  another,  his  whole  nature  saturated  with  the  charm  of  quaint 
architecture  and  picturesque  effects,  imperceptibly  there 
steals  over  him  a  faint  impi-ession  of  a  prior  acquaintance, 
as  if  revisiting  scenes  familiar  in  some  previous  existence  ;  and 
he  finds  himself  almost  doubting  that  the  retina  of  the  eye  is 
actually  receiving  the  impression  of  a  picture  seen  for  the  first 
time.  He  recognizes  the  illusion  and  fully  appreciates  that  what 
he  sees  is  really  new  because  not  viewed  before — he  recognizes, 
also,  that  to  him,  at  least,  it  is  truly  old  and  familiar ;  old  in  a 
thousand  impressions  and  desires,  bom  of  bonks  and  the  talk  of 
travellers,  consequently,  he  is  rarely  if  ever  confronted  by  the 
entirely  unexpected.  Johannes  and  his  jiarty  were  not  troubled 
by  this  double  vision.  They  had  read  no  books  descriptive  of 
America,  nor  had  they  listened  to  the  oft-told  tales  of  returned 
travellers.  To  them  all  the  panorama  of  the  Quaker  City  exis- 
tence was  novel  and  interesting.  Probably  the  life  of  tlie  streets 
affected  them  as  the  most  peculiarly  foreign  and  odd — indeed, 
not  only  the  Germans  were  so  impressed  for  we,  who  have 
attached  ourselves  unbidden  to  this  little  party,  find  no  less  cause 
for  wonder  at  the  strange  sights  of  these  provincial  thorough- 
fares. Proceeding  westward  along  Chestnut  street  they  are  met 
by  such  a  procession  as  has  never  been  seen  on  the  highways  of 
Europe  ;  a  drove  of  negroes,  coupled  two  by  two,  recently 
imported  from  the  Guinea  coast,  and  probably  just  landed  from 
Barbadoes,  which  at  that  time  was  the  distributing  mart  of  the 
English  slave  trade.  Ou  reaching  the  next  comer  there  was  to 
be  seen  an  even  sadder  phase  of  this  barbarous  institution.  In 
front  of  a  tavern,  from  a  rude  platform  resting  on  two  upright 
hogsheads,  was  being  held  a  slave  auction.  ''  Likely  negro  boys" 
and  "  breeding  wenches,"  as  the  placarded  bills  announced,  were 
being  knocked  down   at  a  few   hundred   dollars  a  head,  for,  as 


54  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

importing  at  that  time  was  brisk,  slaves  did  not  approach  in  value 
to  those  of  our  ante-bellum  days. 

As  the  Moelichs  walked  along  the  street  the  bordering,  detached 
houses  had  a  kindly,  domestic  presence,  due  to  their  comely  little 
porches  with  pent-house  roofs  shading  wooden  seats,  seemingly 
extending  to  the  passer-by  a  hospitable  invitation  to  tarry.  This  air 
of  hospitality  was  further  enhanced  by  the  attractive  balconies 
that  faced  even  the  smaller  dwellings,  on  which  their  occupants 
were  wont  to  gather  to  enjoy  the  air  at  the  cool  of  the  day.  Occa- 
sional glimpses  of  quaint  interiors  were  obtained,  through  open 
windows  that  swung  on  hinges  inward,  with  small  panes  of  glass 
set  in  their  leaden-framed  lattices.  In  some  of  the  finer  houses  the 
best  rooms  were  wainscoated  in  oak  and  red  cedar,  but  in  most 
instances  the  walls  were  plainly  whitewashed.  No  carpets  were 
to  be  seen,  the  floors  being  covered  with  silver  sand  drawn  into 
fanciful  figures  by  a  skillful  use  of  the  sweeping  brush,  in  which 
the  housekeepers  took  much  pride.  Lofty  chests  of  drawers,  with 
round  black  balls  for  legs,  extended  nearly  to  the  ceiling,  and  all 
the  family  china  was  to  be  seen  through  the  diamond  lights  of 
odd  little  corner  cupboards.  On  the  massive  Dutch  dresser  were 
displayed  brightly  polished  porringers  and  platters  of  pewter,  the 
dinner  plates  of  that  day  being  nearly  altogether  of  that  metal, 
though  the  use  of  wooden  trenchers  was  not  entirely  out  of  date. 
Sometimes,  through  farther  doors  opening  into  the  kitchen,  our 
party  was  much  amused  at  the  sight  of  a  peculiar  feature  of  house- 
hold economy.  Before  cavernous  fire-places,  often  girt  with  ancient 
Dutch  tiles,  were  set  baking-ovens,  whose  spits  were  turned  by 
little  bow-legged  dogs  trained  to  run  in  a  hollow  cylinder,  like  a 
squirrel,  by  which  means  was  the  roasting  meat  kept  revolving. 
"Mine  host"  Clark,  of  the  State  House  Inn,  advertises  about 
this  time  in  Andrew  Bradford's  weekly  "  Mercury,"  and  in  Ben- 
jamin Franklin's  "  Pennsylvania  Gazette,"  that  "  he  has  for  sale 
several  dogs  and  wheels,  much  preferable  to  any  jacks  for  I'oast- 
ing  any  joints  of  meat." 

But  what  means  this  turmoil  and  uproar,  and  from  whence 
comes  this  advancing  crowd,  enveloped  in  dust  I  Johannes' 
oarty  quickly  leaves  the  street  and  takes  to  a  little  foot-path 
that  runs  diagonally  from  the  corner  of  Third  to  High  and 
Fourth  streets.    Standing  there,  they  see  surge  by  an  unfragrant 


A  Parade  of  Evil-Doers.  55 

rabble,  in  the  centre  of  wliieli,  tied  to  the  tail  of  a  cart,  a  poor 
wretch  is  bellowing  with  pain,  as  stroke  after  stroke  from  a  con- 
stable's whip  falls  on  his  naked  back.  The  Germans  look 
stolidly  on  the  scene  ;  they  are  too  familiar  with  despotic  punish- 
ments to  be  surprised  or  affected  thereby,  but  their  accompany- 
ing ghostly  posterity — meaning  you  and  me,  reader, — find  it  an 
inhuman  spectacle.  Following  the  cart  are  a  number  of  petty 
criminals  surrounded  by  constables.  It  is  the  weekly  market  day 
parade  of  evil-doers.  After  their  tour  of  the  city,  and  their  suf- 
fering from  the  turbulence  of  the  ribald  torrent  of  the  populace, 
they  will  drift  into  no  quiet  eddy  within  the  seclusion  of  the  jail. 
They  must  take  their  places  on  the  pillory  and  in  the  stocks  that 
have  been  set  up  for  their  reception,  opposite  the  prison  on 
High  and  Third  streets.  This  da^'  addled  eggs  will  sell  as  well 
as  those  freshly  laid,  for  many  a  passer-by  of  this  rough  age 
will  deem  it  a  virtuous  action  to  have  a  fling  at  the  culprits,  for 
the  pleasure  of  seeing  them  dodge  their  heads  in  the  endeavor 
to  avoid  the  noxious  missiles.  Benjamin  Franklin,  in  his  "Auto- 
biography," says  that  the  position  of  a  Philadelphia  constable  was 
at  that  time  one  of  a  considerable  profit.  The  management  of 
the  city-watch  was  in  their  hands.  It  was  the  duty  of  the  officer 
of  each  ward  to  summon  a  certain  number  of  resident  household- 
ers to  attend  him  each  night  to  aid  in  patrolling  his  district. 
This  service  could  be  avoided  by  paying  six  shillings,  which 
was  supposed  to  go  to  hiring  substitutes.  The  number  who 
paid  for  the  exemption  was  much  greater  than  those  hired  by 
the  constables  to  walk  the  rounds,  consequentlj'  the  officers  put 
much  unlawful  money  in  their  pockets.  This  system  resulted 
in  the  night-watches  being  largely  composed  of  irresponsible 
persons  who  undertook  the  duties  for  a  little  drink-money,  but 
quite  neglected  to  fulfil  their  obligations.  Evidently  that  time 
was  no  more  the  golden  age  of  municipal  purity  than  is  the 
present. 

Returning  to  Chestnut  street  our  party,  rambling  on,  is  soon 
in  front  of  that  noted  structure  which  the  events  of  later  years 
baptized  as  Independence  Hall.  The  Philadelphian  of  the  pres- 
ent day,  who  halts  for  a  moment  in  the  sturdy  presence  of  this 
time-honored,  historic  building,  looks  with  veneration  on  its 
homely  fagade.     To  him  it  bears  amid  the  surrounding    turmoil 


56  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

a  dignified  expression  of  peace  and  rest,  as  if  emanating  from 
the  consciousness  of  a  deserved  repose,  after  a  great  work,  nobly- 
performed.  Very  different  the  aspect  it  presented  to  the  newly- 
arrived  Germans.  No  throbbing  tide  of  humanity  ebbed  and 
flowed  beneath  its  shadows;  Chestnut  street,  not  yet  the  artery 
of  a  great  city,  did  not  pulsate  at  its  portals.  At  this  distance  out 
it  was  but  little  better  than  a  country  road,  and  the  State  House, 
just  completed,  faced  it  square  and  prim,  bright,  from  lintel  to 
roof-tree,  with  red  bricks,  fresh  paint  and  white  mortar.  There 
was  then  no  beautiful  park  as  a  rich  setting;  the  unkempt 
grounds  extended  but  half  across  the  square,  and  several  small 
detached  brick  dwellings  fronted  Walnut  street,  at  its  rear. 

Upon  the  original  book  of  record  in  the  Department  of  State 
of  Pennsylvania,  there  is  stiU  to  be  seen  the  signature  made  by 
Johannes  on  that  day;  it  is  evidently  the  writing  of  a  man  of 
intelligence,  as  it  is.  not  only  legibly  inscribed,  but  would  stand 
as  an  example  of  good  penmanship.  Most  of  the  arrivals  by  the 
same  vessel,  being  unable  to  write,  made  their  marks.  The 
names  are  preceded  by  the  following  entry : 

At  the  Court  House,  Pliiladelphia,  present,  the  Honorable  Patrick  Gordon, 
Esq.,  Lieutenant-Govornor  Thomas  Lawrence  and  Charles  Read,  Esquires.  The 
Palatines,  whose  names  are  underwritten,  imported  in  the  ship  Mercury  of  Lon- 
don, William  Wilson,  master,  Rotterdam,  but  last  from  Cowes,  did  this  day  sub- 
scribe the  oaths  to  the  Government,  May  29,  173-5. 

The  grounds  about  the  State  House,  on  this  May  morning, 
framed  an  interesting  picture.  Johannes,  on  leaving  the  build- 
ing, after  registering,  was  a  good  deal  surprised  by  the  sight 
of  an  encampment  of  Indians,  who  happened  that  day  to  have 
taken  possession  of  the  open  space.  For  a  long  time  after 
this,  it  was  the  practice  of  bands  of  red-men  to  occasionally  make 
excursions  to  the  city  for  the  purpose  of  purchase  and  barter. 
Generally  they  would  remain  for  a  week  or  more,  and  it  was 
their  custom  to  establish  themselves,  with  their  squaws  and  chil- 
dren, in  the  State  House  yard.  While  the  young  bucks  roamed 
about  the  streets,  shooting  coins  oiF  posts  with  their  arrows,  and 
visiting  the  stores  for  trade,  the  squaws  and  old  men  occupied 
themselves  in  camp  by  making  and  selling  plaited  baskets, 
beaded  moccasins  and  porcupine-quill  work.  The  aborigines  of 
this  portion  of  the  British  colonies  were  known   as  "Dela wares," 


Resting  at  the  Indian-King  Tavern.  57 

because  first  found  in  the  vicinity  of  that  river,  though  they 
called  themselves  Lenni-Lenapc,  which  means  "The  original 
people."  The  great  mass  of  this  tribe,  or  clan,  had  moved 
toward  the  setting  sun  in  the  year  1728,  but  at  this  time  there 
remained  several  thousand  in  Pennsylvania,  who  were  much  dis- 
satisfied with  the  sale  of  their  lands ;  a  discontent  which  was 
greatly  increased,  a  few  years  later,  by  what  was  known  as  the 
"Walking  Treaty,"  they  claiming  to  have  been  swindled  by  the 
English  in  the  great  area  of  territory  acquired  by  the  Europeans 
in  that  famous  bargain.  It  was  not  till  ten  or  fifteen  years  later 
that  the  Pennsylvanians,  by  calling  to  their  aid  the  Six  Nations 
of  the  North,  induced  these  remaining  Indians  to  depart  for  the 
"Sweet  Waters  of  the  West." 

Again  we  find  ourselves  deploring  the  fact  that  Johannes  neg- 
lected his  journal.  Where  did  he  go  on  leaving  the  State 
House  ?  After  so  long  a  voyage  he  must  have  desired  to  stretch 
his  legs  by  a  more  extended  walk,  but,  perhaps,  Mariah  Katrina 
and  the  children  were  not  so  eager  for  exercise.  We  will  sup- 
pose that  he  established  them  comfortably  at  the  Indian-king 
tavern  on  High  street,  where,  before  sallying  out  for  a  prowl 
about  the  city,  he  refreshed  himself  with  his  first  glass  of  West- 
India  rum,  at  that  time  the  only  liquor  imported  in  quantity  into 
the  colony  ;  or  with  a  foaming  tankard  of  ale,  which  was  then  in 
such  common  use  that  most  dwellings  had  small  brew-houses 
connected  with  their  kitchens.  Johannes  could  not  have  been 
put  to  a  very  great  expense  at  the  tavern,  as  only  modest  charges 
for  board  and  lodging  were  known  in  those  early  days.  Profes- 
sor Kalm,  the  Swedish  botanist,  narrates  in  his  account  of  his 
travels  that,  when  in  Philadelphia,  in  1728,  he  lodged  with  a 
Quaker  where  he  met  many  honest  people.  "I  and  my  Yung- 
straem,  the  companion  of  my  voyage,  had  a  room,  candles,  beds, 
attendance  and  three  meals  a  day  for  twenty  shillings  per  week 
in  Pennsylvania  currency."     Two  dollars  and  eighty-eight  cents. 

On  leaving  the  tavern,  Johannes'  friends  carried  him  to  see 
Christ  Church,  then  just  completing,  and,  after  the  State  House, 
at  once  both  the  pride  and  the  wonder  of  the  people.  It  reared 
its  impressive  bulk  on  an  open  square,  adjoining  a  pond  which 
reached  from  Arch  to  High  streets,  once  a  noted  place  for  shoot- 
ing   ducks.     This,    then    considered,    lofty   architectural     pile 


58  The  Stokt  of  an  Old  Fakm. 

appeared  much  as  at  the  present  day,  though  wanting  its  grace- 
ful spire — that,  came  seventeen  years  later  as  the  result  of  a  lot- 
tery. It  lacked  more  than  a  spire ;  it  was  new,  and  however 
grand  a  new  church  edifice  may  be,  until  it  has  been  consecrated 
by  years  of  service,  it  does  not  seem  entitled  to  that  hallowed 
reverence,  born  of  old  associations  and  decades  of  prayer  and 
praise,  that,  involuntarily,  an  ancient  temple  evokes  from  its 
worshipers.  Though,  at  the  present  day,  this  church  is  with- 
out many  of  its  original  cpiaint  characteristics,  such  as  the  high- 
backed  slips,  bedroom  pews  and  brick-paved  aisles,  their  loss  is 
more  than  compensated  for  by  the  acquisition  of  that  mellow 
atmosphere  of  age,  with  which  kindly  time  has  enveloped  the 
building's  antique  walls  and  gables,  until  it  appears  as  venerable 
as  the  steadfast  hills. 

Of  course  the  mysterious  friend,  with  whom  we  have  gener- 
ously supplied  Johannes,  insists  upon  a  pilgrimage  to  the  house 
of  William  Penn  at  Second  street  and  Morris'  alley ;  for  that  is 
a  shrine  at  which  newly-arrived  foreigners  earliest  worshiped. 
Penn's  reputation  was  as  a  cherished  heritage  to  all  oppressed 
Europeans,  and  his  memory,  as  the  father  of  Pennsylvanian 
immigration,  was  especially  revered  by  the  German  heart. 
As  our  visitors  strolled  in  that  direction,  the  streets  were 
enlivened  by  numerous  and  varied  odd  costumes.  It  seemed 
very  singular  to  meet  so  many  long-drawn  Quakers,  mov- 
ing at  measured  pace  with  solemn  visage,  clad  in  lengthy 
shad-breasted  drab  coats  adorned  with  horn  buttons,  their  flap- 
ping waistcoats  extending  far  down  over  the  small-clothes  that 
covered  their  sober  strides.  The  long,  straight  hair  of  these 
peripatetic  monuments  of  sedatoness  was  covered  by  broad-brim- 
med felt  hats,  looped  at  the  side  with  strings.  These  Quakers 
oflFered  an  excellent  foil  to  the  brilliantly-arrayed  young  gallants, 
who  tripped  jauntily  by,  under  gold-laced  cocked-hats,  with  their 
gaily  embroidered  coats  cut  low  at  the  neck  behind,  that  the 
great  silver  buckles  fastening  their  plaited  stocks  might  be  dis- 
played. In  that  picturesque  period  it  was  the  fashion  for  young 
gentlemen  to  wear  short,  straight,  steel  rapiers,  often  with  jewelled 
hilts,  which  gave  them  quite  a  martial  appearance,  though  not 
altogether  in  keeping  with  their  clocked  silk  stockings,  paste- 
buckled  shoes  and  rutfled  wrists  and  throats. 


Street  Scenes  and  Colonial  CosTUiMEs.  59 

Gay  apparel  was  not  confined  by  any  means  to  the  younger 
men.  Old  gentlemen,  met  on  the  way,  were  frequently 
resplendent  in  plush  breeches,  vests  of  various  hues,  and  skirts  stif- 
fened with  buckram  till  they  stood  out  at  an  angle.  Often 
double  rows  of  solid  silver  buttons  extended  down  their  coats, 
and  it  was  not  uncommon  to  see  suits  decorated  with  conch- 
sheUs  set  in  silver.  A  brilliant  sight  they  presented  in*all  the 
glint  of  polished  metal,  as  they  stamped  along,  shaking  their 
powdered  wigs,  striking  the  pavement  with  their  long  silver- 
headed  canes,  stopping  occasionally  to  greet  some  old  friend  and 
extend  a  pinch  of  snufF,  not  so  much  because  of  generous  procliv- 
ities, as  the  desire  to  display  their  chased  silver  and  gold  snuff- 
boxes, which  were  generally  carried  in  the  hand.  The  kaleidos- 
copic changes  of  colors,  to  be  noted  among  the  people  thronging 
the  streets  this  bright  May  day,  were  not  all  to  be  attributed  to 
the  well-to-do  of  the  populace:  body-servants  contributed  their 
full  share  to  the  brilliant  hues  of  the  colonial  costumes,  and  as 
they  minced  over  the  pavements  at  a  respectful  distance  behind 
their  masters  and  mistresses,  often  presented  a  gorgeous  appear- 
ance. An  absconding  one  is  described  in  an  advertisement  of 
that  year  as  wearing  damask  breeches,  copper-colored  cloth  coat 
trimmed  with  black,  and  black  stockings.  A  barber's  servant, 
who  ran  awaj'  a  few  years  before  that  time,  wore,  according  to 
the  notice  in  the  "Weekly  Mercury,"  a  light  wig,  a  gray  kersey 
jacket  lined  with  blue,  a  white  vest  faced  and  lined  with  red, 
and  having  yellow  buttons,  a  pair  of  drugget  breeches,  a  pair  of 
black  stockings  and  a  red  leathern  apron.  The  last  feature  of 
his  dress,  his  apron  of  leather,  was  at  that  time  a  distinguishing 
badge  of  servitude;  they  being  worn  not  only  by  workingmen, 
but  by  all  apprentices,  clerks,  and  employees  of  store  and  shop- 
keepers. It  was  also  the  custom  for  the  wives  and  daughters  of 
tradesmen,  who  assisted  them  in  the  business,  to  wear  short 
skirts  of  green  baize. 

On  reaching, Penn's  house,  it  was  found  to  be  a  sturdy  edifice 
with  bastions  and  salient  angles.  Its  flanking  gables  fronted  on 
the  street,  but  the  main  portion  of  the  building  set  well  back,  so 
that  the  house  faced  three  sides  of  a  smaU  court.  At  the  rear 
were  beautifully  shaded  gardens,  extending  half-way  to  Front 
street  and  nearly  to  Walnut  street.     This  edifice  was  built  in  the 


60  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

earliest  days  of  the  city  by  one  of  its  greatest  improvers,  Samuel 
Carpenter,  and  it  was  fitted  up  for  Penn's  occupancy  on  the  occa- 
sion of  his  second  coming  to  America.  Penn  brought  with  him 
his  family  and  household  gods,  expecting  to  make  his  home 
permanently  in  Pennsylvania ;  but  within  two  years  after  taking 
possession  of  this  mansion,  owing  to  the  distaste  of  his  wife  for 
colonial  life,  and  owing  to  the  fact  that  his  enemies  in  London 
were  dangerously  threatening  his  powers  and  rights  in  America, 
he  was  forced  to  return  to  England.  It  was  thought  his  absence 
would  be  temporary,  but  his  affairs  becoming  more  and  more 
involved,  he  fretted  away  year  after  year  in  a  vain  endeavor  to 
return,  until  he  finally  died,  in  1718,  without  again  visiting  his 
colonial  possessions.  In  1704  Samuel  Carpenter  sold  this  house 
to  William  Trent  for  eight  hundred  and  fifty  pounds.  This  was 
the  same  Trent,  who,  in  1719,  established  mills  on  the  Delaware, 
thus  founding  Trent-town — now  Trenton.  He  died  there,  in 
1724,  as  Chief  Justice  of  New  Jersey.  Penn's  mansion  ulti- 
mately became,  and  continued  to  be  until  many  years  after  the 
Revolution,  a  fashionable  boarding-house.  From  there  was  car- 
ried, in  1782,  the  body  of  the  eccentric  General  Charles  Lee, 
which  was  interred  in  Christ  Churchyard. 

Our  German  friends,  while  wandering  around  the  town  visit- 
ing its  many  points  of  interest,  probably  found  their  way  to 
another  spot  associated  with  the  founder  of  the  colony — the  Blue 
Anchor  Tavern,  on  the  corner  of  Second  and  Dock  streets,  it 
being  the  first  house  he  entered  on  reaching  the  city.  Penn 
arrived  at  Newcastle  by  the  ship  "  Welcome,"  in  October,  1683. 
After  spending  a  little  time  there,  and  at  Chester,  he  proceeded 
to  Philadelphia,  landing  at  a  low  sandy  beach  fronting  this  tav- 
ern, at  the  mouth  of  Dock  Creek,  which,  at  that  time,  had  grassy 
banks  and  rural  surroundings.  Tradition  designates  this  inn, 
then  just  completing,  as  being  the  first  substantial  house  erected 
in  the  city.  For  many  years  it  was  the  point  at  which  landings 
were  made  from  small  vessels  trafficking  with  New  Jersey  and 
New  England.  It  was  also  used  as  a  ferry-house  by  persons 
crossing  to  Society  Hill,  to  the  New  Jersey  shore,  and  to  Wind- 
mill Island,  where  a  Dutch-looking  structure  ground  the  grain 
of  the  early  settlers. 

Meanwhile,  the   day   is   wearing   on,  and    the    Moelichs    have 


Philadelphia  Equipage  in  1735.  61 

still  a  journey  before  tliem,  for  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  newly 
arrived  Germans  will  remain  in  Philadelphia  when  but  a  few 
miles  beyond  is  a  thriving  settlement,  composed  entirely  of  their 
own  countrymen.  The  good  Pastorius,  the  faithful  pastor,  magis- 
trate, teacher,  patriarch,  and  friend  of  Teuton  folk,  had  died  fif- 
teen years  before,  but  he  left  behind  him,  at  Germantown,  seven 
miles  away  as  the  road  then  ran,  a  sturdy  German  community, 
and  a  firmly  established  Lutheran  church.  It  was  the  pole 
toward  which  the  needles  of  all  Rhenish  emigrants  turned,  and 
we  must  conceive  of  some  means  of  transporting  Johannes  and 
his  party  to  that  prosperous  place.  The  human  imagination  is 
quite  capable  of  bridging  centuj-ies  and  of  creating  situations,  so 
there  is  no  reason  why  we  should  not  be  equal  to  this  task, 
especially  as  we  feel  confident  of  the  assistance  of  Thomas  Skel- 
ton,  who  advertises  in  the  "  Gazette  "  that  he  has  "  a  four- 
wheeled  chaise,  in  Chestnut  street,  to  be  hired."  This  was  the 
only  public  conveyance  in  the  city.  It  was  twenty-five  years 
later  before  Jacob  Coleman  began  running  the  first  stage — 
"  with  an  awning  " — from  Philadelphia  to  the  King  of  Prussia 
Inn,  at  Germantown. 

In  1735  the  city  boasted  of  but  eight  four-wheeled  coaches, 
one  of  which  belonged  to  Deputy-Governor  Gordon.  The 
streets  were  singidarly  clear  of  vehicles  of  every  description. 
There  were  but  six  four-wheeled,  one-seated  chaises,  drawn 
by  two  horses,  besides  the  one  that  Shelton  had  to  hire.  The 
few  carriages,  if  they  could  be  so  called,  to  be  seen  were  two- 
wheeled,  one-horse  chairs,  a  cheap  sort  of  a  gig  with  a  plain 
painted  body,  ornamented  with  brass  rings  and  buckles, 
resting  on  leathern  bands,  for  springs.  The  general  means  of 
conveyance,  both  for  goods  and  people,  was  by  horses  ;  farmers' 
wives  came  to  towTi  on  pillions,  behind  their  husbands,  and  stout 
market-women  rode  in  from  Germantown,  panniers,  filled  with 
produce,  flanking  their  horses'  sides.  Much  of  the  freighting  of 
the  province  was  done  by  pack-horses,  and  it  was  a  common  sight 
to  see  a  long  line  of  them  entering  Philadelphia,  laden  with  all 
manner  of  merchandise — some  so  enveloped  in  fodder  as  to  leave 
exposed  only  their  noses  and  hoofs,  others  bearing  heavy  casks 
suspended  on  either  side,  whilst  still  others  staggered  along 
beneath  the  weight  of  bars  of  iron,  bent  so  to  hang  as  to   escape 


62  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

the  bordering  trees  of  the  contracted  trails  and  roadways.  There 
were  but  few  carts  ;  the  man  who  brought  the  silver  sand  to  the 
different  doors  each  morning  owned  one  :  and  we  have  seen  to 
what  base  purpose  another  has  been  put  by  the  town  constable. 
That  peculiar  Pennsylvania  institution,  the  big  blue-bodied 
wagon,  had  not  yet  made  its  appearance,  though  it  was  not 
many  years  before  the  prosperity  of  the  province  was  such  as  to 
result  in  every  farmer  having  his  wagon.  Their  first  introduc- 
tion caused  great  indignation  among  the  owners  of  pack-horses, 
who  feared  that  their  business  would  be  ruined.  In  1755,  when 
Postmaster-General  Franklin  found  Braddock  fretting  and  fum- 
ing at  Frederick,  in  Maryland,  because  his  contractors  had  failed 
to  provide  means  of  transportation,  he  at  once  agreed  to  furnish 
one  hundred  and  fifty  wagons,  with  four-horse  teams,  from  Penn- 
sylvania, and  have  them  at  Will's  Creek  within  ten  days. 
Franklin  fidfilled  his  agreement,  and  thus  was  Braddock's  army 
enabled  to  move  on  to  its  disastrous  overthrow. 

We  will  impress  one  of  the  carts  into  the  service  of  aiding 
Thomas  Skelton  in  moving  our  party.  Johannes  must  return 
on  some  other  day  for  his  heavy  luggage  and  furniture,  as  the 
"  Mercury  "  will  hardly  as  yet  have  commenced  discharging 
from  her  hold.  The  Germantown  road  left  town  at  the  upper 
end  of  Front  street,  and,  after  following  the  river  for  a  short  dis- 
tance, wound  in  a  northwesterly  direction,  and  plunged  into  a 
dense  forest,  the  haunt  then,  as  it  had  been  for  centuries,  of  bears, 
wolves,  deer  and  wild  turkeys.  The  wolves  seemed  to  have 
proved  the  most  annoying  to  citizens,  as  we  find  bounties  for  their 
extirpation  offered  for  many  years  after.  The  highway  was  not 
much  more  than  a  trail,  the  branches  of  the  giant  trees,  that 
st«od  in  solid  phalanxes  close  to  the  wheel  tracks,  forming  over 
the  travellers'  heads  a  roof  of  impenetrable  foliage.  Occasion- 
ally the  shade  was  broken  by  the  sunshine  of  a  clearing,  in  the 
centre  of  which  stood  a  log  house,  having  a  long  sloping  roof  of 
thatch — the  harbinger  of  the  future  greatness  of  suburban 
Philadelphia.  Some  of  the  clearings  were  already  green 
meadows,  in  which  no  sign  of  trees  appeared;  others  were 
studded  by  stumps  showing  the  recent  marks  of  the  pioneer's 
axe.  On  nearing  Germantown  the  road  traversed  a  swamp,  the 
wheels  of  the  cart  and  chaise  jolting  over  the  rough  logs  of  the 
corduroy  road-bed  that  made  the  bog  passable. 


Johannes  Reaches  Gekmantown.        63 

Our  friends,  listening  to  the  tales  of  their  guides,  as  they 
moved  slowly  through  the  woods,  must  have  been  filled  with  the 
most  agreeable  anticipations,  on  approaching  the  end  of  their 
journey.  They  found  Germantown  to  be  as  thoroughly  German, 
in  language  and  in  the  appearance  of  the  people,  as  any  of  the 
villages  they  had  left,  perched  on  the  picturesque  banks  of  the 
river  of  the  Schoppen  in  the  mother  country.  With  its  one 
long  street  bordered  by  straggling  houses,  it  still  presented  much 
of  the  aspect  of  a  frontier  settlement.  Many  of  the  dwellings  were 
the  primitive  structures  of  the  early  comers.  They  were  built 
of  logs,  the  interstices  filled  in  with  river-rushes  and  clay,  and 
covered  with  a  thin  coat  of  plaster;  their  gables  confronted  the 
street,  and  a  man  of  ordinary  size  could  easily  touch  the  eaves 
of  their  double-hipped  roofs.  The  more  modem  houses  were 
of  dark  glimmer-stone,  with  little  windows  set  deep  iu  the  thick 
walls,  and  with  huge  chimneys  rising  at  the  corners.  These  low 
substantial  buildings,  with  their  steep  roofs  and  protecting  eaves,, 
were  planted  well  back  from  the  highway,  and  surrounded  by 
fruit-trees.  The  comfortablv-rotund  matrons  of  these  dwellings, 
who  looked  out  at  the  new  arrivals  from  the  open  upper  half  of 
their  Dutch  doors,  were  all  busily  knitting,  for  these  Germantown 
housewives  had  already  acquired  an  inter-colonial  reputation  as 
the  manufacturers  of  superior  stockings. 

The  first  German  newspaper  in  Pennsylvania,  and  the  first  in 
America  printed  in  a  foreign  language,  was  issued  in  German- 
town  the  year  of  Johannes'  arrival.  This  place  retained  all  its 
German  characteristics  down  to  the  year  1793.  Until  that  date 
all  the  public  preaching  was  in  German  ;  it  was  the  language  of 
business  and  society,  and  even  that  of  the  boys  playing  in  the 
streets.  The  outbreak  of  yellow  fever  in  Philadelphia,  in  the 
year  '93,  caused  the  offices  of  the  general  and  state  govern- 
ments, and  of  the  city  banks,  to  remove  to  this  suburban  town. 
This  introduced  an  English  speaking  element,  and  a  population, 
which  proved  to  be,  in  part,  permanent.  Germantown  thus 
becoming  favorably  known  to  Philadelphians,  rapidlv  increased 
the  number  of  its  English  speaking  people. 

And  now  we  must  bid  Johannes  a  many  years'  farewell — here 
he  and  his  family  fade  for  a  time  from  our  sight  and  knowledge. 
By  the  aid  of  a  lively  fancy,  we  have  been  able,  for  one    day,  to. 


64  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

clothe  him  with  all  the  attributes  of  existence  and  experiences, 
but  to  continue  that  for  a  decade  would  be  to  tax  the  powers  of 
your  scribe  beyond  his  capabilities.  Family  tradition  asserts 
that  he  remained  in  the  vicinity  of  Philadelphia  for  ten  years. 
We  will  leave  him  there  to  acquire  the  language,  educate  his 
children,  rub  off  his  foreign  characteristics,  and  gradually  to 
assimilate  himself  and  his  family  with  the  manners  and  customs 
of  the  people  of  the  new  country  of  his  adoption.  Our  next 
knowledge  of  his  life  is  from  the  pages  of  a  letter  he  received 
from  Bendorf  in  the_  year  1745.  That  interesting  communica- 
tion will  be  presented  in  the  coming  chapter. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Letters  from    the    Old    Country — Bendorf    Comes    under    the 
Dominion  of  the  Murdering  Margrave  of  Anspach. 

It  is  before  me  as  I  write — this  old  letter — a  little  torn  in 
places,  and  tanned  by  time  to  the  color  of  old  gold;  yet,  in  a 
good  state  of  preservation,  and  the  penmanship  almost  like  copy- 
plate  in  excellence.  Its  writer,  Johannes  Georg  Hager,  was  an 
"  Evangelical  Prseceptor,"  (teacher  of  a  Latin  school),  and  clerk 
of  the  Bendorf  church ;  such  a  person  in  a  German  village 
being  second  only  to  the  pastor  and  burgomaster.  The  parish 
register,  in  speaking  of  his  death,  in  1775,  in  his  sixty-first  year, 
records  that  he  had  been  active  for  thirty-four  years  in  his 
church  and  school  duties.  This  letter  served  as  his  first  intro- 
duction to  Johannes'  immediate  family,  as,  in  1744,  the  preceptor 
had  married  Magdalena  Christina  Catharina  Antonetta,  the 
twenty -year-old  daughter  of  Georg  Peter  Otto,  whose  wife,  Ver- 
onica Gerdrutta,  was  the  sister  of  Mariah  Katrina.  The  com- 
munication is  interesting,  not  only  on  account  of  the  news  it  gives  of 
the  middle  of  the  last  century,  but  because  of  the  piety  evinced 
in  its  solemn  invocation  and  benediction,  and  also  as  showing  the 
stately  and  courteous  style  of  writing  at  that  time. 


Corner 
torn  off. 


Bendokff,  June,  1745. 
Mr.  cousin 
AND  Lady 

CHILDREN. 

— dear  friend  with  all  my  heart  sympathy  [torn]  all  wish  extraordinary  joy  by  the 
long  [torn]  expected  wish  from  thefoundationof  [torn]  the  heart  that  the  Almighty 
[torn]  continually  bless  you  also  for  the  future  and  all  your  acts  [torn]  and  that 
although  in  a  foreign  country  our  friendship  maj-  get  cultivated  and  grow 
stronger,  for  the  sake  of  Jesus  Christ,  Amen  !  You  may  perhaps  think  what 
a  new  cousin  I  mav  be,  wherefore  I  commence  by  informing  you  that  after  the 
5 


66  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

death  of  Mr.  [torn]  pold  in  17-12  I  was  called  here  as  preceptor  and  was  mar- 
ried last  Fall,  1744,  with  Magdalena  Catharina,  the  only  daughter  of  your 
brother-in-law,  Otto,  which  accounts  for  our  new  relationship.  To  our  all  deso- 
lation our  Lord  has  taken  from  us  in  1741  my  mother-in-law,  in  consequence  of 
a  fever — the  same  sickness  which  caused  the  death  of  young  Mrs.  Giegmann  and 
many  others,  [torn]  On  31  Jan.,  we  had  a  calamity  here  as  you  will  per- 
haps be  aware  already,  whereby  75  houses  were  burned  down.  The  fire  com- 
menced at  the  Forsten  house,  near  the  Steingate,  but  bow  it  originated  has  not 
been  ascertained,  so  far,  and  from  there  everything  burned  down  to  the  Herrschafts 
Keller  Hou.se,  touching  also  my  school  house  ;  the  principal  street  burned  down 
as  far  as  Ciesar's  house,  and  on  the  other  side  down  to  tlie  pastor's  house.  So  that 
between  the  Stein-gate  and  the  Bach-gate  there  was  not  a  single  building  remain- 
ing, and  as  you  are  acquainted  yet  with  the  locality  you  may  judge  for  your- 
selves who  are  the  people  who  are  burned  out,  and  if  you  had  been  present  yet  yoa 
would  have  been  a  sutierer  too.  The  misery  was  terrible  for  these  poor  people,  to  see 
their  fruits  and  corn  a  prey  of  the  flames,  and  the  whole  was  done  so  remarkably 
ijuick  that  in  half  an  hour's  time  all  the  buildings,  actually  burned  down,  stood  ia 
full  flames.  It  was  lucky  that  it  happened  in  day-time  and  not  during  the  night,  as 
otherwise  many  a  life  would  have  been  lost ;  but  thousand  times  thanks  to  our 
Lord  there  was  no  accident  of  the  kind.  On  a  conflagration  which  carae  so  sud- 
denly scarcely  nothing  of  personal  property  could  be  saved  ;  many  of  them  have- 
commenced  rebuilding  like  [several  names  torn  out,]  cousin  Andreas  Kirgerber,. 
who  sends  thousand  greetings,  and  many  others.  As  we  are  now  under  a  differ- 
ent "  regime,"  that  of  the  Landgraf  of  Anspach,  which  is  near  Nuremberg,  many 
things  are  changed  here,  the  town  having  formerly  been  under  the  dominion  of 
Hackenburg,  but  now  in  consequence  of  an  exchange  we  belong  to  the  margrave 
alone,  whereby  changes  in  the  manner  of  building  are  to  be  observed  which  cause 
many  expenses,  and  no  one  can  build  up  his  house  again  on  the  spot  it  formerly 
stood  on.  but  had  to  build  in  conformity  with  certain  street  regulations.  The  fire 
made  many  people  poor,  and  the  loss  of  the  1740  barrels  of  wine  and  vineyards, 
during  the  late  war,  reduced  the  inhabitants  so  much  that  I  am  afraid  that  Ben- 
dorfl'  will  never  be  again  what  it  was  before — commerce  and  trade  in  general 
being  in  poor  condition.  Amongst  other  news  I  may  mention  that  Pastor  Schmitt 
and  his  wife  are  dead,  also  Knobels,  and  your  cousin,  Mrs.  Ruckert,  away  from 
seven  children. 

Of  your  four  letters  we  have  not  received  one,  except  the  first  one,  whereupon 
we  wrote  again  immediately  and  would  have  written  oftener  since,  if  we  had 
known  of  an  opportunity  available.  I  am  very  much  surprised  that  cousin 
Henry  in  Hochstenbach,  did  not  write  to  you  through  the  opportunity  which  was 
ofiered  to  him.  It  seems,  however,  as  if  your  sister  dear,  our  cousin,  had  died, 
some  information  of  the  kind  having  reached  us  at  the  time  my  mother-in-law 
was  still  living.  Her  loss  was  very  much  lamented  by  my  mother-in-law  and  all 
the  friends,  and  they  all  wished  she  would  live  yet.         *         *         * 

As  regards  her  succession  cousin  Anton  Kirberger  has  been  curator  over  it,  and 
was  trying  to  get  something  out  yet,  but  the  matter  was  treated  so  copiously  that 
the  lawyers  made  the  most  of  it. 

Although  he  took  the  matter  at  heart  more  than  a  brother,  he  could  not  attain 
his  purpose  to  have  bankruptcy  declared,  in  which  ease  everything  would  have 
been  divided  honestly.        *         *        * 

Our  Lord  the  Almighty  restitute  it  to  you  1000  times,  and  bestow  upon  you 
good  health  and  a  long  life ;  1000  greetings  to  all  relations  and  friends  whatever 


The  Germany  of  Yesterday  and  To-day.  67 

their  names  may  be,  and  that  they  all  may  prosper.  I  would  most  obediently 
request  that  you  may  avail  yourself  of  the  first  opportunity  offering  to  write 
again,  and  we  shall  surely  answer  by  returning  opportunity.  You  would  at  the 
same  time  do  us  a  favor  to  write  us  something  about  the  customs  of  the  country, 
the  description  of  houses,  mills,  furniture,  gardening,  vegetables  and  what  the 
difference  is  between  those  we  have  in  Germany,  and  about  irou  for  the  mechanics, 
and  cloth,  and  anything  connected  with  husbandry  and  agriculture?  And  now  I 
leave  you  all  to  the  mercy  and  providence  of  our  Lord,  recommending  myself  to 
your  continued  remembrance,  and  remain  with  our  best  salutations  and  much 
esteem,  Your  all,  sincerest  friend  and  servant, 

Jon.  Geo.  H.^ger,  Prieceptor. 

"  On  the  human  imagination  events  produce  the  effect  of  time." 
I  am  indebted  to  Cooper  for  this  idea — No  !  not  for  the  idea,  but 
for  the  words  expressing  it ;  for  no  one  discourses  more  eloquently, 
than  does  this  novelist,  of  the  links  of  recollection  that  bring 
back  to  the  mind  the  innumerable  changes  in  a  comparatively 
short  period,  which  causes  a  recent  date  to  appear  as  remote  as 
the  days  of  dark  antiquity.  A.  D.  1 745  is  not  a  long  time  ago  ; 
the  span  of  existence  of  but  few  lives  would  bring  us  back  to 
that  year ;  but  yet,  when  one  contemplates  the  astounding  alter- 
ations that  have  taken  place  in  the  map  of  Europe  since  that 
date,  events  seem  to  mark  a  far  greater  lapse  of  time  than  do  the 
intervening  years.  When  the  writer  of  this  old  letter  was 
rounding  his  sentences,  Germany  was  composed  of  hundreds 
of  separate  kingdoms  and  principalities,  each  with  conflicting 
interests,  their  rulers  at  all  times  ready  to  pounce  on  each  others' 
territory  in  defence  of  real  or  imaginary  rights,  or  in  vengeance 
for  fancied  wrongs.  Prussia  was  still  in  the  throes  of  its 
birth  ;  Frederick,  not  yet  the  Great,  was  in  his  direst  stress,  and 
in  imminent  danger  of  having  to  abandon  to  Maria  Theresa,  that 
Silesia  which  he  had  bought  with  so  much  blood  and  treasure. 
But,  two  days  after  this  letter  was  written,  he  was  saved  from 
that  humiliation  by  the  battle  of  Hohenfriedberg,  once  of  world- 
wide renown,  now  almost  forgotten. 

It  is  when  the  mind  reverts  to  the  altered  conditions  of  the 
political  and  personal  relations  between  ruler  and  subject 
in  Germany,  and  the  great  strides  taken  on  the  Continent 
in  the  advancement  of  individual  rights,  that  one  recog- 
nizes how  different,  as  affecting  the  daily  lives  and  destinies 
of  mankind,  is  the  world  of  yesterday  from  that  of  to-day. 
In   the    preceptor's  letter  there  is    no    sentence    weighted  with 


68  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

such  meaning  as  the  few  words  announcing  the  transfer  of 
Bendorf  from  the  sovereignty  of  Hackenberg  to  that  of  Anspach. 
Late  in  the  seventeenth  century  Bendorf  was  included  in  the 
county  of  Sayn-Altenkirchen,  which  also  comprised  the  districts 
of  Friedewald,  Freusburg  and  Altenkirchen.  It  was  probably 
known  to  the  HeiT  Prseceptor  as  the  sovereignty  of  Hackenberg 
because  of  the  records  having  been  preserved  in  that  town. 
This  territory  was  the  personal  estate  of  Johannetta,  wife  of  the 
Duke  Job.  George  I.,  of  Sachsen-Eisenach.  By  her  will  of  the 
thirtieth  of  November,  1685,  it  was  to  descend,  under  the  rule 
of  primogeniture,  in  the  line  of  her  eldest  son.  In  1741,  the 
male  line  having  become  extinct,  it  passed  to  the  descendants  of 
her  daughter,  Eleonora  Sophie,  wife  of  the  Margrave  .lohann. 
Fredrick  of  Brandenburg- Anspach,  and  consequently  fell  to  her 
grandson,  the  Margrave  Karl  Wilhelm  Friedrich,  of  Anspach, 
who  reigned  from  1729  to  1757.  I  have  already  spoken  of  the 
despotic  power  of  petty  German  princes  in  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury. They  ruled  over  dominions  often  no  larger  than  one  of  our 
counties,  and  outside  of  the  boundaries  of  Prussia  and  Austria, 
Germany  was  a  patchwork  of — when  you  include  free  cities  and 
the  estates  of  imperial  knights — hundreds  of  large  and  small 
governments.  Nor  were  they  compact,  as  their  several  posses- 
sions were  frequently  at  detached  distances,  as  we  see  by  this 
letter  was  the  case  in  the  margrave  of  Anspach  acquiring  Ben- 
dorf. All  these  princes  maintained  courts  and  armies,  and  their 
poor  subjects  were  taxed  and  oppressed  to  support  the  luxury 
and  state  of  the  rulers  and  privileged  classes.  The  peasants 
were  not  much  better  off  than  serfs,  and  hordes  of  officials  levied 
tribute  on  even  the  middle  and  better  classes  occupying  the 
towns  and  cities.  In  some  localities  sumptuary  laws  regulated 
the  dress  and  the  food  of  the  people.  As  Frederick  of  Prussia 
grew  stronger  in  his  government,  matters  in  this  regard  were 
much  improved,  his  example  having  a  beneficial  effect  on  the 
better  class  of  sovereigns,  inducing  them  to  have  some  respect 
for  the  rights  of  their  people;  but  yet,  freedom  of  the  individual, 
such  as  was  at  that  time  known  and  enjoyed  in  the  American 
colonies,  had  no  holding  or  understanding  in  the  average  Ger- 
man mind. 

When   Johannes   read    this    letter,    if    he  knew  anything   of 


Bendorf's  Wicked  Ruler.  69 

the  character  of  the  margrave  of  Anspach,  he  had  good 
cause  for  devoutly  thanking  God  that  he  and  those  dear  to  him 
were  no  longer  citizens  of  Bendorf,  and,  consequently,  subject  to 
the  will  and  caprice  of  a  ruler  who  was  entirely  without  sympathy 
for  the  rights  and  wrongs  of  his  people,  and  who  himself  was 
governed  by  impulse  and  prejudice,  rather  than  by  a  knowledge 
of  justice,  and  an  intuitive  sense  of  what  was  due  a  community 
over  which  the  chance  of  birth  had  placed  him.  Like  all  men 
controlled  by  their  impulses,  he  could,  at  times,  be  generosity 
itself,  but,  nevertheless,  his  subjects  preferred  to  give  him  a  wide 
berth,  acting  as  had  done  those  of  the  previous  king  of  Prussia — 
Frederick  the  Great's  father — who  used  to  fly  around  corners  on 
the  approach  of  their  doughty  monarch,  fearing  to  be  whacked 
over  their  shoulders  by  his  stout  cane.  But,  when  the  margrave 
was  in  a  bad  temper,  and  his  judgment  distorted  by  passion,  his 
cruelties  were  apt  to  be  of  the  most  atrocious  character.  This 
was  rendered  more  deplorable  by  the  power  he  wielded  over  the 
destinies  of  the  people  he  ruled  ;  at  such  a  time  woe  betide  the 
noble,  burgher  or  peasant  upon  whom  he  set  his  malignant  eve  in 
anger.  Numerous  instances  are  given  of  the  severity  and 
excesses  of  this  prince.  In  1740  he  imprisoned  for  life  one 
Christopher  Wilhelm  Von  Rauser,  who  was  merely  suspected  or 
accused  of  posting  up  caricatures  of  the  court.  Once,  on  hearing 
that  his  dogs  were  not  well  fed,  he  rode  to  the  house  of  the  man 
who  had  them  in  charge  and  shot  him  dead  on  his  own  doorstep. 
In  1747  he  hanged,  without  trial,  a  poor  servant  girl,  who  was 
accused  of  helping  a  soldier  to  desert.  As  the  margrave  was 
riding  out  of  his  castle  one  day,  he  asked  the  sentinel  on  guard, 
who  happened  not  to  be  a  regular  soldier,  for  his  musket ;  the 
unfortunate  fellow,  recognizing  his  prince  and  not  daring  to  dis- 
obey, unhesitatingly  gave  up  his  piece,  whereupon  the  margrave 
called  him  a  coward  and  no  soldier,  and  had  two  hussars  drag 
him  through  the  mill-pond;  of  which  treatment  he  died.  It  is  not 
my  purpose  to  continue  the  recountal  of  the  idiosyncracies  and 
wickednesses  of  this  murdering  prince.  The  personality  of  such 
a  ruler  could  not  but  have  a  far-reaching  influence  for  evil  on  all 
his  representatives,  and  the  citizens  of  distant  Bendorf  had  to  bear 
their  proportion  of  the  sorrows  occasioned  by  such  a  government. 
Nor  was  escape  by   emigration   any  longer  an   easy  matter,  as 


70  The  Story  of  an  Old  Fakm. 

under  the  new  regime,  no  subject  could  leave  the  dominions  of 
the  margrave  without  his  permission,  and  that  permission  was 
not  be  had  for  the  asking.  I  shall  again  have  occasion  to  refer 
to  Anspach,  when  we  find,  some  thirty  years  later,  the  troops  of 
that  principality  marching  across  Somerset  county,  in  New  Jer- 
sey, ia  their  endeavor  to  assist  King  George  III.  in  his  hold  on 
the  revolted  American  colonies. 

Communications  by  post  convey  in  their  pages  a  subtle  charm 
quite  wanting  in  spoken  words.  Letters  sent  from  persons  for 
whose  views  and  opinions  one  cares  but  little  when  present,  are 
often  received  with  pleasure  and  read  with  interest,  when  the 
writer  is  but  a  few  days'  journey  away ;  such  is  the  mysterious 
something  an  enclosed  missive  carries  within  its  envelope.  If 
this  be  so,  how  important  an  event  must  have  been  the  arrival 
of  this  long  message  from  Germany.  Letters  were  great  affairs 
in  those  days,  and  three,  four,  and  often  five  months  were  occu- 
pied in  their  coming  from  the  old  country.  We  can  easily  pict- 
ure with  what  eager  interest  Johannes'  family  gathered  about 
him  as  he  read  aloud  these  closely-written  pages  from  Bendorf. 
Perhaps  they  expressed  surprise  at  the  marriage  of  Magdalena 
with  the  schoolmaster,  though  they  were  surely  glad  of  a  new 
relative  who  could  write  so  good  a  letter.  But  Mariah  Katrina 
could  not  forget  his  predecessor,  Preceptor  Kippold,  whose  wife 
had  been  her  best  friend,  and  had  stood  godmother  for  her  sec- 
ond boy,  Andrew,  in  1729.  How  they  all  wondered,  as  they 
heard  of  the  great  fire  ;  what  words  of  sympathy  fell  from  their 
lips  as  were  mentioned  the  names  of  friends  and  neighbors 
whose  all  had  been  devoured  by  the  flames.  Tears  doubtless  fell 
as  the  death  of  this  or  that  loved  one  was  made  known.  They 
probably  already  knew  that  Maria  Katrina's  sisters,  Mrs.  Otto 
and  Mrs.  Kirberger,  had  died,  but  that  the  dearly-beloved  pastor, 
Joh.  Georg  Schmidt  and  his  wife,  were  no  more  was,  indeed,  a 
new  grief.  Had  not  the  reverend  man  been  the  life-long  friend 
of  the  parents  ?  Had  he  not  married  them,  baptized  all  of  their 
children,  and  stood  at  the  open  graves  of  the  two  little  ones 
they  had  left  lying  under  German  sod?  They  had  tender 
thoughts  for  the  seven  children  that  the  wife  of  the  fruit-dealer, 
Simon  Ludwig  Riickert,  had  left  motherless;  and  they  were  sorry 
enough  to  hear  of  the  death  of  their  old  friend,  Gottfried  Knebel, 


The  Kiuuerger  Family.  71 

who  had  stood  godfather  for,  and  given  his  name  to  Johannes' 
youngest  brother  in  1724.  How  the  good  wife  must  have  shud- 
dered at  the  recital  of  the  losses  and  distresses  caused  by  the 
late  war,  and  have  thanked  God,  too,  that  there  was  no  prospect 
of  war  and  its  bitterness  in  America.  You  may  be  sure  that  all 
the  gossip  of  the  preceptor  was  read  and  re-read.  That  they 
regretted  the  copiousness  of  the  lawyers  in  settling  the  estate  of 
Mariah  Katrina's  sister  is  a  matter  of  course, — the  cormorants 
of  the  profession  evidently  did  not  originate  on  this  side  of  the 
water. 

Anton  Kirberger,  the  curator,  who  was  so  unsuccessful  in  pre- 
serving the  estate  from  the  hungry  attorneys,  was  not  a  brother 
of  Mariah  Katrina,  but  probably  a  cousin,  being  the  son  of 
Joh.  Wilhelm  Kirberger  of  Bundorf,  and  a  prominent  citizen 
and  court  assessor  of  that  place.  He  was  certainly  closely 
allied  to  the  family,  and,  in  1724,  stood  godfather  with  Knebel 
to  Johannes'  youngest  brother,  Grottfried,  and,  in  1732,  performed 
the  same  service  for  Johannes'  son,  Georg  Anthon.  It  was  his 
brother,  Ehrenreich  Kirberger,  who,  in  1725,  acted  as  godfather 
for,  and  gave  his  name  to,  Johannes'  oldest  son,  Ehrenreich,  or 
Aaron.  Their  father  was  probably  the  brother  of  Burgomaster 
Gottfried  Kirberger.  This  magistrate  married,  in  1673,  the 
"  right  respectable  JungfrmC  Veronica  Gerdrutta,  the  daughter 
of  the  deceased  Rev.  Joh.  Thumers,  of  Bendorf.  Their  children 
were  Anna  Barbara,  Johannes  Jack,  Johann.  Philipp,  Anna 
Cathrina,  Johann.  Weimar,  Andreas  and  Elizabeth.  In  1694  the 
Burgomaster  married,  as  his  second  wife,  Elizabeth  Margaretha, 
daughter  of  Peter  Israel,  of  Altenkirchen.  Their  children  were 
Veronica  Gerdrutta,  who  married  Georg  Peter  Otto;  Maria  Mar- 
garetha ;  Maria  Catherina,  who  married  Johannes  Moelich ;  and 
Johann.  Heini-ich.  It  seems  odd  that  the  iirst-born  of  this  second 
marriage  shoidd  receive  the  name  of  the  first  wife — it  certainly 
shows  that  the  burgomaster's  second  choice  had  a  patient  and 
self-sacrificing  nature.  Her  youngest  child  was  the  "Cousin 
Henry"  mentioned  in  Preceptor  Hager's  letter,  he  being  at  that 
time  the  burgomaster  of  Hochstenbach. 

I  have  another  old  letter  from  Bendorf,  dated  four  years  later. 
Like  the  first,  it  is  yellow  and  time-stained,  though  its  odd  old- 
German    characters    are   as    legible    as    if  lately  penned.     The 


72  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

writer  was  Johannes'  wife's  cousin,  the  curator,  and  he  tells  the 
same  story,  as  did  the  preceptor,  of  marriages  and  deaths,  of 
wars,  and  of  the  great  fire,  which  latter  seems  to  have  been  the 
most  important  event  of  that  age  in  the  existence  of  the  villagers. 
But,  here  is  the  letter ! — let  it  speak  for  itself. 

Bendokf,  25th  May,  1749. 

Highly  esteemed  cousin  and  lady  :  I  have  seen  with  great  pleasure  from 
your  letter  that  you  and  your  good  lady  with  your  family  are  well,  and  so  are 
we  and  our  other  friends  and  acquaintances.  We  are  glad  to  hear,  and  so  are 
these  people,  that  you  are  doing  well.  As  regards  myself,  my  wife  and  our  chil- 
dren, we  are,  thank  God,  in  good  health  and  spirits ;  the  Almighty  keep  them^ 
and  ourselves  so  for  many  years  longer !  Otherwise  there  has  been  transpiring  a 
good  deal  of  news  which,  of  course,  we  cannot  write  all.  I  don't  know  whether 
you  have  heard  of  the  great  fire  which  we  had  here  in  1743.  All  that  part 
from  the  Oberbaeh  Gate  to  the  pastor's  house,  and  on  the  other  side  down  to  the 
Cfesar's  house  up  to  Kalter  house  was  destroyed,  burning  down  everything  t& 
the  ground,  including  the  gates  and  your  former  house.  Pilberger's  house  is  the 
only  one  which  was  saved,  all  the  rest  being  burnt  down,  so  that  no  one  could 
recognise  certain  places  any  more  at  all.  Much  cattle  was  burnt,  too,  but^ 
thank  God,  no  lives  were  lost.  A  good  deal  has  been  built  up  again  since,  but 
there  is  plenty  of  waste -ground  yet,  and  the  new  buildings  are  erected  much 
costlier  than  before.  We  belong  now  to  the  Margrave  of  Anspach,  who  ordered 
an  architect  to  be  sent  who  suprintends  the  erection  of  buildings,  laying  thems 
all  out  in  straight  streets.  I  have,  thanks  to  God,  got  through  with  my  build- 
ing; I  have  put  up  a  house  about  six  times  as  large  as  my  former  dwelling  was. 
Your  brother-in-law,  Holingshausen,  lives  in  Pilberger's  house. 

[two  lines  illegible.] 
but  he  is  in  bad  circumstances,  he  cannot  do  much  .any  more,  because  he  trembles 
so  much,  just  like  his  mother  did. 

In  consequence  of  the  fire  many  people  moved  away,  others  became  sick  and 
many  died.  Your  cousin.  Otto,  died  half  a  year  .ago ;  Joh.  Weimar  Kirberger 
died  two  months  iigo ;  old  Hergemann  died  eight  d.ays  ago;  Pastor  Schmit  and 
his  beloved  are  dead  long  ago,  which  you  have,  no  doubt,  heard  already.  We 
also  had  a  good  deal  of  war  since,  but  have  peace  now.  Joh.  Mich.ael  Moelich 
is  still  living,  but  his  wife  is  dead. 

I  would  wish  that  we  could  converse  verbally,  but  as  this  cannot  be  the  case,  I 
send  my  greetings  to  all  of  you. 

And  remain  your  sincere  cousin, 

Joh.  Anton  Kirberger. 

It  will  be  seen  by  this  letter  that  Maria  Katrina  was  now 
called  upon  to  mourn  the  death  of  her  half-brother,  Johan. 
Weimar,  and  her  sister  Veronica's  husband,  Georg  Peter  Otto. 
The  peace  referred  to  by  the  writer  of  this  letter  was  that  fol- 
lowing the  second  Silesian  war,  between  Prussia  and  Austria 
and  their  numerous  allies.  Frederick  II.  had  withdrawn  from 
the    conflict  in   1745,   but  the    war  was    continued  by   Austria 


Bendorf  Billets  Troops  in  1749. 


73 


against  France  and  Spaiia  till  the  peace  of  Aix-la-Chapelle  in 
1748.  It  was  during  these  later  years  that  Marshall  Saxe 
gained  his  famous  victories  of  Laufeldt,  Ra^oux  and  Fontenoy, 
the  latter  being  fought  in  the  presence  of  Louis  XV.  and  the 
dauphin.  The  vicinity  of  Bendorf  suffered  but  little  from 
actual  conflicts,  but  the  Rhine  was  the  highway  between  Aus- 
tria and  Holland,  which  latter  country  was  the  fighting  ground 
of  the  war.  Bodies  of  troops  were  constantly  passing  and  repass- 
ing along  its  banks,  exacting  from  the  villagers  billets  and  for- 
ages, and  impoverishing  the  people  by  the  thefts  and  extortions 
always  inflicted  on  a  rural  commimity  by  a  foreign  soldiery. 
Cousin  Kirberger  might  well  rejoice  at  the  advent  of  peace,  and 
the  opportunity  for  recuperation  it  brought  to  the  people  of  his 
neighborhood.  The  repose,  alas  !  was  not  to  be  for  long.  The 
Seven  Years'  War,  but  a  few  years  ahead,  was  lying  in  wait  for 
its  victims — that  great  combat,  in  which  nearly  all  Europe  was 
to  be  engaged,  and  which  was  to  emblazon  on  the  pages  of  his- 
tory, for  all  time,  the  illustrious  name  of  Fredericus  Magnus; 
that  conflict  which  ultimately  resulted  in  the  unification — in  the 
kingdom  of  Prussia — of  the  many  electorates,  duchies,  bishoprics, 
and  dominions  of  landgraves  and  princes  that  then  formed  the 
inextricable  jumble,  and  most  extraordinary  patch-work,  called 
the  map  of  Germany. 


CHAPTER     VII. 

Johannes  Modkh  Appears  in  Netv  Jersey  in  1747 — All  About 
His  Brother  Godfrey — Echoes  from  the  Ancient  Walls  of  Zion 
Lutheran  Church  at  New  Germantown. 

Johannes  faded  from  our  view  at  Ge'rmantown,  Pennsylvania, 
in  1735.  He  emerges  from  the  mists  of  the  years  in  Decem- 
ber, 1747,  in  Greenwich  township,  Sussex,  now  Warren,  county. 
New  Jersey,  where  he  appears  as  the  purchaser  from  John  F. 
Garrets  of  four  himdred  and  nine  acres  of  land  fronting  on  the 
Delaware  river  and  "Pohohatacong"  creek.  This  investment 
was  made  for  the  joint  benefit  of  himself  and  his  youngest 
brother  Gottfried,  whom  it  will  be  remembered  as  a  lad  of 
eleven  accompanied  Johannes  to  America.  Gottfried — known 
in  family  annals  as  Godfrey — was  born  in  Bendorf  on  the  Rhine 
in  1724,  and  after  reaching  this  country  continu.ed  to  be  a  mem- 
ber of  our  ancestor's  household  until  he  was  twenty-one  years 
old.  On  growing  to  man's  estate  he  settled  on  this  land  border- 
ing "  Pohohatacong  "  creek  and  the  Delaware,  in  which  vicinity 
many  of  his  posterity  are  now  living. 

On  the  twenty-eighth  of  November,  1758,  Johannes  conveyed 
to  this  brother  one  hundred  and  eighty-one  acres  of  the  four  hun- 
dred and  nine  that  he  had  acquired  from  John  F.  Garrets.  The 
deed  recited  that  at  the  time  of  the  conveyance  he,  the  grantee, 
was  in  actual  possession  of  the  land  conveyed,  and  that  "he,  the 
said  Godfrey  Moelich,  was  a  prime  purchaser,  and  was  to  have 
been  a  pai-ty  in  the  grant  and  conveyance  of  the  said  four  hun- 
dred and  nine  acres,  and  for  that  purpose  paid  one  hundred  and 
forty-nine  pounds,  his  share  of  the  consideration  money  agreed 
by  them  to  be  paid  by  the  said  Godfrey  Moelich,  the  receipt  of 
which  said  sum,  he,  the  said  Johannes,  doth  hereby  acknowledge  to 


Johannes,  and  Jacob  Kline  in  Hunterdon.  75 

have  had."  From  all  of  the  above  it  would  appear  that  Johannes 
acted  as  guardian  for  his  younger  brother,  having  brought  funds 
with  him  to  America  to  insure  his  proper  settlement  when  of  age. 
Godfrey  increased  his  possessions  that  same  year  by  purchasing 
one  hundred  and  fifty  acres  of  land  from  William  Lovet  Smith, 
for  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds.  Long  before  this  time  he  had 
built  a  stone  house  on  the  Garrets  land,  and  for  ten  years  had 
been  married.  In  May,  1748,  he  took  unto  himself  a  bride  of 
fifteen  summers,  Margaret,  the  daughter  of  Christopher  Falken- 
berger,  a  young  woman  of  some  education  and  refinement,  as  is 
evidenced  by  her  correspondence,  preserved  by  her  descend- 
ants. 

Johannes  does  not  seem  to  have  occupied  his  portion  of  the 
land  on  the  Delaware.  On  his  death  it  became  the  homestead 
of  his  second  son,  Andrew.  Papers  in  my  possession  show  that 
in  the  year  1750  he  was  living  in  Readington  township,  Hunter- 
don county,  where  he  was  interested  in  a  tannery  with  Johann. 
Jacob  Klein  (Jacob  Kline),  who  had,  a  few  years  before  mar- 
ried his  eldest  daughter,  Veronica  Gerdrutta  (Fanny).  Though 
I  have  no  documentary  evidence  in  proof  of  the  assertion,  there 
is  every  reason  to  believe  that  at  that  time  the  homestead  of 
Johannes  was  a  farm  of  four  hundred  acres — two  hun- 
dred of  which  was  in  black  oak  timber — located  adjoining  the 
present  line  of  the  Central  Railroad  of  New  Jersey,  midway 
between  the  White  House  and  North  Branch  stations.  The 
land  lay  on  both  sides  of  the  County  Line  road,  and  extended 
north  to  the  slope  of  Leslie's  ridge,  being  crossed  from  east  to 
west  by  Leslie's  brook.  Whether  the  title  to  this  land  vested 
in  our  ancestor,  or  whether  he  merely  occupied  it  in  con- 
junction with  his  son-in-law  I  am  not  informed.  Ultimately  it 
came  into  the  sole  possession  of  Jacob  Kline,  and  there  is  no  doubt 
that  here  he  and  his  father-in-law  established  a  tannery,  prob- 
ably the  first  one  in  northern  New  Jersey.  The  Hon.  Joseph 
Thompson,  when  eighty  years  of  age,  wrote  me  that  he  well 
remembered  the  old  bark  and  currying  houses  that  stood  on  the 
Kline  property ;  and  that  John,  the  grandson  of  Jacob  KHne, 
had  often  pointed  out  to  him  the  location  of  the  dwelling  of  his 
grandfather,  Moelich,  as  being  just  south  of  the  brook,  and  on  the 
other   side  of  the  road  from   his — John's — i-esidence.     On  this 


76  The  Story  of  an  Old  Faem. 

property  Jacob  Kline  and  his  sons  and  grandsons  carried  on  an 
extensive  tannery  business  for  over  seventy-five  years.  The 
land  is  no  longer  in  possession  of  the  family,  the  original  four 
hundred  acres  being  now  sub-divided  into  the  farms  of  George 
W.  Coles,  Walter  Opie  and  George  Stillwell.  "  The  Ridge  " 
obtained  its  name  from  George  Leslie  of  Perth  Amboy,  of  whom 
we  shall  learn  much  in  a  future  chapter.  It  is  a  rise  of  land 
commencing  at  Leslie's  brook,  and  in  breadth  extends  nearly 
two  miles  to  Rockaway  creek  and  Laniington  river.  In  length 
it  is  traversed  by  the  New  Brunswick  and  Easton  turnpike, 
which  soon  after  leaving  North  Brancli  village  (going  westward) 
attains  a  considerable  elevation  that  is  maintained  three  or  four 
miles  until  White  House  is  approached,  where  by  a  gradual  des- 
cent the  general  level  of  the  country  is  again  reached.  Here  on 
this  breezy  upland  and  along  its  slopes,  from  which  the  surround- 
ing county  is  viewed  like  a  map  unrolled,  have  dwelt,  and  still 
dwell  many  of  the  descendants  of  Johannes'  son-in-law,  "  Old 
Jacob  Kline." 

We  learn  from  the  records  of  the  "  Kirchen  Buck  der  Corpor- 
ation von  Zioii  in  New  Germantown  in  West  Jerseij,"  that 
Johannes  Moelich  was  an  active  member  and  officer  of  Zion 
Lutheran  church  in  Tewksbury,  then  Lebanon,  township,  in 
the  same  county.  The  exact  date  of  the  establishment  of  this 
congregation  is  not  known.  As  early  as  1730  there  were 
German-Lutherans  in  the  vicinity  of  what  is  now  New  German- 
town,  it  being  supposed  that  they  came  from  Germantown, 
Pennsylvania.  In  17-49,  Zion  corporation  had  been  for  some 
time  in  existence,  and  in  that  year  a  new  church  building  "  was 
solemnly  dedicated  to  the  service  of  God  by  the  brethren  Brunn- 
holtz,  Handschuch,  Hartwig,  Schaum  and  Kurtz."  This 
antique  structure  is  still  standing,  and  its  thick  stone  walls  wiU 
doubtless  continue  to  house  congregations  for  generations  to 
come.  Since  those  early  days,  however,  it  has  undergone  many 
alterations,  and  in  present  appearance  differs  materially  from 
that  of  the  original  edifice,  which  in  outward  form  was  not  unlike 
the  little  church  on  Pohick  creek  in  Virginia,  built  a  few  years 
later,  where  Washington  worshiped.  An  immense  roof,  con- 
verging to  the  centre,  capped  the  walls,  in  which  small  windows 
were  set  high  from  the  ground.     A  huge  sounding    board  sur- 


ZiON  Lutheran  Church  at  New  Germantown.        77 

mounted  the  lofty  pulpit,  and  in  the  center  of  the  building,  in 
the  broad  middle  aisle,  was  a  square  pit  in  which  burned 
in  cold  weather  a  bright  charcoal  fire.  It  has  been  suggested 
that  this  fire  served  not  only  for  the  comfort  of  the  worshipers 
but  as  an  illustration  for  the  preacher,  who  pointed  his  finger  at 
the  glowing  bed  of  coals  when  dwelling  on  the  everlasting  fire 
that  awaited  the  ungodly.  In  1831  the  quaint  building  was 
remodeled.  The  old  barrack -like  roof  made  way  for  one  more 
modern  in  style,  Gothic  windows  were  introduced,  the 
exterior  walls  were  covered  with  a  composition  of  lime,  sand  and 
pebbles,  and  a  vestibule,  spire  and  bell  added.  Within  ten 
years  still  greater  changes  followed,  aud  the  auditorium  was 
made  to  more  nearly  conform  to  the  present  fashion  of  church 
interiors. 

There  is  still  in  existence  the  original  instrument  by  which 
Ralph  Smith  conveyed  to  the  trustees  of  Zion  congregation 
seven  and  one  quarter  acres  of  land,  which  included  the  site  of 
the  church  then  "newly  erected."  It  is  in  the  form  of  a  lease 
running  one  hundred  and  four  years,  demanding  an  annual  quit- 
rent  of  "nine  pence  three  farthings  for  each  one  acre,  of 
Procklamation  money."  This  portentous  document  is  elabor- 
ately inscribed  on  a  heavy  piece  of  sheep-parchment  over  two 
feet  in  breadth,  the  ink  of  the  text  still  being  distinctly  black, 
although  that  of  the  signatures  has  grown  pale,  while  yet  per- 
fectly legible.  The  leasehold  was  ultimately  converted  into  a 
fee  by  the  commutation  of  the  quit-rent.  The  phraseology  of 
the  conveyance  begins  in  this  wise  : 

This  Indenture  made  this  tenth  Day  of  November  in  the  Year  of  Our  Lord 
One  Thousand  Seven  Hundred  and  Forty-Nine,  Between  Ralph  Smith,  Esq.,  of 
Lebanon  in  tlie  County  of  Hunterdon  and  Province  of  New  Jersey,  on  the  One 
Part,  and  Baltis  Bickle,  Hones  Melek,  Philip  Phise,  alias  White,  Casper  Hender- 
Bhot,  Lowrence  Rulifson,  Samuell  Barnard,  David  Melek,  Jacob  Cline,  Adam 
Vockerot,  Jacob  Shipmann,  George  Swart  and  Joseph  Hornbaker,  Trustees  to 
the  Luthern  Congregation  in  the  Countys  of  Hunterdon,  Somerset  and  Morris, 
on  the  other  part.  Witnesses,  etc. 

None  of  the  names  of  the  lessees  are  correctly  spelled.  The 
second  one  is,  of  course,  that  of  our  German  ancestor.  The  writ- 
ing of  the  lease,  which  is  in  a  good,  round,  clerkly  hand,  is  that  of 
Smith,  the  lessor,  who  wrote  Hones  tor  Honnes,  which  is  Hollan- 
disch,  or  Low  Dutch,  for  John.     Ralph  Smith  was  an  English- 


78  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm, 

man  of  wealth,  and  a  large  land-holder  in  what  is  now  New  Ger- 
mantown.  He  came  to  Lebanon  township  from  Boston  in  1734, 
and  is  said  to  have  been  ambitious  to  found  a  town,  which  he 
desired  should  be  called  Smithfield.  With  the  influx  of  Ger- 
mans, however,  his  influence  was  not  strong  enough  to  prevent 
the  village  from  being  named  after  the  Pennsylvania  town  from 
which  many  of  these  new-comers  had  migrated.  Although  all 
early  documents  mention  this  neighborhood  simply  as  "  King 
Street,"  or  Tewksbury,  Smith  persisted  in  using  the  name 
Smithfield  in  his  leases,  even  after  the  high-sheriff  of  Hunterdon 
plainly  designated  it  in  a  public  advertisement  as  New  German- 
town.  The  first  record  of  this  last  name  appears  in  a  legal 
instrument  drawn  by  Richard  Stockton  of  Princeton,  dated 
the  twentieth  of  July,  1760.  While  Ralph  Smith  was  unable  to 
control  the  nationality  of  new  arrivals,  he  endeavored,  at  least,  to 
dictate  the  nature  of  the  religious  observances  they  should  intro- 
duce into  the  neighborhood.  He  inserted  in  the  lease  of  the 
church  lot  a  clause  which  provided  that  Zion  society  should  not 
allow  ''  any  other  doctrin  to  be  taught  but  that,  according  to  the 
Lutherrien  scheem,  excepting  a  farther  advance  towards  the 
Protestant  Churches  now  established,  according  to  the  doctrins, 
contained  in  the  Thirty-nine  Artickles  of  the  Church  of  England, 
or  according  to  the  Presbyterian  scheem  as  professed  and 
adhered  to  in  America."  The  lessor  was  evidently  solicitous 
that  no  popish  errors  should  be  propagated  in  the  community. 
But  imperfectly  undei'standing  the  Lutherrien  scheem  (as  he 
styled  it) — for  the  services  of  that  church  were  mostly  in  Ger- 
man— he  was  careful  to  provide  that  the  preaching  in  the  new 
house  should  not  deviate  in  any  essential  respect  from  the  doc- 
trines of  the  Thirty-nine  Articles  and  the  Westminster  Confes- 
sion of  Faith. 

For  several  reasons  this  conveyance  from  Ralph  Smith  pos- 
sesses an  interest  for  the  historian  of  Johannes  Moelich.  First, 
as  showing  who  were  at  that  time  his  co-trustees  in  Zion  ;  and 
second,  in  the  fact  that  his  name  appears  among  the  first  of  the 
trustees.  As  their  names  were  probably  placed  in  the  order  of 
their  importance,  it  is  fair  to  presume  that  Johannes  ranked 
among  the  most  prominent  of  the  otficers  and  congregation. 
"  Baltis  Bickle,"  or  more  properly  speaking,  Balthazar    Pickel, 


Baltis  Pickel  and  Other  Worthies.  79 

was  easily  the  first  in  possessions,  age  and  social  consequence  in 
that  German  community.  He  was  a  native  of  Hamburg,  and 
early  in  the  century  settled  in  Hunterdon  county,  purchasing  a 
large  tract  of  land  at  the  foot  of  that  considerable  elevation  which 
in  consequence  of  that  purchase  lost  its  euphonious  Indian 
appellation  of  Cushetunk,  and  has  since  been  known  as  Pickel's 
mountain.  Here  his  descendants  for  several  generations  have 
lived,  and  a  portion  of  the  original  purchase  is  still  in  possession 
of  the  family.  At  the  death  of  Balthazar  Pickle,  by  his  will  he 
bequeathed  one  thousand  pounds  to  Zion  church,  the  intention 
of  the  pious  donor  being  that  the  interest  on  this  sum  should  pay 
the  whole  of  the  minister's  salary.  In  this  regard  his  expecta- 
tions were  not  fulfilled.  The  money  willed  must  have  been  in 
colonial  pounds,  as  the  total  amount  realized  from  the  bequest 
by  the  trustees  was  a  little  less  than  two  thousand  dollars.  Baltis 
and  his  wife  Charity,  "good  old  mother  Pickel,"  lie  buried  close 
to  the  east  walls  of  Zion.  His  grave  stone  bears  the  following 
inscription : 

Here  lies  the  body  of 

Baltis  Pickel 

Who  departed  this  Life,  Dec.  5th,  1765, 

In  the  79th  year  of  his  age. 

Remember  me  as  you  pass  by, 

As  you  are  now  so  onst  was  I, 

As  I  am  now  so  must  you  be 

Prepare  for  death  and  follow  me. 

Near  by  is  the  grave  of  a  youth  of  twenty,  bearing  the  same 
name,  upon  whose  stone  is  the  following  curious  verse : 

My  Dwelling  Place  is  liere 

This  Stone  is  got 

To  Keep  the  Spot 
That  men  dig  not  too  near. 

The  date  of  the  advent  in  Hunterdon  county  of  David  Moe- 
lich — mentioned  as  one  of  the  church  trustees — has  not  been 
ascertained.  He  is  believed  to  have  been  our  ancestor's  cousin. 
David  was  born  in  Bendorf  in  1715,  being  the  son  of  Hans 
Peter,  who  it  is  supposed,  was  a  brother  of  Johannes'  father. 
Jonas  Moelich,  a  bachelor  brother  of  David,  who  was 
born  in  Bendorf  in  1710,  was  also  at  this  time  a  Hunter- 
don resident  and  a  member  of  Zion  congregation.      There  was 


80  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

still  another  of  the  name  then  living  in  Lebanon  township,  who 
later  became  prominent  in  the  affairs  of  Zion  society.  This 
fourth  Moelich  was  Antony,  Anton  or  Tunis,  Johannes'  nephew, 
he  being  the  son  of  Johann.  Peter,  who  emigrated  unmarried 
from  Bendorf  in  1728,  but  who  must  have  found  himself  a  wife 
soon  after  arrival,  as  his  oldest  child,  Tunis,  was  bom  in  1730. 
It  would  be  very  agreeable  to  tell  the  whole  story  of  the  rich 
historical  memories  that  cling  to  these  old  walls  of  Zion.  Such 
a  story  would  entail  the  narrative  of  the  growth  of  population  in 
this  section  of  New  Jersey;  but,  just  now,  our  interest  in  this 
church  lies  with  some  of  its  early  founders  and  their  suc- 
cessors, and  we  must  confine  our  notice  to  such  incidents  in  the 
life  of  the  society  as  relate  to  our  German  ancestor  and  his  chil- 
dren. It  may  be  mentioned,  however,  that  as  early  as  1745  it 
appears  that  the  Reverend  Henry  Melchior  Muhlenberg  occa- 
sionly  supplied  Zion  pulpit,  while  at  the  same  time  having  gen- 
eral charge  of  the  affairs  of  the  congregation.  This  divine, — 
familiarly  known  as  Father  Muhlenberg — was  born  in  Hanover 
in  1711 ;  after  graduating  at  the  University  of  Gottingen,  which 
he  had  entered  in  1735,  he  settled  at  Halle.  The  early  German 
emigrants  to  America  were  essentially  a  religious  people,  and  to 
them  no  distress  connected  with  exile  was  more  grievous  than 
the  loss  of  the  religious  instruction  they  had  known  in  the  old 
country.  During  the  first  four  decades  of  the  last  century  there 
was  not  in  New  York  or  New  Jersey  a  properly-accredited 
clergyman  of  the  Lutheran  persuasion.  The  people  of  that  faith 
repeatedly  implored  the  home  church  to  send  them  a  minister. 
After  much  urging,  Mr.  Muhlenberg  consented  to  accept  charge 
of  the  American  churches,  and  reached  Philadelphia  on  the 
twenty-fifth  of  November,  1 742.  The  Germans  realized  in  him 
the  consummation  of  their  highest  hopes  for  a  priest,  and  with 
great  joy  they  welcomed  the  ministering  of  holy  religion  in  the 
form  and  manner  of  the  church  in  fatherland.  The  labors,  suf- 
ferings and  successes  of  this  Lutheran  patriarch  are  matters  of 
eccelesiastical  history.  To  the  character  of  an  humble  and  sin- 
cere Christian  were  joined  natural  qualifications  and  educational 
acquirements  that  peculiarly  fitted  him  for  the  arduous  and 
varied  duties  incidental  to  his  position.  He  was  a  skilful  sur- 
geon as  well  as  a  ripe  theologian,  and  could  preach  to  his  con- 


Reverend  Henry  Melchior  Muhlenberg.  81 

gregation  with  equal  facility  in  English,  German  and  Low 
Dutch.  Gentleness  and  firmness  in  him  were  singularly 
blended;  his  wise  counsel  and  tender  sympathies  won  such 
respect  and  devotion  that  throughout  his  life  his  influence  among 
the  Germans  was  unbounded.  We  are  told  that  his  eloquence 
was  of  an  order  that  would  equally  move  and  melt  the  heart  of 
the  wildest  frontiersman,  or  rivet  the  attention  of  the  most  cul- 
tured and  educated  member  of  the  synod.  In  IT-lS  he  removed 
from  Philadelphia  to  the  village  of  La  Trappe — New  Providence 
— in  Montgomery  county,  Pennsylvania,  which  at  that  time  con- 
tained the  largest  and  most  important  German  congregation  in 
the  country.  From  then  until  his  death,  in  1787,  he  seems  to 
have  had  a  general  oversight  of,  and  to  have  exercised  a  sort  of 
presiding  eldership  over,  the  churches  of  the  Lutheran  denomin- 
ation. He  was  a  wonderful  organizer  of  congregations.  Heat 
nor  cold,  storm  nor  wind,  robbers  nor  Indians,  could  daunt  his 
energies  or  repress  the  enthusiasm  of  the  missionary  spirit,  which 
led  him  to  travel  thousands  of  miles  through  the  Middle  and 
Southern  States  at  the  call  of  his  German  brethren.  The  rare 
virtues  and  talents  of  this  unusual  man  were,  to  a  remarkable 
degree,  transmitted  to  his  posterity  through  successive  genera- 
tions. As  clergymen,  soldiei's,  statesmen,  educators,  authors 
and  poets,  we  find  that  his  children,  grandchildren  and  great- 
grandchildren have  taken  rank  with  the  most  distinguished  men 
of  the  country. 

The  first  missionary  of  Zion  church  was  the  Reverend 
Johannes  Christophorus  Hartwig,  (anglice),  John  Christopher 
Hartwick,  who  contributed  his  erratic  services  during  the  years 
1747-1748.  He  did  not  tarry  long  in  Tewksbury  as  his  useful- 
ness was  much  impaired  by  an  unfortunate  repugnance  he  felt 
towards  all  womankind.  Neighborhood  gossip  recites  that  he 
would  cross  the  road,  or  even  leap  a  fence,  to  avoid  meeting  one 
of  the  gentler  sex.  The  story  is  told  that  when  preaching  in 
New  York  state,  on  awaking  one  morning  at  the  home  of  a 
parishioner,  he  found  that  the  good  woman  of  the  house  had 
arisen  in  the  night  and  silently  spread  a  thick  petticoat  over  the 
bed,  lest  he  should  suffer  with  the  cold ;  so  indignant  was  the 
clergyman  that  he  made  his  way  to  the  stable,  saddled  his  horse, 
and  rode  oflF  before  breakfast.       On   the  seventh  of  September, 


82  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

1748,  there  arrived  at  Philadelphia,  by  the  ship  "  Hampshire," 
Captain  Thomas  Cheeseman,  from  Rotterdam,  the  Reverend  Joh. 
Albert  Weygand.  At  the  instigation  of  Father  Muhlenberg,  he 
was  soon  preaching  at  New  Germantown  as  a  candidate,  and  in 
the  following  year  this  immigrant-minister  was  invited  to  be  the 
regular  pastor  of  the  congregation.  Among  the  seventy-eight 
names  signed  to  his  call  were  those  of  Baltus  Pickel,  Johannes 
Moelich,  Samuel  Earnhardt,  Jacob  Kline,  Joseph  Hornbaker, 
Philip  Weiss,  Lawrence  Roelifson  and  others.  Mr.  Weygand's 
services  proved  very  acceptable  to  the  people  and  it  was  during 
his  pastorate  that  the  church  edifice  was  completed  and  dedi- 
cated. How  long  he  officiated  is  not  exactly  known,  but  it  is  cer- 
tain that  in  a  printed  publication  of  1755  he  is  spoken  of  as 
"  the  minister  of  the  old  Lutheran  Church  at  New  York  and 
Haekensack  " — serving  alternately  the  people  of  Bergen  and 
Rockland  counties,  and  the  congregation  of  New  York   city. 

Following  Mr.  Weygand  came,  in  about  the  year  1754,  Pastor 
Ludolph  Heinrich  Schrenck  ;  his  stay  was  short  and  his  depar- 
ture is  unrecorded.  During  these  changes  and  vacancies 
Father  Muhlenberg  continued  his  episcopal  direction  of  Zion's 
people.  In  the  autumn  of  1760  he  sent  a  youijg  man — Reverend 
Paul  Bryzelius — on  horseback  to  the  "  hill  country  of  New-  Jer- 
sey," to  preach  to  the  waiting  congregations  of  Zion  and  St.  Paul. 
Of  the  latter  church  society  we  shall  learn  something  shortly. 
With  him  he  dispatched  a  letter  addressed  to  his  "  highly 
respected  and  dearly  beloved  Brethren  Messieurs  Balthasar  Pickel 
and  John  Moelich,  senior,  at  Racheway,  etc."  This  last  word 
expresses  Father  Muhlenberg's  endeavor  to  spell  Rockaway,  the 
name  of  the  stream  which  drains  the  country  west  and  south  of 
Tewksbury  township,  and  upon  the  south  branch  of  which  lived 
Balthazar  Pickle.  The  writer  of  this  letter  makes  another  effort 
to  anglicise — this  time  a  foreign,  not  a  native  word.  The  name 
"  Brucelius  "  is  written  in  English,  and  was  evidently  an  attempt 
to  convey  in  Roman  characters  the  sound  of  the  young  clergy- 
man's name.  In  subsequent  entries  upon  the  church  books 
Muhlenberg  wrote  it  Bryzelius.  Doctor  Hazelius,  afterwards  of 
Zion's  pulpit,  and  himself  of  Swedish  origin,  spelled  it  "  Brize- 
lius."  But  enough  of  preface  !  Here  is  a  translation  of  this 
pastoral  message  from  the  last  century  : 


Father  Muhlenberg's  Letters  to  Zion  Church.      83 

Worthy  and  Beloved  Fathers  and  Brethren  :  Herewith  I  send  in  my 
place  on  a  visit  an  honest  teacher,  namely,  Domine  Brucelius,  who  studied  in 
Sweden  and  traveled  several  years  in  Germany  and  England,  and  tried  many 
things.  He  is  still  in  his  hest  years,  cheerful  and  very  industrious,  humble  and 
friendly  in  company,  lives  sober,  godly  and  exemplary,  and  understands  well  how 
to  deal  with  the  rich  and  poor,  with  the  learned  and  unlearned,  with  the  sick  and 
healthy  ;  has  a  great  knowledge  in  the  true  Christianity,  and  tries  to  lead  souls 
to  Lord  Jesus  ;  understands  good  English  and  German.  Since,  liowever,  in  past 
years  he  preached  mostly  in  Swedish  and  English,  and  had  little  practice  in  the 
German  language,  therefore,  German  seems  a  little  difficult.  He  will  very  soon, 
however,  regain  his  knowledge  of  German  when  he  has  had  just  a  little  practice. 
You  will  hear  and  see  for  yourselves  wherein  he  will  please  you  in  doctrine  and 
conversation,  and  write  me  what  you  think  of  him. 

I  am  for  the  present  not  able  to  pay  his  traveling  expenses,  and  hope  the  dear 
brethren  will  take  care  of  this  out  of  love  because  he  has  hired  from  his  congre- 
gation a  horse  for  the  journey,  which  he  must  himself  pay  for. 

Receive  him  in  love  as  a  true  servant  of  Jesus,  and  make  his  conversation  use- 
ful to  you.  To  your  wives  and  worthy  relations,  especially  to  the  long-suffering 
sick  mother,  Pickel,  give  consolation  out  of  the  abounding  love  of  Jesus,  and  be 
true  even  unto  death  ;  then  will  you  receive  the  crown  of  life  and  glory. 

Thus  wishes,  worthy  and  beloved  fathers  and  brethren,  your  old  well-wisher 
and  friend,  Henry  Muhlenberg. 

New  Providence,  25  Nov.,  1760. 

This  day  I  have  buried  my  youngest  son. 

This  young  minister  foimd  such  favor  with  the  good  people  of 
the  hill  country  as  to  be  regularly  called  as  their  pastor,  and  he 
continued  preaching  to  the  congregations  of  New  Grermantown 
and  Pluckamin  until  1767,  when  he  removed  to  Nova  Scotia. 
He  was  the  tirst  occupant  of  the  parsonage  near  the  first  named 
village.  In  May  following  Mr.  Bryzelius'  removal,  Father 
Muhlenberg  was  elected  "Rector"  of  the  united  churches  of  Zion 
and  St.  Paul.  As  the  patriarch  never  resided  in  New  Jersey, 
and  continued,  as  before,  the  pastor  of  the  Lutheran  churches  of 
Philadelphia,  the  inference  is  that  the  election  and  formal  accept- 
ance was  a  prudential  measure  intended  to  further  the  temporal 
interests  of  the  united  congregations.  During  the  vacancy  of  their 
pulpits  he  occasionally  occupied  them,  as  did  the  Rev.  Christian 
Streit,  who  was  afterward  the  pastor  of  a  Lutheran  congregation 
at  Fasten,  Pennsylvania.  Father  Muhlenberg  appears,  how- 
ever, at  all  times  to  have  given  his  personal  care  and  direction 
to  the  affairs  of  the  society.  Not  long  after  the  departure  of  Mr. 
Bryzelius  he  addressed  to  the  brethren  the  following  quaint  and 
characteristic  letter,  advising  them  as  to  their  course  while  with- 
out  a   spiritual   guide.     The  reference   to    Bedminster  will  be 


84  The  Stoky  of  an  Old  Farm. 

made  plain,  later,  when  we  come  upon  the  founding  of  St.  Paul's 
congregation  at  Pluckamin.  The  superscription  in  English 
reads : 

To  the  Wardens  and  Vestries  of  the  United  Lutheran  Churches  in  New  Ger- 
mantown  and  Bedminster. 

The  original  letter  is  in  German  : 

Honorable  Corporation,  Beloved  Brethren  :  I  recently  wrote  a  letter 
to  you  and  gave  it  to  Mr.  Bartles.  Rev.  Kurtz,  our  old  minister,  has  promised  to 
make  a  visit  to  the  United  Congregations  after  the  Holy  days  of  the  dear  Lord. 
If  he  sliould  be  too  feeble  for  so  difficult  a  winter  journey,  some  one  younger  will 
come.  I  beseech,  however,  the  Honorable  Corporation  that  she  take  care  of  her 
charter  and  order,  and  open  the  churches  to  no  disorderly  preachers  or  tramps. 
The  fugitives  who  run  where  they  have  not  been  sent  must  stop  with  their  equals. 
Because  where  the  carcass  is  there  gather  the  eagles. 

The  Honorable  Corporation  will  take  also  into  consideration  and  provide  that 
during  the  coming  spring  the  parsonage  may  be  set  in  habitable  order.  It  would 
be  very  good  if  the  God-fearing  members  of  both  congregations  would  assemble 
on  Sundays  in  their  churches,  would  sing  together  an  edifying  hymn,  order  some- 
ting  to  be  read,  and  would  pray.  Some  one  will  be  amongst  the  brethren  who 
can  do  it. 

I  send  you  my  hearty  greeting,  and  hope  we  may  soon  meet  again. 

I  am  your  old 

Friend  Muhlenberg. 

Philadelphia,  10  Dec,  1767. 

The  next  incumbent  at  New  Germantown  came  to  New  Jer- 
sey confident  of  possessing  the  affections  and  esteem  of  her 
people,  for  he  was  John  Peter  Gabriel  Muhlenberg,  the  eldest 
son  of  the  patriarch,  who  after  much  solicitation  had  consented 
to  serve  as  resident  deputy-rector  for  his  father.  He  occupied 
Zion's  pulpit  for  the  first  time  on  the  fifth  of  February,  1769, 
and  continued  to  supply  that  and  St.  Paul's  for  three  years.  He 
awakened  an  enthusiastic  devotion  in  the  members  of  his  flock, 
and  though  at  this  time  but  twenty-three  years  old,  he  soon 
won  their  respect  as  well  as  their  affections.  In  1772  his  father 
was  applied  to  by  the  Germans  of  the  valley  of  the  Blue  Ridge, 
Virginia,  for  a  minister  for  their  new  church  at  Woodstock,  the 
county-town  of  Dunmore,  they  asking  that  his  son  might  be 
sent.  This  request  was  acceded  to,  and  the  young  minister 
made  his  way  beyond  the  Potomac,  where  he  so  conducted  him- 
self as  to  insure  his  name  ever  being  honorably  preserved  on  the 
pages  of  history.     We  shall  pass  some  interesting  hours  in  this 


Father  Muhlenberg's  Letters  to  Zion  Church.      85 

excellent  man's  company  on  his  return  to  New  Jersey,  after 
exchanging  his  rector's  gown  for  the  blue  and  buff  of  a  Conti- 
nental general. 

For  several  years  following  the  loss  of  Peter  Muhlenberg, 
Zion's  pulpit  appears  to  have  been  without  an  occupant,  Father 
Muhlenberg  continuing  his  oversight  of  the  congregation. 
Repeated  requests  were  made  to  the  rector  that  he  would  send 
one  of  his  two  remaining  sons  to  fill  the  office  of  "assistant  minis- 
ter." While  this  desire  was  never  gratified — at  least  to  the 
extent  of  a  residence  of  either  for  a  continuous  period — it  is  in 
evidence  that  Henry  Ernst,  the  youngest,  occasionally  supplied 
the  churches,  and  presided  at  regular  vestry  councils.  His  con- 
sent was  at  one  time  obtained  to  become  the  rector  in  place  of 
his  father,  but  the  joint  congregations  of  Philadelphia  refused  to 
release  him  from  a  prior  engagement,  and  so  the  arrangement 
was  not  consummated.  That,  meanwhile,  unsuccessfid  efforts 
were  made  to  secure  a  minister  is  shown  by  the  following  letter 
of  Father  Muhlenberg  addressed  to  Ehrenreich  Moelich  and  his  co- 
trustees. Our  immigrant  ancestor,  Johannes,  having  by  this  time 
become  a  member  of  the  congregation  of  that  greater  and  eternal 
Zion,  his  eldest  son  had  taken  the  sire's  place  among  the  fathers  of 
the  earthly  church.  As  it  is  dated  the  year  previous  to  the  one  in 
which  Peter  Muhlenberg  severed  his  connection  with  the  New 
Jersey  congregations,  it  would  seem  that  he  was  absent  from  his 
charge  during  some  part  of  1771.  He  may  have  been  on  a  visit 
to  the  vaUey  of  Virginia,  and  evidently  had  already  notified  his 
parishioners  that  he  intended  to  leave  them. 

Worthy  and  Beloved  Brethren  :  I  received  yonr  dear  letter  of  the  16th 
September  from  Bedminster,  through  the  dear  brother,  Anthony  Meliok,  and 
understand  from  it :  1st,  That  tlie  majority  of  the  members  of  St.  Paul's  church 
met  on  Wednesday  and  voted  for  Mr.  Kuiitze  and  Mr.  Buseherch.  2nd,  Now^as 
far  as  Mr.  Kuntze  is  concerned,  he  thanks  the  dear  brethren  heartily,  because 
they  have  been  so  good  as  to  vote  for  liim.  It  is  not  possible  for  him  to  accept 
the  call,  since  the  corporation  of  PhiUulelphia  positively  will  not  release  liiiu, 
neither  can  they  let  him  go,  nor  will  they,  and  he  himself  also  before  tiod  lias 
neither  conviction  nor  desire  to  leave  without  a  cause  tlie  congregation  entrusted 
to  him.  3rd,  And  because  the  beloved  brethren  have  also  voted  for  Mr.  Buseh- 
erch, and  I  have  heard  that  Mr.  Buseherch  will  preach  next  Sunday  in  New 
Germantown;  if  then  the  Bedmin?ter  corporation  thinks  that  Mr.  Buseherch  is 
strong  and  qualified  enough  to  feed  your  three  congregations,  and  the  corporation 
of  Zion's  church,  likewise,  thinks  and  agrees  with  you,  then  can  you  ask  him  by 
chance  if  he  is  willing  to  accept  a  call  from  you  or  not.    The  congregations  have. 


86  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

indeed,  a  right  to  vote,  nevertheless  the  question  remains  whether  the  preacher 
for  whom  tliey  voted  truly  can  accept  the  call,  or  will.  For  this  time  I  don't 
know  anytliing  furtlier  to  answer,  except  that  I  greet  you  all  heartily  and  kiss 
you  in  Christ,  who  for  tlie  comfort  of  the  Believers  has  promised  "  Look,  I  am 
with  you  every  day,  until  the  end  of  the  world."  I  remain  your  old  wellwisher 
and  intercessor,  Henky  Muhlenberg. 

Philadelphia,  22  Sept.,  1771. 

My  next  record  of  a  shepherd  to  this  Lutheran  flock  is  that 
of  William  Anthony  Graff,  a  native  of  Grunstadt  in  Rhenish 
Bavaria,  and  a  graduate  of  the  university  of  Gressen  in  Hesse- 
Darmstadt.  This  godly  man  came  in  1775  and  preached  until 
his  death,  thirty-four  years  later,  his  memory  being  still  pre- 
served as  a  precious  heritage  by  the  descendants  of  the  fathers 
of  Zion.  His  certificate  of  ordination,  dated  in  September,  1760, 
is  in  the  handwriting  of  Father  Muhlenberg,  and  it  records  in 
stately,  scholastic  Latin  that  he  was  called  in  that  year  to  the 
charges  of  Hackensack  and  Ramapo,  "prefectures  of  New  Jer- 
sey belonging  to  the  kingdom  of  Great  Britain."  With  those 
congregations  he  remained  for  fifteen  years,  vmtil  called  to  New 
Germantown.  This  certificate  shows  further  that  the  newly- 
ordained  one  vows  "to  abhor  all  fanatical  opinions,  such  as 
poritifical,  anabaptist,  sacramentarian  and  similar  errors."  And 
then  to  him  is  entrusted,  with  pious  ceremony,  "  the  office  of 
teaching  the  gospel  and  administering  the  sacraments  according 
to  the  calling  and  rule  prescribed  in  the  Prophetic  and  Apostolic 
writings,  whose  sum  is  comprehended  in  the  three  Symbols, 
Apostolic,  Nicene  and  Athanasian, — in  the  Augsburg  confession 
presented  to  the  Emperor  Charles  V.  iu  the  year  1530,  and  in 
the  Apology  of  the  same — likewise  in  the  smaller  and  larger 
catechisms  of  Dn.  Dr.  Luther,  and  in  the  articles  to  which  signa- 
tures were  appended  in  the  assembly  of  Schmalcald."  The 
whole  closes  with  the  handsome  signatures  and  seals  of 

Carolus  Magnus  Wrangel, 

S.  S.  Theol.  Doctor  Conciokator  Aulic. 

Ord.  Suecoeum  Regis  &  Ecclesiarum, 

SUECO  LUTHER-IN  AMERICA  PrAEPOSITUS. 

Henricus  Muhlenberg. 
Ministeru-Germanico 
Lutheran:  Praeses  et 
Senior. 


Pastor  Graff's  Flourishing  Congregation.  87 

The  first  signature,  with  its  appended  title,  may  be  translated : 
Charles  Magnus  Wrangel,  Doctor  of  Sacred  Theology,  Regular 
Court  Preacher  to  the  King  of  Sweden,  and  Head  of  the  Swed- 
ish Lutheran  Churches  in  America.  ■ 

About  the  time  of  the  coming  of  Pastor  Graff  we  may  con- 
clude that  this  Lutheran  congregation  was  in  a  flourishing  condi- 
tion. Before  me  lies  an  original  list  of  the  communicants  of  the 
church,  dated  the  second  of  May,  1773,  showing  their  number 
to  have  been  ninety.  It  is  in  the  handwriting  of  the  elder 
Muhlenberg,  and  the  names  present  a  singular  mixture  of  Ger- 
man, Latin  and  English  spelling.  Among  them  are  to  be  found, 
Ehrenr  Moelich,  evidently  intended  for  Aaron  Moelich,  the  first 
name  standing  for  Ehrenreich  ;  his  wife  is  set  down  as  Charlotta; 
Jonas  Moelich;  Christian  Meelich;  Mr.  Anthony  Meelich,  n  fr. 
Eleonora ;  Mr.  Balthas  Pickel  ;  Mr.  Jacob  Klein,  n  fi\ 
Euphronica;  Gottfried  fein  n  fr.  Magdelena;  Marcus  Koenig.  n  fr. 
Elisabeth ;  Joh.  Appehnan,  n  fr.  Ursula  Magdal ;  Mr.  Thomas 
van  Busshkerk,  n  fr.,  Esther  ;  Frau  MiiJlerin  Henrichs.  The 
Christian  Jleelich  mentioned  above  was  the  son  of  Johannes' 
cousin  David  ;  Anthony  Meelich,  as  we  have  already  learned, 
was  Johannes'  nephew,  while  Frau  Miillerin  Henrichs  was  Maria 
Catherine,  a  sister  of  Anthony  at  Tunis,  who,  in  1755, 
became  the  wife  of  Joh.  Henry  Midler — Anglke,  Miller. 
Her  husband  emigrated  from  Germany  in  1750,  and 
three  years  later  settled  near  New  Germantown,  where  he 
became  a  valued  citizen,  being  for  thirty-four  years  the  clerk  of 
the  township.  Although  a  devoted  Christian,  he  was  of  the 
German  Reformed  persuasion,  consequently  we  do  not  find  his 
name  oa  Zion  communion  lists,  where  that  of  his  wife  for  a  num- 
ber of  years  frequently  appears.  Eventually  she  proved  a  wan- 
dering sheep  and  strayed  from  the  Lutheran  flock — the  church 
of  her  forefathers.  In  the  year  1782  a  Methodist  minister 
arrived  in  Tewksbury  who  secured  the  good-will  of  her  brother, 
Tunis — then  a  church  warden — with  whom  he  lodged.  Among 
the  few  persons  that  he  succeeded  in  converting  to  the  new, 
and  generally  considered  heterodox,  faith,  was  his  host's 
sister.  This  did  not  accord  with  the  views  of  her  husband, 
Henry  Miller,  who,  thereupon,  interviewed  the  missionary,  and 
reported  the  result  in  writing  to   his   wife's   pastor,  Mr.   Graff, 


88  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

declaring  that  he  found  the  newcomers  religious  beliefs  to  be 
"scandalous  and  despicable  of  the  church."  On  the  following 
Sunday,  the  rector,  from  the  pulpit,  denounced  the  itinerant  as 
a  "proselyting  upstart."  This  brought  Tunis  Melick  to  his  feet 
in  defence  of  his  guest,  and  he  angrily  interrupted  Mr.  Graff, 
being  joined  in  his  protest  by  Godfrey  Rinehart,  another  church- 
warden. A  great  commotion  was  produced  in  the  congregation, 
and  the  two  malcontents  were  subsequently  tried  and  deposed 
from  the  vestry.  Tunis  Melick  and  his  wife  adhered  to  the  new 
faith,  and  with  a  few  others  stemmed  the  current  of  opposition, 
until  their  perseverance  was  finally  rewarded  by  the  establish- 
ment of  a  Methodist  congregation,  in  which  their  descendants 
have  been  prominent  to  this  day. 

Catherine  Miller  was  much  beloved,  and  was  long  remembered 
in  Tewksbury  because  of  the  impress  made  by  her  strong  char- 
acter and  deeply  religious  nature  upon  the  people  among  whom 
she  spent  her  life.  John  Fine,  who  died  in  1861  at  the  age  of 
eighty-two,  and  who  himself  was  as  modest  and  humble  as  he  was 
good,  used  to  tell  that  in  his  boyhood  he  was  indentured  for  a 
term  of  years  to  Henry  Miller.  He  soon  found  his  master's  wife 
to  be  not  only  very  pious,  but  exceedingly  strict.  She  treated 
him  well,  but  insisted  that  he  should  comprehend  his  duties  and 
perform  them  all  in  their  proper  time  and  order.  On  one  occa- 
sion, being  seriously  punished  for  running  the  milch  cows  from 
the  field,  he  was  inclined  to  resent  the  whipping,  and  did  revenge 
himself  by  some  ugly  boyish  trick.  "In  after  years  I  regretted 
it  very  much,"  said  the  good  old  man,  "  and  more  especially  did 
I  grieve  over  it,  when,  upon  the  death  of  Mother  Miller,  it  was 
discovered  that  she  had  knelt  so  often  and  so  long  in  secret 
prayer  that  'callusses'  had  grown  upon  her  knees,  resembling 
those  upon  the  hand  of  a  common  working-man."  Henry  Miller 
upon  the  death  of  his  wife  thus  recorded  the  event  in  his  family 
Bible:  "  1807.  To-day  the  22nd  Jan.:  at  12  o'clock  noon,  has  my 
dear  wife  Maria  Catherina  fallen  peacefully  asleep  in  the  Lord, 
and  will  be  buried  on  the  25th  day.  After  we  have  lived  fifty- 
one  years,  nine  months  and  three  weeks  together  in  the  Holy 
estate  of  matrimony.'  And  she  is  the  first  one  who  has  died  in 
my  house.  May  the  dear  God  prepare  us  who  are  left  behind 
to  follow  piously  after,  for  the  sake  of  his  dear  Son,  Jesus  Christ, 


Character  and  Appearance  of  Father  Graff.       89 

Amen."  "  Good  old  Father  Fine,"  who  has  preserved  to  us  the 
story  of  Catherine  Miller's  habit  of  prayer,  seems  to  have  reached 
a  height  of  spirituality  unattainable  by  his  contemporaries,  and. 
he  left  a  name  that  stands  as  a  synonym  for  Christian  piety  in 
all  the  Tewksbury  region  He  was  a  man  of  "  wise  saws,  sen- 
tentious apothegms  and  apposite  anecdotes/'  and  the  tales,  related 
by  the  village  gossips  of  his  biblical  honesty,  are  the  wonder  of 
the  present  generation.  He  and  his  wife  were  early  converts  to 
Methodism,  he  being  blessed  with  a  help-mate  as  heavenly 
minded  as  himself.  "Mother  Fine"  was  renowned  for  sanctity, 
for  charity,  for  every  tender  feeling.  A  clerical  bidl  is  asso- 
ciated with  her  name.  An  Irish  minister  said  to  her  at  a  social 
meeting,  "  Sister  Mother,  please  lead  our  devotions !" 

But  these  reminiscences  are  carrying  us  too  far  away  from 
Pastor  Graff,  to  whom  we  must  return.  At  the  time  of  his  com- 
ing to  Zion  and  St.  Paul's  he  was  in  the  prime  of  manhood,  being 
about  eight  and  forty  years  old.  An  interesting  family,  consist- 
ing of  a  wife  and  half  a  dozen  children  (of  whom  four  were 
daughters),  consitituted  the  whole  of  his  worldly  wealth — if  we 
may  except  a  traditional  "  roach-backed "  horse,  with  riding 
equipments,  and  a  certain  weather-stained  "  shay"  of  a  comically 
antique  construction.  Father  Graff's  parishioners  delighted  in 
his  imposing  appearance.  He  was  very  fond  of  the  saddle,  and 
wearing  a  three-cornered  hat  and  military  boots,  was  often  to 
be  seen  astride  of  his  faithful  steed,  riding  between  New  German- 
town,  Pluckamin,  and  on  to  Roxbury,  where  he  also  supplied  a 
Lutheran  pulpit.  Mr.  Graff's  salary  was  to  be  the  interest  on 
the  Pickel  legacy  (supposed  to  amount  to  sixty  pounds),  and 
sixty  pounds  more  to  be  raised  by  contributions  from  the  congre- 
gations of  Pluckamin  and  Roxbury.  For  this  the  New  German- 
town  congregation  was  entitled  to  preaching  twice  monthly,  while 
the  lesser  flocks  were  forced  to  be  contented  with  Sunday  visita- 
tions of  once  a  month.  He  soon  dropped  from  his  official  title 
"  deputy,"  or  "  pro  tem  "  as  Father  Muhlenberg,  hearing  of  the 
excellent  choice  of  the  congregations,  very  willingly  resigned  the 
rectorship. 

Mr.  Graff  preached  alternately  in  German  and  English,  but 
his  efforts  to  conquer  the  latter  tongue  were  never  entirely 
successful.     It    is    said    that    to    the    end    of  life    he    persisted 


90  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

in  calling  the  village  of  his  residence  ''  New  Shurrmnntown" 
and  that  of  the  location  of  St.  Paul's  church  "  Blook-a-weew." 
The  story  is  told  that  once,  when  delivering  a  sermon  on  the 
temptation  of  Eve,  the  word,  serpent,  slipped  his  memory.  Try 
hard  as  he  would  it  continued  to  elude  him.  After  an  awkward 
hesitation  "and  much  endeavor  he  stammered  out  in  broken 
English  :  ^'Dot  old — dot — dot  old  Tuyfel,  der  shnake."  The  good 
rector  may  have  been  a  little  uncertain  in  his  language,  but  there 
is  no  doubt  that  his  virtues  and  attainments  were  of  the  most 
positive  character.  All  testimony  is  concurrent  as  to  his  having 
been  a  devoted,  diligent  and  loving  pastor,  and  a  truly  learned 
and  pious  man.  Possessed  of  an  eminently  happy  disposition  he 
was  esteemed  and  beloved  by  his  people,  both  for  the  many 
amiable  qualities  of  his  personality,  and  for  the  faithful  perform- 
ance of  his  pastoral  duties.  During  the  last  four  years  of  his 
life,  age  and  infirmity  seriously  interfered  with  his  public  minis- 
trations. Children,  however,  were  brought  to  his  house  for  bap- 
tism, marriage  rites  were  not  considered  complete  without  his 
Messing,  and  he  even  performed  the  last  offices  for  the  dead 
while  supported  in  his  tottering  steps  by  dutiful  and  affectionate 
parishioners.  We  shall  see  him  standing  by  Aaron  Moelich's 
coffin  within  a  few  weeks  of  his  own  death.  At  last,  on  tlie  thirty- 
first  of  May,  in  the  year  1809,  after  days  and  nights  of  wearisome 
pain,  his  soul  was  gently  released  from  its  decaying  tenement, 
and  good  old  Father  Graff's  pastorate  was  over.  At  the  north- 
east corner  of  the  village  church,  which  he  so  faithfully  served 
for  nearly  thirty-four  years,  a  plain,  brown-stone  slab  marks  his 
final  resting  place,  and  chronicles  in  simple  language  the  sjjan  of 
his  life.  With  Mr.  Graff  we  will  conclude  the  enumeration  of 
Zion's  ministers,  for  with  him  ends  the  line  of  those  who  bap- 
tized, married  and  buried  the  descendants  of  Johannes  Moelich. 

Among  the  archives  of  the  church  are  two  interesting  docu- 
ments bearing  the  signatures  of  our  German  ancestor.  He  spells 
the  name  "  Molich  ;"  the  diseresis  over  the  o,  denoting  the  omission 
of  the  letter  e.  The  first  signature  is  attached  to  an  obligation 
in  which  he  was  a  co-signer  with  twelve  other  elders  and  dea- 
cons.    It  reads  as  follows  : 

Know  all  men  by  these  Presence  that  We,  to  wit,  I,  Lorentz  Kuloffs ;  I,  Jacob 
-Shuppmann ;  I,  Andreas  Abel  Sen.;  I,  Johannes  Moelich  ;  I,  Adam  Fiikeroth ;  I, 


ZioN  Church  Members  from  Bendorf.  91 

George  Schwartz;  I,  Pliillipp  Weiss;  I,  David  Moelich;  I,  Casper  Hindersheidt ; 
I,  Samuel  Bernhard,  signed  [Barnhardtl ;  I,  Joseph  Hernbekker;  I,  Jacob  Klein, 
and  I,  Jacob  Fasbinder,  at  this  time  elders  and  deacons  of  the  High  Dutch 
Lutheran  Congregation  belonging  to  the  Meeting  house  Called  Zion  in  Lebanon, 
are  held  firmly  bound  in  the  name  of  the  forsaid  Congregation,  and  Meeting 
house  unto  Baltes  Bickel  of  Reading-Taun  in  the  County  of  Hunterdon  and 
Province  of  New  Jersey,  his  heirs  etc,  etc,  unto  the  sum  of  Eighty  Two  Pounds, 
lawful  Jersey  money  at  Eight  Shillings  per  ounce,  to  be  paid  etc.  etc,  Dated  the 
Eighteenth  day  of  December  in  tlie  year  of  our  Lord  God,  One  Thousand  Seven 
Hundred  and  Fifty. 

Of  the  thirteen  elders  and  deacons,  six,  viz  :  Johannes  and 
David  Moelich,  Fiikeroth,  Weiss,  Klein,  and  Fasbinder,  signed 
in  German  character,  two — Barnhardt  and  Hernbekker — signed 
in  good  plain  English,  while  the  remaining  five  were  obliged  to 
make  their  marks.  It  would  seem  the  ancient  congregation  of 
the  Erangdische  Haupt-Kirche  of  Bendorf  on  the  Rhine,  con- 
tributed a  number  of  officers  and  members  to  the  "  Honorable 
Corporation  "  of  Zion  church  at  New  Germantown.  We  have 
already  seen  that  Johannes,  David,  and  Jonas  Moelich,  had  been 
members  of  the  German  congregation,  and  now  we  find  another 
of  Zion's  trustees,  Jacob  Fasbinder,  to  have  been  transferred 
from  the  parish  on  the  Rhine.  He  was  born  in  Bendorf  in  1683, 
being  the  son  of  Jacob  Fassbender,  who  migrated  to  that  place 
from  Homburg,  and  is  named  on  the  church  register  as  a 
^^■enfer,"  or  military  horsemen.  Jacob  Fassbender,  the  younger, 
was  probably  attracted  to  New  Jersey,  because  of  the  number  of 
his  fellow-toOTismen  who  had  preceded  him  across  the  water. 
He  was  over  sixty  years  old  before  he  emigrated,  as  he  landed 
at  Philadelphia  from  the  ship  Loyal  Judith,  James  Cowil,  master, 
on  the  second  of  September,  1743.  Still  another  member  of  this 
New  Jersey  Lutheran  congregation  came  from  the  Bendorf 
church — Gottfried  Klein  (Godfrey  Kline).  He  was  a  son  of 
Christian  Klein,  who,  in  1733,  stood  godfather  to  Johannes' 
daughter,  Marie  Cathrine.  I  have  not  discovered  any  connec- 
tion between  this  Christian  Klein  and  Johan  Jacob  Klein,  who 
married  Johannes'  daughter,  Veronica  Gerdrutta.  Christian's 
son,  Godfrey,  was  the  emigrant  ancestor  of  another  Hunterdon 
line  of  that  name.  Should  further  researches  in  the  Bendorf 
parish  register  be  made,  it  is  not  improbable  that  additional 
names  would  be  found  identical  with  those  of  the  Hunterdon 
congregation.     There  is  good  reason  for  believing  that  this  inter- 


92  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

esting    German   church   was   the    means    of  founding  the   New 
Jersey  corporation. 

The  second  document  on  which  the  signature  of  Johannes 
appears  is  a  faded,  yellow,  slightly  torn,  and  much  worn  paper 
of  the  date  of  December  1st,  1757.  It  is  a  bond,  written  in 
German,  for  money  borrowed  in  behalf  of  the  congregation 
to  be  used  in  the  erection  of  a  parsonage  on  the  glebe  land. 
A  stone  dwelling  was  erected  one  mile  and  a  half  from  New  Ger- 
mantown,  on  the  road  to  Lebanon.  It  has  only  recently  disap- 
peared ;  a  gaping  cellar  choked  with  weeds  and  rubbish  is  all 
that  is  left  to  mark  the  spot  where  it  stood.  The  musty,  warped, 
leather-bound  church-book,  shows  Johannes  and  David  Moelich 
to  have  been  appointed  by  the  vestry  a  committee  to  superintend 
the  building  of  this  house.  In  the  bond  it  is  interesting  to  note 
their  attempt  to  spell  English  words  in  a  German  fashion.  It 
commences  in  this  wise  : 

Know  all  men  by  these  Presence,  that  we,  to  wit,  I,  Davilrd  Moelich  in  Biedens- 
Da'dn  in  Hiinder-daim,  Caiindi  in  the  broV'uncs  of  West  new  Jersey,  and  I,  Johan- 
nes Moelich  in  Lebanon-Daiin,  same  Caiinti  and  brmmrns. 

Johannes  continued  his  connection  with  Zion  church  until  his 
death  in  1763.  At  a  meeting  of  the  vestry  in  the  year  1756, 
it  was  resolved  to  erect  a  new  sanctuary  for  the  benefit  of  the 
many  members  of  the  congregation  living  in  the  adjoining  county, 
on  the  east.  Consequently  steps  were  taken  for  the  erection  of 
St.  Paul's  church  in  the  village  of  Pluckamin,  in  Bedminster 
township,  Somerset  county.  The  original  subscription  list, 
circulated  at  that  time  in  order  to  raise  the  necessary  funds,  is 
still  in  existence,  and  the  appeal  reads  as  follows : 

Bedminster,  Ye  7th  Day  of  December,  1756. 

A  Subscription  For  Raising  a  Sum  of  money  For  Building  a  Church  In  Bed- 
minster town. 

Whereas  the  members  of  the  Lutheran  Congregation  In  and  near  Bedminster 
town  Being  necessitated  For  a  Place  of  Public  Worship  Think  a  Proper  Place  to 
Erect  a  House  for  To  Worship  God,  and  it  is  further  agreed  By  us  the  Subscri- 
bers That  one  half  of  the  Pre.aching,  or  Every  other  Sermon  Preached  By  any 
minister  Chosen  the  Said  Lutheran  Congregation  Shall  be  in  the  English  Lan- 
guage and  the  other  in  High  Dutch.  We,  therefore,  the  uuderscribers,  Do 
Promise  To  Pay  or  cause  to  be  Paid  The  Sum  or  Sums  annexed  to  our  names  for 
the  usesaViove  mentioned  To  any  Pei-son  or  Persons  Chosen  Collector  of  Said  money 
by  the  said  Congregation.  The  Money  is  not  To  be  paid  until  Said  Church  is  a 
Building  and  the  money  wanted  for  that  Use.     We  most  Humbly  would  Desire 


TMt 
NtW  YORK 


f,,.-<JS'i<l«l. 


St.  Paul's  Church  at  Pluckamin.  93 

the  assistance  of  all  our  well  Mimled  friends  and  neighbors  That  are  well 
wishers  for  Promoting  So  Good  a  deseine  To  Be  helpful  to  us  and  subscribe 
such  a  matter  To  this  our  undertaking  which  will  be  Accepted  with  Greatest 
Humility  and  thankfulness,  and  will  be  Attending  to  the  advancement  of  ye 
Glory  of  God. 

Then  follow  the  signatures  of  one  hundred  and  thirty  persons, 
many  of  them  being  members  of  the  Presbyterian  congregations 
of  Lamington  and  Basking  Ridge,  and  of  the  Dutch  Reformed 
churches  on  the  Raritan,  and  below.  Among  these  names  are 
those  of  Johannes  Moelich,  Marcus  King,  Jacob  Eoff  Sen.,  James 
Linn,  Aaron  Malick,  Hendrick  Van  Arsdalen,  John  and  George 
Teeplc,  Guisbert  Sutfin,  Abraham  Montanyea  and  Mary  Alex- 
ander. The  total  amount  subscribed  was  about  three  himdred 
and  fifty  pounds.  The  church  was  built  on  land  donated  by 
Jacob  Eoff,  senior;  it  stood  until  early  in  this  century  when  it 
was  taken  down,  its  abuse  during  the  Revolutionary  war  having 
so  weakened  the  walls  as  to  have  rendered  them  dangerous.  Its 
location  was  a  little  southeast  of  the  present  Presbyterian 
church;  the  burial  ground  of  that  denomination  originally  sur- 
rounded the  edifice  of  St.  Paul's,  and  in  it  are  interred, 
many  members  of  that  Lutheran  flock,  including  Johannes 
Moelich  and  his  son,  Aaron.  Among  the  heir-looms  of  the  "Old 
Stone  House  is  the  altar  cloth  of  this  church,  which  is  pre- 
served as  an  interesting  relic  of  the  days  of  the  family's  German 
ancestry. 

With  the  turn  of  the  century  the  Lutherans  of  Bedminster 
had  in  numbers  become  a  feeble  folk,  and  by  the  year  1806  St. 
Paul's  communion  appears  to  have  fallen  into  a  moribund  condi- 
tion. This  is  shown  by  the  original  draft,  now  before  me,  in 
the  handwriting  of  Pastor  Graff,  of  the  will  of  John  Appelman, 
dated  in  that  year.  The  testator  must  have  died  an  old  man,  as 
in  1767  he  was  elected  a  vestryman  of  this  church  "  in 
Bedminster  town,"  with  Aaron  Malick,  Mark  King,  Peter 
Melick,  Jacob  Eoff,  David  King  and  others.  This  instrument, 
which  constitutes  Aaron's  son,  Daniel,  one  of  the  executors, 
recites : 

It  always  has  been  my  will  and  Intention  since  Providence  gave  to  me  no 
Heirs  of  my  Body,  to  give  and  make  a  certain  sum  in  my  Last  Will  for  the  Best 
of  our  Lutheran  church  at  Pluckamin  to  uphold  our  holy  Religion,  but  since  by 
all  human  appearance  our  particular  Denomination  in  Pluckamin  as   Lutheran 


94  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

will  soon  lose  ground  on  account  of  the  smallness  of  its  Professors,  it  is,  there- 
fore, now  my  Will  and  Intention,  not  to  Limit  the  proposed  sum  of  One  hundred 
Pounds,  intended  to  our  church  at  Pluckarain  only,  but  to  give  myne  assist- 
ance in  general  towards  upholding  our  holy  Religion  under  the  assistance  of  a 
merciful  God  in  all  our  united  Lutheran  churches  in  these  Parts     *     *     *     * 

These  ancient  echoes  of  the  walls  of  Zion  are  carrying  us  on 
much  too  fast.  We  must  return  to  the  dates  appropriate  to  the 
regular  progression  of  events  in  the  story  of  our  ancestor's  life. 
Before  doing  so,  however,  we  will  make  one  iinal  reference  to 
these  interesting  Lutheran  congregations.  In  the  royal  charter 
granted  by  George  III.  in  1767,  "to  the  Rector,  Church  Wardens 
and  Vestrymen  of  the  united  Churches  of  Zion  and  St.  Paul,"  the 
following  names  appear  as  its  petitioners;  Lucas  Dipple,  David 
King,  Jacob  Eolf,  John  Appelman,  Leonard  Streit,  Conrad 
Meizner,  Aaron  Malick,  Jacob  Volser,  Mark  King,  Christofer 
Teeple  and  John  Teeple,  all  being  residents  of  the  townships  of 
Bridgewater,  Bedminster  and  Bernards,  in  Sotnerset  county.  It 
will  be  seen  that  Johannes  always  adhered  to  the  Grerman  spell- 
ing of  his  name.  As  is  shown  by  the  St.  Paul's  subscription  list 
as  well  as  by  the  petition  for  the  charter,  his  oldest  son,  who  had 
made  his  advent  in  this  country  as  "Ehrenreich  Moelich,"  now 
appears  with  his  name  anglicized  to  "Aaron  Malick."  In  all 
the  letters,  bonds  and  papers  in  my  possession  bearing  his  signa- 
ture the  name  is  spelled  as  above.  The  same  may  be  said  of  his 
brother,  Andrew.  Johannes,  his  sons  and  their  posterity  have 
written  their  names  with  varied  spelling  ;  their  signatures 
appear  as  Moelich,  Melich,  Malick,  Melegh,  Meelick,  Mellick 
and  Melick.  As  late  as  1805,  old  pastor  Graff  of  Zion  church 
spelled  it  in  the  old  book  of  record,  Moelich,  while  away  back  in 
1770  the  Rev.  Peter  Muhlenberg — the  afterwards  distinguished 
Revolutionary  general — wrote  the  name  in  the  same  old  book  as 
Melick.  As  Shakespeare  seems  to  have  been  a  little  uncertain 
in  the  spelling  of  his  patronymic,  we  may  excuse  the  same 
doubts  in  the  early  members  of  this  old  family  during  the  transi- 
tional period  from  the  German  to  the  American.  Even  at  this 
late  day  there  is  no  uniformity  in  the  spelling,  as  it  is  found  in 
New  York  and  New  Jersey,  Mellick,  Malick  and  Melick,  and  in 
Pennsylvania  Moelich,  Malick  and  Melick,  though  in  this  latter 
state  the  accent  is  often  placed  on  the  first  syllable  and  the  divi- 
sion is  made  between  the  1  and  i,  thus  giving  it  the  sound  as  if 


Changes  in  Johannes'  Family.  95 

spelled  with  two  I's.  Rector  Graff,  referred  to  above,  judging 
from  the  church  register,  was  often  at  a  loss  as  to  the  spelling 
of  his  own  cognomen.  It  is  written  Graff,  Graf,  Graaff  and 
Graaf. 

The  year  1751  approaches — one  of  the  most  important,  per- 
haps, in  the  family  annals,  as  it  is  the  one  in  which  Johannes 
finally  decided  where  to  plant  the  permanent  homestead.  Mean- 
while let  us  consider  the  changes  that  have  taken  place  in  his 
flock  since  the  arrival  in  America.  Aaron,  the  oldest  son — the 
great-grandfather  of  the  writer — has  grown  to  be  a  man  of 
twenty-six  years  and  is  still  unmarried.  Veronica  Gerdrutta 
(Fanny),  who  is  now  twenty  years  old,  as  we  have  seen,  has 
married  her  father's  partner,  Jacob  Kline,  who  was  born  in  Ger- 
many on  the  sixth  of  March,  1714.  Their  first  child  John 
William  is  now  beginning  to  walk  and  talk,  having  been  born 
on  the  fifth  of  January,  1750.  Johannes'  second  son  Andrew 
has  reached  majority,  while  his  second  daughter  Maria  is  just 
budding  into  womanhood,  being  eighteen  years  old.  Since 
reaching  America  two  sons  have  been  boi-n — Philip  on  the  ninth 
of  October,  1736,  and  Peter  on  the  fifth  of  December,  1739. 


CHAPTER     VIII. 

Purchase  of  the  "  Old  Farm"  in  1751 — The  Title,  and  Early 
New  Jersey  History. 

And  now  the  current  of  our  history  changes.  The  stream  that 
has  heretofore  taken  wild  leaps  from  America  to  Eiu'ope,  from 
Germany  to  Pennsylvania,  will  for  a  time  flow  peacefully 
between  pastoral  banks,  amid  the  pleasant  vales  and  gently 
swelling  hills  of  East  Jersey.  Later  on,  when  England  has  let 
loose  the  dogs  of  war  upon  her  American  subjects,  it  will  rush 
through  wUd  and  turbulent  scenes.  But  for  some  years  to  come 
this  little  river  of  narration  will  flow  tranquilly  in  quiet  haunts, 
skirting  broad  meadow  spaces,  meandering  through  retired  vil- 
lages, and  turning  the  wheels  of  busy  mills  seated  in  deep  val- 
leys ;  telling  the  pleasant  story,  as  it  flows,  of  old  Bedmins  ter, 
and  its  transformation  from  a  wilderness — the  home  of  bear,  deer 
and  primitive  settler — to  a  rich  agricultural  country,  peopled  by 
a  well-ordered  and   prosperous  community. 

Since  the  arrival  of  Johannes  in  New  Jersey  he  had  been  in 
search  of  a  location  that  would  meet  all  the  requirements  of  a 
permanent  home.  His  needs  were  not  confined  to  good  agricul- 
tural lands ;  a  water  power  was  also  desired,  advantageousl}/- 
situated  for  establishing  a  tannery.  In  1751  Bedminster  town- 
ship in  Somerset  county  was  decided  upon  as  his  future  place 
of  residence.  On  the  first  of  November  in  that  year  he  pur- 
chased of  George  Leslie  of  Perth  Amboy  three  hundred  and 
sixty-seven  acres  of  wild  or  forest  land,  having  a  front  of  about 
three-quarters  of  a  mile  on  the  north  branch  of  the  Raritan  river. 
The  following  is  the  description  shown  in  the  deed : 

Beginning  at  the  Easter  most  corner  of  Daniel  Axtell's  land,  where  it  touches 
Peapack  river,  below  a  log  house  that  John  Burd  now  lives  in.    Thence  running 


The  Original  Boundary  of  the  Farm.  97 

South,  seventy-three  degrees  West,  along  the  said  Axtell's  line,  sixty  chains  to  a 
comer  of  the  land  William  Hoagland  now  possesses,  belonging  unto  the  said 
George  Leslie.  Thence  North,  forty-eight  chains.  Thence  South,  seventy-six 
degrees.  West  forty -nine  chains.  Thence  North  and  by  East,  thirty-two  chains. 
Thence  North,  seventy-six  degrees,  East  fifty-nine  chains  to  Lawrence's  brook. 
Thence  down  the  said  brook  and  Peapack  river  to  the  first  mentioned  place  of 
beginning.  Bounded  East  by  the  said  river.  Southerly  by  said  Axtell's  land, 
and  on  all  the  other  sides  by  the  land  belonging  unto  the  said  George  Leslie. 

The  confines  of  the  property  as  relating  to  roads  and  adjoin- 
ing owners  nowadays  would  be  defined  as  follows  :  The  descrip- 
tion commences  at  a  point  where  the  Mine  brook,  or  Lamington 
road,  crosses  the  north  branch  of  the  Raritan,  which  river  was 
the  eastern  boundary  of  the  estate.  From  there  the  line  followed 
the  centre  of  this  road  to  a  point  in  the  west  boundary  of  the 
house-lot  of  Clark  D.  Todd,  in  the  village  of  the  Lesser  Cross 
Roads  (Bedminster).  Thence,  northerly,  to  a  hickory  tree  stand- 
ing on  the  side  of  the  Peapack  road,  near  the  gate,  or  entrance, 
to  what  was  lately  the  homestead  farm  of  Abram  D.  Huff. 
Thence  along  this  road  to  the  Holland  road,  where,  turning 
west,  the  line  followed  the  latter  road  to  the  southwest  comer  of 
the  Opie  Farm.  Here  the  Holland  road  bears  north  of  west, 
but  the  line  continued  westerly,  on  the  left  of  the  highway,  to  a 
corner  of  lands,  now  or  late  of  Henry  Woods.  Thence  north- 
erly, following  Woods'  line,  and  crossing  the  Holland  road,  it 
extended  twenty-one  hundred  and  twelve  feet  to  a  comer  of  land, 
now  or  late  of  Edward  Hight.  Thence,  easterly,  thirty-eight 
hundred  and  ninety-four  feet  to  a  point  in  the  Peapack  brook 
near  the  head  of  Schomp's  mill-pond,  from  where  the  line  con- 
tinued down  the  brook  and  the  north  branch  of  the  Raritan 
river  to  the  place  of  beginning.  By  the  above  it  will  be  seen 
that  the  original  purchase,  in  addition  to  the  one  hundred  and 
forty  acres  now  constituting  the  farm,  embraced  so  much 
of  the  village  of  Bedminster  as  lies  north  of  the  Lamington  road; 
a  portion  of  the  Huff  farm  on  the  Peapack  road ;  and  all  of  the 
Opie,  and  a  portion  of  the  Hight  and  Woods  farms  on  the  Hol- 
land road. 

The  price  paid  for  this  property  was  ''  seven  hundred  and  fifty- 
four  pounds  current  money  of  the  province,  at  eight  shillings  per 
oimce."  This  last  clause  of  the  consideration  materially  modifies 
the  cost  of  the  land.  Money  at  eight  shillings  to  the  ounce  meant 

7 


98  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

a  considerable  depreciation  from  the  standard  values.  In  the 
seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries  English  silver  was  coined 
on  the  basis  of  five  shillings  and  two  pence  per  ounce.  The  sil- 
ver coin  mostly  in  use  in  the  American  colonies  was  the  Spanish 
milled  dollar  or  "  piece  of  eight,"  which  the  English  mint  found 
to  be  worth  four  shillings  and  six  pence  sterling,  or  one  pound 
equalling  four  dollars  and  forty-four  and  four-ninths  cents.  This 
was  established  as  the  standard  relative  value.  But  early  in 
the  eighteenth  century  the  weight  and  quality  of  the  Spanish 
milled  dollar  did  not  continue  to  realize  this  ratio.  The  circula- 
tion of  clipped  and  inferior  coins  rapidly  depreciated  all  cur- 
rencv  values,  hence,  as  Professor  Sumner  of  Yale  college,  says, 
"  Any  such  rating  as  eight  shillings  to  the  ounce  was  only  one 
stage  in  the  various  grades  of  depreciation  ;  it  was  a  conven- 
tional attempt  to  compromise  on  a  standard  of  weight  allowing 
some  depreciation."  This  rating  consequently  reduced  the  pound 
sterling  from  four  dollars  and  forty-four  and  four-ninths  cents  to 
three  dollars  and  fourteen  and  one-quarter  cents.  Thus  we  find 
that  the  actual  consideration  for  the  purchase  of  the  Bedminster 
land  was  twenty-three  hundred  and  sixty-nine  dollars  and  forty- 
four  cents,  or  about  six  dollars  and  forty-five  cents  an  acre. 

With  Johannes'  acquisition  of  this  property,  issues  may  be 
said  to  be  joined  between  the  reader  and  the  writer.  The  story 
of  the  "  Old  Farm  "  will  now  commence  for  we  have  at  last 
reached  the  source  of  the  narrative.  Perhaps  it  will  interest  some 
of  Johannes'  posterity  to  learn  something  of  the  title  to  this  little 
portion  of  mother  earth,  from  which  so  many  members  of  the  family 
have  been  nurtured.  It  is  readily  told,  as,  previous  to  the  Leslie 
conveyance,  the  holders  of  the  land  had  been  but  few.  The 
Indians,  of  course,  as  far  as  Europeans  know,  were  the  first — the 
Naraticongs,  a  clan  of  the  Lenni-Lenape,  or  Delawares,  a  branch 
of  the  great  Algonquin  family.  All  the  lands  of  New  Jersey  at 
the  time  of  the  first  settlement  by  the  whites  were  vested  by 
right  of  occupation  and  possession  in  these  aborigines.  The 
country  lying  between  the  Hudson  and  the  Lenni-Wihittuck,  as 
they  called  the  Delaware  river,  was  named  by  them,  "  Scheyichbi." 
"Whether  these  natives  were,  like  the  trees,  indigenous  to  the 
soil,  or  themselves  owned  the  land  as  conquerors  of  a  dispossessed 
race,  is  a  vexed  question ;  as  is  also  that  other  question  which 


The  Raritan  Indians.  99 

has  been  debated  for  so  many  years,  whether  Indians  are  des- 
cended from  the  Jews,  the  Welsh,  the  Mongols  or  the  Malays. 
The  Algonquins  embraced  about  a  quarter  of  a  million  souls ; 
they  were  divided  into  many  tribes,  among  which  were  the 
Mohigans,  Delawares,  Micmacs,  Illinois,  Monseys,  Chippewas, 
Ottawas,  Pottawatamies,  Sacs,  Foxes  and  Miamis.  They  occu- 
pied much  of  the  country  lying  between  Chesapeake  bay  and 
the  St.  Lawrence  river,  almost  surrounding  their  hereditary 
enemies,  the  Huron-Iroquois  family.  These  latter  embraced  the 
Five  Nations  of  New  York,  the  Hurons  of  Upper  Canada,  and 
the  Tuscaroras  of  North  Carolina,  who  had  joined  the  confeder- 
ated tribes. 

The  clan  of  the  Delawares  roaming  the  country  north  of 
the  Raritan,  as  has  been  said,  were  the  Naraticotigs,  though 
the  whites  gave  them  the  name  of  the  river  along  which 
they  were  located.  Their  dress  was  a  blanket,  or  skin,  thrown 
over  the  shoulders,  deer-skin  fastened  with  thongs  about  the  legs, 
and  the  feet  covered  with  moccasins  of  the  same  material,  so 
dressed  as  to  be  soft  and  pliable,  being  ornamented  with  quills 
and  wampum  beads.  At  the  time  of  the  settlement  of  Bedmin- 
ster  there  were  comparatively  few  natives  in  that  part  of  the  prov- 
ince ;  those  remaining  were  of  a  friendly  character,  and  proved 
of  great  service  to  the  settlers  in  supplying  them  with  game, 
skins  and  furs.  The  haunts  of  the  tribe  had  been  originally  on 
the  head  waters  of  the  Raritan,  which  O'Callaghan's  History  of 
New  Netherlands  describes  as  ''  a  rich  and  fertile  valley  situated 
between  two  high  mountains,  some  distance  the  one  from  the 
other,  through  which  flowed  a  fresh-water  river  that  disem- 
boughed  in  the  Navesink  Bay."  O'Callaghan  farther  states  that 
some  thirty  years  after  the  Raritans  were  first  known  to 
Europeans  their  provisions  were  destroyed  by  a  freshet,  and  they 
were  repeatedly  harrassed  by  the  Sankhicans.  Consequently 
they  moved  farther  down  the  river,  making  a  treaty  of  amity 
with  the  Dutch,  which  they  preserved  even  when  the  other 
tribes  were  retaliating  for  the  massacre  of  the  Indians  on  the 
west  bank  of  the  Hudson.  They  established  their  principal 
seat  where  is  now  Piscataway,  in  Middlesex  county,  and  here 
were  living  their  two  chiefs,  Canackawack  and  Thingorawis, 
when,  in  1677,  they  conveyed  to  the  whites  their  lands  in  that 
vicinity. 


100  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

That  at  one  time  the  savages  must  have  been  in  plenteous 
numbers  in  the  Bedminster  neighborhood  is  shown  by  the  traces 
of  them  still  to  be  found.  The  "  Old  Farm"  has  produced  a 
generous  crop  of  stone  implements  and  arrow-heads  planted  by 
the  aborigines  in  ante-European  days.  It  is  Hawthorne  who 
writes  of  the  "  exquisite  delight  of  picking  up  for  one's  self  an 
arrow-head  that  was  dropped  centuries  ago  and  has  never  been 
handled  since,  and  which  we  thus  receive  directly  from  the 
hands  of  the  red  hunter.  Such  an  incident  builds  up  again  the 
Indian  village  and  its  encircling  forest,  and  recalls  the  painted 
chief,  the  squaws,  and  the  children  sporting  among  the  wigwams, 
while  the  little  wind-rocked  papoose  swings  from  the  branch  of 
a  tree."  All  this,  you  will  say,  is  quite  foreign  to  the  subject! 
Yes,  you  are  right !  but,  much  earlier  in  these  pages,  you  must 
have  learned  that  your  scribe  has  a  vagrant  fancy — a  mind  that 
is  easily  seduced  from  the  dry  detail  of  a  chain  of  title  by  the 
picture  of  a  dusky  Indian,  with  wampum  belt  and  feathered 
crest,  lurking  beneath  the  shadows  of  the  grand  congregation  of 
trees  of  primitive  Bedminster. 

Of  the  extinguishment  of  the  claims  of  the  red  men,  it  is 
necessary  to  say  but  little.  The  modes  of  procedure  in  such 
cases  were  much  the  same  in  all  portions  of  the  colonies.  Gen- 
erally the  usual  number  of  blankets,  jugs  of  rum,  strings  of 
wampum,  guns  and  handfuls  of  powder  were  exchanged  for 
treaties  and  deeds  which  conveyed  great  areas  of  territory.  In 
New  Jersey  the  early  settlers,  before  acquiring  the  legal  title  to 
their  purchases,  were  obliged  to  satisfy  the  claims  of  the  natives. 
The  Indian  title  to  the  territory  which  embraced  the  "Old 
Farm"  was  conveyed  to  John  Johnstone  and  Greorge  Willocks  on 
the  twenty-ninth  of  October,  1701,  by  Tallqdapie,  Nicolas  and 
Elalie.  The  deed  called  for  thirty-one  hundred  acres,  but  on 
being  surveyed  the  area  conveyed  was  found  to  contain  over 
ten  thousand,  as  it  included  all  the  land  lying  between  the  north 
branch  of  the  Raritan  and  the  Lamington  rivers,  and  a  point 
above  the  Morris  county  line  and  the  crest  of  the  first  mountain 
below  Pluckamin ; — but  more  of  this  hereafter.  Accoi'ding  to 
Doctor  Abi'aham  Messier,  Somerset's  first  historian,  the  earliest 
Indian  sale  in  the  county  of  lands  lying  north  of  Bound 
Brook    was    in   1683.       Among   the  papers   of  the  late    Ralph 


The  Indian  Conference  at  Easton.  101 

Voorhees  is  a  deed  dated  in  1723,  made  by  Coion,  Nutomus 
and  QuATON,  three  Delawares.  It  conveyed  two  himdred  acres 
of  land  lying  near  the  Millstone  river — part  of  the  Peter  Sonmans 
tract — and  is  thought  to  be  the  last  Indian  conveyance. 

As  the  purchases  from   the  natives  multiplied  they  gave  rise 
to  complications  and  disputes.     In  addition,  during  the   French 
wars  the  agents  of  Louis  XV.  intrigued  with  the  Indians,  caus- 
ing   violent    outbreaks   in    Pennsylvania    and  exciting  ferment 
among  the  natives  of  northern   New   Jersey.     The   authorities 
deemed  it  expedient  to  appoint  commissioners  to  confer  with  the 
tribes  in  order  to  ascertain  and  remove  all  causes  of  discontent. 
A  series  of  conferences  were  held,  extending  from  1756  to  1758, 
at  Crosswicks,  Burlington  and  Easton,  the  final  one  being  held  at 
the  last  place,  when  Governor  Bernard,  together  with  the  lieuten- 
ant-governor of    Pennsylvania  and  five    commissioners,  met  in 
convention  five  hundred  and  seven  Indian  delegates  from  four- 
teen different  tribes.     This  resulted  in  conveyances  being  made 
■which  it  was  supposed  entirely  freed   and  discharged  the  prov- 
ince from  all  native  claims.     In  1832,  however,  the  New  Jer- 
sey legislature  appropriated  two  thousand  dollars  to  pay  forty 
Indians — the  last  remnant  of  their  tribe — for  a  claim    they  made 
as  to  their  hunting  and  fishing  rights,  which  they  considered  had 
not    been   included  in  the  transfer   at  Easton.     The  "  Colonial 
History  of  New  Jersey"  bears   testimony  to  the  fact  of  there 
always  having  been  the  most  equitable  dealings  between  the  Jer- 
sey  people  and  the  Indians.     The  Six   Nations,   at  a    meeting 
held  for  the  purpose  of  confirming  the  acts  of  the  Easton   confer- 
ence,   honored  the  governor   of  the    province   by    calling    him 
Sagorighweyogiista,   or  the   "  Great   Arbiter  or  Doer  of  Jus- 
tice."    The    people    of   Somerset — the    descendants  of  its  first 
settlers — have  always  reflected  with  much  pride  on  their  clean 
and  wholesome  record  in  all  Indian  transactions.     They  delight 
in  remembering  the  words  of  one  of  their  county's   most   gifted 
sons,    Samuel    L.    Southard,    uttered     before    the    legislatui-e, 
on    the    occasion   of   the  purchase  of   the  native    hunting    and 
fishing    rights,  before  referred  to.      "It  is  a  proud  fact  in  the 
history  of  New  Jersey,"  said  the  senator,  "  that  every  foot  of  her 
soil  has  been  obtained  from  the  Indians  by  fair  and  voluntary 
purchase  and  transfer — a  fact  that  no  other  state   of  the  Union, 
not  even  the  land  which  bears  the  name  of  Penn,  can  boast  of." 


102  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

On  this  occasion  the  red  men  were  respresented  by  Shawrisk- 
hehmg,  or  Wilted  Grass,  a  Delaware  Indian  of  pure  native 
blood.  He  was  a  graduate  of  Princeton  college,  having  been 
educated  at  the  expense  of  the  Scotch  Missionary  society,  which 
had  given  him  the  name  of  Bartholomew  S.  Calvin.  At  the  age 
of  twenty-three  he  entered  the  Continental  army  to  fight  for 
independence,  and  at  the  time  he  presented  to  the  legislature  the 
petition  for  pay  for  the  Indian  fishing  rights,  he  was  upwards  of 
eighty  years  old.  In  advocating  the  claim  of  his  people  he 
warmly  indorsed  the  just  tribute  paid  to  the  state  by  Mr.  South- 
ard. The  aged  Indian  closed  his  address  with  the  following 
words,  testifying  to  the  honorable  policy  and  actions  which  had 
distinguished  the  people  of  New  Jersey  in  all  their  treatment  of 
and  dealings  with  the  aborigines  : 

"Not  a  drop  of  our  blood  have  you  spilled  in  battle;*  not  an 
acre  of  our  land  have  you  taken  but  by  our  consent.  These  facts 
speak  for  themselves  and  need  no  comment.  They  place  the 
character  of  New  Jersey  in  bold  relief  and  bright  example  to 
those  states  within  whose  territorial  limits  our  brethren  still 
remain.  Nothing  save  benisons  can  fall  upon  her  from  the  lips 
of  a  Lenni-Lenape.  There  may  be  some  who  would  despise  an 
Indian  benediction ;  but  when  I  returfi  to  my  people  and  make 
known  to  them  the  result  of  my  mission,  the  ear  of  the  Great 
Sovereign  of  the  Universe,  which  is  still  open  to  our  cry,  will  be 
penetrated  with  our  invocation  of  blessings  upon  the  generous 
sons  of  New  Jersey." 

The  manner  of  the  white  man's  acquiring  possession  of  and 
title  to  lands  in  New  Jersey  has  been  often  and  variously  told  ; 
it  is  always  an  interesting  story.  All  historians  agree  in  naming 
Friday,  the  fourth  of  September,  1609,  as  being  the  day  on  which 
New  Jersey  soil  was  first  pressed  by  the  feet  of  Europeans.  On 
the  preceding  day  Henrick  Hudson,  in  his  little  Dutch  "  Vhe- 
boat"  the  "  Half  Moon,"  entered  the  Lower  bay,  and  the   next 

*Calvin's  statement  that  not  a  drop  of  Indian  blood  had  been  spilled  in  battles 
with  Jerseymen  is  almost,  if  not  literally,  true.  In  the  early  days  of  the  Dutch 
occupation  of  New  Amsterdam  there  were  individual  instances  of  murders  of 
whites  and  Indians,  and  a  few  skirmishes  took  place  on  the  banks  of  the  Hudson 
and  Delaware  between  natives  and  traders.  But  no  stale  of  war  ever  existed 
between  the  English  colonists  and  the  New  Jersey  Indians.  So  states  Samuel 
AUinson — an  excellent  authority. 


The  First  European's  Grave  in  New  Jersey.      103 

day,  dropping  anchor  in  the  Horse  Shoe,  in  four  and  a  half 
fathoms  of  water  and  two  cable  lengths  from  the  Monmouth 
beach,  sent  some  of  his  men  on  shore  to  discover  what  manner  of 
men  were  the  natives,  and  whether  they  were  kindly  disposed. 
When  the  crew  landed  they  saw  "a  great  store  of  men,  women 
and  children  who  gave  them  some  tobacco  and  some  dried  cur- 
rants." The  natives  were  dressed  "some  in  mantles  of  feathers 
and  some  in  skins  of  diverse  sorts  of  good  furres.  They  had 
red  copper  tobacco  pipes,  and  other  things  of  copper  they  did 
wear  about  their  necks." 

When  the  Half  Moon  again  crossed  the  bar,  her  sails  spread- 
ing for  the  homeward  voyage,  she  left  one  of  her  company  lying 
at  the  foot  of  a  stunted  cedar  on  Sandy  Hook,  filling  the  first 
white  man's  grave  in  New  Jersey.  John  Coleman,  with  four 
shipmates,  on  the  sixth  of  September  explored  the  harbor  in  a 
small  boat.  Penetrating  "  two  leagues  to  an  open  sea"  (Newark 
bay),  he  reported  that  the  bordering  lands  "  were  as  pleasant 
with  Grasse  and  Flowers  and  goodly  Trees  as  any  they  had 
seene,  and  very  sweet  smells  came  from  them."  While  return- 
ing, the  fateful  arrow  of  a  treacherous  red  man  ended  Coleman's 
voyaging  for  this  world.  And  now,  after  nearly  three  centuries, 
the  miniature  waves  of  the  Lower  bay  are  still  sobbing  on  their 
yellow  sands  lullabies  to  the  lonely  sleeper  of  this  pioneer  grave, 
while  on  the  outer  beach  the  Atlantic  rollers  sound  eternal 
requiems.  The  Hollanders  on  learning  of  this  fair  country 
■dispatched  other  vessels  to  America,  and  by  the  year  1G20  had 
made  settlements  in  New  Jersey  at  the  mouth  of  the  Hudson 
river,  and  were  soon  in  peaceful  possession,  and  for  forty-three 
years  occupied  what  is  now  New  York  and  New  Jersey,  under 
the  title  of  New  Netherlands.  After  establishing  New  Amsterdam 
on  Manhattan  Island,  the  Dutch  soon  made  their  way  westward, 
and  to  some  extent  occupied  what  is  now  known  as  the  counties 
of  Hudson,  Bergen,  Essex,  Monmouth  and  Middlesex.  It  is 
believed,  however,  that  earlier  than  the  year  1681  there  were 
in  Somerset  county  no  permanent  inhabitants. 

All  of  this  time  the  English  claimed  title  to  this  portion  of 
North  America,  resting  their  right  on  the  voyage  of  the  Cabots, 
who  in  1497-8,  sailed  along  the  coast  from  New  Foundland  to 
Florida.       Under  the    English   law,     discovery    and    conquest 


104  The  Story  op  an  Old  Farm. 

secured  to  the  British  Crown  title  to  all  heathen  and  uncivilized 
countries.  In  the  year  1664  the  English  expelled  the  Dutch 
government  from  New  Netherlands.  Having  conquered  the 
country,  the  king's  claim  now  rested,  not  only  on  discovery,  but 
by  right  of  conquest  as  well.  James,  Duke  of  York,  received 
from  his  royal  brother,  Charles  II.,  on  the  twelfth  of  March, 
1664,  a  patent  for  an  area  of  territory  which  included  what  is 
now  New  Jersey.  He  took  immediate  possession,  thus  establish- 
ing the  first  link  in  a  chain  of  title  emanating  directly  from  the 
King  of  England.  The  duke's  grant  conveyed  not  only  prop- 
erty but  the  powers  of  government,  and,  as  said  Courtlandt 
Parker  in  his  address  at  the  bi-centennial  celebration  of  the 
Proprietors  of  East  New  Jersey,  in  1884,  "  No  other  title  to  the 
soil  of  New  Jersey  than  his  was  ever  recognized  by  the  law." 

The  Duke  of  York  not  long  after  this,  on  the  twenty -fourth 
of  June,  conveyed  that  portion  of  the  land  included  within  the 
present  boundaries  of  New  Jersey,  together  with  the  accompany- 
ing powers  of  government,  to  John,  Lord  Berkeley,  Baron  of  Strat- 
ton,and  to  Sir  George  Carteret,  of  Saltrum  in  Devon.  The  nominal 
consideration  was  ten  shillings,  and  an  annual  rent  of  one  pep- 
percorn, to  be  paid  on  the  day  of  the  nativity  of  St.  John 
the  Baptist,  if  legally  demanded.  The  true  incentive  for  the 
conveyance  was  the  desire  to  reward  the  grantees  for  their  dis- 
tinguished loyalty  during  the  civil  war.  The  territory  was 
named  Nova  Cesarea,  or  New  Jersey,  in  honor  of  Cartaret  who, 
while  governor  of  the  channel-island  of  Jersey,  had  defended  it 
valiantly  against  the  parliament  soldiers.  He  was  the  last  com- 
mander within  the  circuit  of  the  British  Isles  to  lower  the  royal 
standard.  Sir  John  Berkeley  had  been  an  exile  with  Charles 
II.,  and  was  raised  to  the  peerage  on  the  restoration.  The  word 
Jersey  is  a  corruption  of  "  Cear's-ey,"  or  "  Cceser's-ey"  meaning 
the  island  of  Csesar.  It  was  intended  that  Nova  Cesarea  should 
be  properly  the  title,  but,  as  the  population  of  the  province 
increased,  the  people  preferred  its  translated  name  rather  than 
the  classical  appellation.  At  the  time  the  duke  transferred  New 
Jersey  to  these  noblemen  he  had  but  a  slender  acquaintance 
with  the  value  of  what  he  called  his  "  plantations,"  but  it  was 
soon  made  known  to  him  that  his  act  had  been  one  of  haste  and 
improvidence.     Governor  NicoUs,  who  was  already  representing 


The  Origin  of  New  Jersey's  Name.  105 

him  on  this  side  of  the  water,  remonstrated  warmly  with  the 
duke  against  the  cession  of  so  important  a  portion  of  his  Ameri- 
can possessions.  So  the  king  and  his  brother  at  once  bestirred 
themselves  in  an  endeavor  to  remedy  the  error.  Lord  Berkeley, 
a  victim  to  the  variable  moods  of  princes,  was  already  out  of 
favor  and  office.  In  order  to  restore  himself  to  the  good  graces 
of  his  royal  masters,  he  readily  acceded  to  a  proposition  to  sur- 
render New  Jersey  in  exchange  for  a  patent  of  Delaware  terri- 
tory ;  he  also  visited  Sir  George  Carteret,  who  was  then  in 
Ireland  as  lord  ti-easurer,  and  prevailed  upon  him  to  do  the  same. 
The  proposed  exchange  was  all  but  completed,  when  some  ugly 
questions  arose  between  the  Duke  of  York  and  Lord  Baltimore 
as  to  priority  of  title  to  the  Delaware  lands ;  consequently,  the 
transfer  of  New  Jersey  to  the  duke  was  not  consummated.  Had 
this  been  done  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  at  present 
the  state  of  New  York  would  include  that  of  New  Jersey. 

In  August,  1665,  there  arrived  in  the  Kills  the  ship  "Philip," 
having  on  board  several  families,  and  Philip  de  Carteret, 
Seigneur  of  the  Manor  of  La  Hogue,  in  the  parish  of  St.  Peter, 
Jersey,  who  bore  the  commission  of  the  owners  as  governor  of 
the  province.  The  baronet,  Sir  George,  and  Philip  were  fourth 
cousins,  being  the  great-grandsons,  respectively,  of  Edwai-d  and 
Richard,  sons  of  Philip  de  Carteret,  Seigneur  of  St.  Ouen,  Island 
of  Jersey,  who  died  in  1500.*  The  new  governor  landed  at 
what  is  now  Elizabeth,  where  he  established  his  home  and  capi- 
tal, naming  the  place  in  honor  of  the  Lady  Elizabeth,  wife  of  his 
cousin,  Sir  George  Carteret.  This  gentlewoman,  the  good  god- 
mother of  one  of  New  Jersey's  most  ancient  towns,  though  living 
in  a  profligate  court,  was  possessed  of  rare  virtues.  Pepys,  in 
his  diary  of  1660,  bears  testimony  that  "  she  cries  out  against 
the  vices  of  the  court,  and  how  they  are  going  to  set  up  plays 
already.  She  do  much  cry  out  upon  these  things,  and  that  which 
she  believes  will  undo  the  whole  nation."     This  was  the  third 


*  Governor  Philip  Carteret,  in  1681,  married  Elizabeth,  the  daughter  of 
Eichard  Smith,  of  Smithtown,  Long  Island,  and  widow  of  Captain  William  Law- 
rence, of  Fews  Neck,  Long  Island.  He  built  a  large  white  house  on  Elizabeth 
creek,  in  the  centre  of  the  present  city  of  Elizabetli,  in  which  he  died  in  1682. 
His  widow,  in  1685,  married  Colonel  Richard  Townley,  a  leading  citizen  of  Eliz- 
abethtown,  who  subsequently  sold  the  governor's  house  to  Peter  Schuyler,  who- 
converted  it  into  the  "  Ship  "  tavern. 


106  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

settlement  made  in  New  Jersey,  and  the  first  by  the  English. 
The  statement  has  frequently  been  made  that  before  the  found- 
ing of  Bergen,  in  1618,  by  the  Dutch  and  Scandanavians,  a 
Turkish  family  named  Houghubot  had  settled  at  Turkey,  now- 
New  Providence,  in  Union  county.  This  story  has  no  historical 
foundation.  The  fact  remains  that  the  claims  of  Elizabeth  for 
being  the  first  English-speaking  settlement  in  the  state  have  never 
been  refuted. 

When  Grovemor  Carteret  landed  he  found  on  the  site  of  his 
new  capital  four  families,  as  the  nucleus  of  a  population.  These 
people  claimed  title  to  the  land  they  occupied.  In  the  previous 
year  a  large  area  of  territory  had  been  purchased  from  Staten 
Island  Indians  by  some  Long  Islanders.  Governor  Nicolls,  act- 
ing as  the  deputy  of  the  Duke  of  York,  patented,  in  December, 
1664,  this  Indian  purchase  to  John  Ogden,  Luke  Watson  and 
their  associates,  eighty  in  all.  At  the  time  of  the  governor's 
issuing  this  grant  he  had  no  knowledge  of  the  duke's  having 
divested  himself  of  all  rights  to  the  lands  in  question  by  the  con- 
veyance to  Berkeley  and  Carteret.  There  is  abundant  evidence 
that  Governor  Carteret,  on  discovering  that  Nicolls  had  patented 
so  valuable  a  portion  of  his  principals'  domain,  was  greatly  at  a 
loss  what  course  to  pursue.  At  first,  it  appears  that  to  some 
extent  he  conceded  to  these  prior  settlers  their  rights  under  the 
grant,  and,  unhappily  for  the  future  comfort  of  himself  and 
his  grantees,  attempted  to  disarm  opposition  by  following 
a  conciliatory  course.  In  furtherance  of  this  policy,  before 
1666  he  purchased,  individually,  John  Bailey's  interest  in  the 
patent,  and  acted  in  concert  with  the  other  owners.  But  event- 
ually the  lords-proprietors  refused  to  recognize  that  they  had 
any  rights  in  the  premises,  claiming  that  the  grant  by  Nicolls 
"was  void  and  of  no  avail,  as  it  was  impossible  that  he,  acting  as 
<ieputy,  could  pass  a  title  that  no  longer  vested  in  the  duke. 
This  grant  has  become  historically  known  as  the  Elizabethtown 
patent.  The  claims  of  Berkeley  and  Carteret  and  their  succes- 
sors came  frequently  in  conflict  with  those  of  the  Elizabethtown 
associates  and  their  assigns,  giving  rise  to  legal  commotions  that 
continued  until  the  Revolution.  The  history  of  these  complex- 
ities is  embalmed  in  a  suit,  instituted  on  the  thirteenth  of  April, 
1745,  by  the  Earl  of  Stair  and  others   against   "Benjamin  Bond 


The  "Concessions  and  Agreements."  107 

■and  some  other  Persons  of  Elizabethtown."  The  bill  filed  at  that 
time  in  Chancery  made  a  voluminous  document,  which  was  pub- 
lished by  James  Parker  in  1747,  and,  familiarly  known  as  "  The 
Elizabethtown  Bill  in  Chancery,"  is  to  be  found  in  the  library  of 
the  New  Jersey  Historical  Society. 

The  recipients  of  this  princely  gift  of  New  Jersey  from  the 
merry  King  Charles,  and  his  more  churchly  but  none  the  less 
vicious  brother,  James,  soon  found  that  to  give  value  to  their 
estate  it  was  necessary  to  secure  inhabitants.  In  the  autumn  of 
1665,  through  their  representative,  Philip  Carteret,  the  newly- 
arrived  governor,  they  wisely  dispatched  agents  into  New  Eng- 
land, who  published  what  was  known  as  the  "Concessions  and 
Agreements  of  the  Lords-Proprietors."  These  publications,  by 
their  liberal  inducements,  such  as  property  in  estates  and  liberty 
in  religion,  resulted  in  quite  a  migration  to  New  Jersey.  The 
agreements  as  to  lands  were  very  advantageous  to  settlers.  They 
stipulated  that  the  area  of  the  province  should  be  divided  into 
parcels  of  from  twenty-one  hundred  to  twenty-one  thousand 
acres.  These  plots  were  to  be  subdivided  into  seven  parts,  one 
of  which  was  to  be  reserved  for  the  lords-proprietors,  while  the 
remaining  six-sevenths  of  each  plot  were  to  be  held  for  distribu- 
tion, free  of  cost  except  quit-rents,  among  such  persons  as 
might  come  to  occupy  and  plant  the  same.  These  latter  were 
called  headlands,  and  the  fundamental  rule  by  which  they  might 
be  acquired  was  in  this  wise:  all  persons  arriving  in  the  pro- 
vince within  a  certain  limited  time  were  entitled  to  receive 
grants  for  a  stipulated  number  of  acres,  paying  to  Berkeley  and 
Carteret  a  yearly  quit-rent  of  a  half-penny  per  acre.  The  quan- 
tity of  land  to  be  granted  to  settlers  depended  upon  the  time  of 
their  coming,  the  size  of  their  families  and  the  number  of  people 
they  brought  with  them,  either  as  free  servants,  indented  ser- 
vants, or  slaves :  the  number  of  acres  per  head  varied  from 
thirty  to  one  hundred  and  fifty. 

The  immediate  result  of  the  publication  of  these  "Concessions" 
in  New  England  was  the  advent  of  people  who  established  three 
important  settlements  in  New  Jersey.  Among  those  who 
removed  to  the  province  in  response  to  this  invitation  were  John 
Martin,  Charles  Gilman,  Hugh  Dun  and  Hopewell  Hull.  Mak- 
ing their  way  westward,  along  the   Indian   path   that  stretched 


108  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farji. 

from  Elizabethtown-point  to  the  Delaware,  they  reached  an 
attractive  spot  on  the  high  levels  bordering  the  Raritan,  where  a 
few  log  huts  had  already  been  erected  on  the  site  of  an  old  native 
village.  Being  pleased  with  the  locality,  they  applied  for,  and 
received  on  the  eighteenth  of  December,  1666,  a  grant  for  a 
large  area  of  territory.  To  this  point  they  brought  their  own 
and  numerous  other  families  from  Piscataqua,  in  the  province  of 
Massachusetts — now  Maine, — of  which  the  name,  Piscataway,  is 
a  corruption.     Of  this  place,  more,  hereafter. 

Another  consequence  of  the  distribution  of  copies  of  the  "Con- 
cessions "  in  the  East,  was  the  arrival  in  New  Jersey  of  John 
Pike,  Daniel  Pierce  and  seven  associates,  from  Newbury,  Massa- 
chusetts. They  entered  into  an  agreement  on  the  eleventh  of 
December,  1666,  whereby,  on  the  third  of  December,  1667, 
they  received  from  Governor  Carteret  and  some  of  the  Elizabeth- 
town  associates  a  grant  of  land,  embracing  what  is  now  the 
township  of  Woodbridge.  They,  as  the  representatives  of  at 
least  sixty  families,  on  the  first  of  June,  1669,  were  granted  a 
charter  creating  a  township  covering  six  miles  square.  The 
name  of  their  new  settlement  was  derived  from  their  late  pastor, 
John  Woodbridge,  of  Newbury.  In  laying  out  this  township  it 
was  agreed  that  Amboy-jjoint  should  be  reserved,  to  be  disposed 
of  by  the  lords-proprietors  as  the  seventh  part  to  which  they 
were  entitled  under  the  "  Concessions,"  and  which,  in  the  origi- 
nal agreement  with  Pierce,  Pike  and  others  it  was  settled  should 
stand  for  one  thousand  acres  of  upland  and  meadow.  This  avail- 
able and  attractive  spot  was  afterwards  selected  as  the  place  of 
government.  Among  the  persons  allotted  lands  by  the  governor 
and  his  associates,  and  the  most  of  whom,  it  is  believed,  settled 
on  their  estates,  were  the  following :  John  Pike,  Daniel  and 
Joshua  Pierce,  Obadiah  Ayres,  Henry  Jaques,  Thomas  Bloom- 
field,  Elisha  Parker,  Richard  Worth,  John  Whitaker,  Jonathan 
Dunham,  Hugh  Dun  and  Robert  Van  Quellen.  Most  of  the  new- 
comers were  from  Newbury  and  Haverhill,  Massachusetts, 
though  a  few  families  had  planted  themselves  at  this  point  in 
1665,  having  reached  the  province  with  Governor  Carteret  by 
the  ship,  Philip.  John  Pike  was  the  ancestor  of  that  General 
Zebulon  Montgomery  Pike  who  in  thev  year  1806  wrote  his 
name   among   the   clouds  on   one   of   the   loftiest  peaks   of  the 


Eakly  Settlers  at  Woodbridoe  and  Newark.       109 

Rocky  mountains.  Thomas  Bloomfield  was  the  ancestor  of  one 
of  New  Jersey's  later  governors.  Obadiah  Ayres  and  Richard 
Worth  were  sons-in-law  of  John  Pike,  who  may  be  called  the 
patriarch  of  the  settlement.  Worth,  either  because  of  his  name 
or  his  virtues,  seems  to  have  been  much  more  highly  esteemed 
by  his  father-in-law  than  was  Ayres,  as  John  Pike  in  his 
will  left  the  latter  six-pence,  while  the  former  received  the 
munificient  bequest  of  one  shilling.  Another  legacy  of  this 
will  is  interesting,  as  showing  the  scarcity  and  value  of  litera- 
ture in  those  early  times.  He  left  to  his  son,  Thomas,  a  "  half 
right  in  my  book,  writ  by  David  Dickson."  Robert  Van  Quel- 
len,  also  known  as  De  La  Prie  and  La  Prairie,  emigrated  from 
Holland,  but  is  said  to  have  been  a  Norman,  coming  originally 
from  Caen.  He  early  became  an  important  man  in  the  colony. 
Governor  Carteret  secured  his  services  as  a  member  of  the  first 
council,  and  for  many  years  he  was  surveyor-general  of  East 
New  Jersey.  In  addition  to  his  holdings  in  Woodbridge  town- 
ship he  became  a  large  owner  of  lands  on  the  upper  Raritan,  and 
his  name  is  a  frequent  one  in  connection  with' old  New  Jersey 
titles. 

The  third  New  England  migration  was  as  follows :  In  the 
winter  of  1665  and  1666  some  of  the  inhabitants  of  Guilford  and 
Branford,  in  Connecticut,  finding  themselves  in  need  of  larger 
areas  of  farming  lands,  sent  a  deputation  to  report  on  the  condi- 
tion and  prospects  of  the  country  in  the  neighborhood  of  Eliza- 
bethtown.  Their  impressions  being  favorable,  in  the  following 
May  thirty  families,  under  the  leadership  of  Robert  Treat,  pur- 
chased of  the  Indians  a  tract  embracing  the  present  townships  of 
Newark,  Springfield,  Livingston,  Orange,  Bloomfield  and  Cald- 
well. Their  new  town  on  the  Passaic  was  first  named  Milford, 
but  two  years  later,  with  other  arrivals,  came  an  aged  con- 
gregational minister,  Abraham  Pierson.  At  a  salary  of  thirty 
pounds  per  annum,  he  was  the  faithful  pastor  of  the  colony 
until  his  death.  In  his  honor  the  name  was  changed  to 
Newark,  after  the  town  on  the  Yarrow,  in  England,  where  this 
minister  had  been  ordained.  These  settlers  fi-om  Connecticut 
were,  for  a  time,  disinclined  to  recognize  the  rights  of  the  lords- 
proprietors,  and  preferred  resting  the  claim  to  their  holdings  on 
the  Indian  title.     They,  by  this  disafiection,    materially  added 


110  The  Story  of  an  Old  Fakm. 

to  the  complications  growing  out  of  the  conflicting  inter- 
ests of  Berkeley  and  Carteret  and  those  claiming  under  the 
Nicolls'  grant. 

The  first  general  assembly  of  the  province,  composed  of  the 
governor,  council  and  house  of  burgesses,  convened  in  Eliza- 
beth, in  1668,  and,  with  the  exception  of  occasional  meetings  at 
Woodbridge,  Middletown,  and  Piscataway,  continued  assembling 
there  until  1682.  In  1686,  it  met  at  Perth  Amboy,  and  with 
but  few  exceptions  alternated  between  that  place  and  Burlington 
until  the  state  capital  was  established  at  Trenton. 

Lord  John  Berkeley  was  an  old  man,  and  having  been  greatly 
disappointed  in  the  financial  results  of  his  American  investment, 
he  decided  to  dispose  of,  and  did,  on  the  eighteenth  of  March, 
1673,  sell  his  share  in  New  Jersey  to  two  English  Quakers,  John 
Fenwicke  and  Edward  Billinge,  for  one  thousand  pounds.  These 
purchasers  quarrelled  as  to  their  respective  interests,  but,  under 
the  arbitration  of  William  Penn,  an  amicable  division  was  made. 
Fen  wick  receiving  one-tenth  as  his  share.  Soon  after  this,  Bill- 
inge becoming  bankrupt,  his  interest  was  sold  to  Penn,  Gawen 
Lawrie  and  Nicholas  Lucas,  as  trustees  for  his  creditors.  They, 
in  conjunction  with  Fenwicke,  divided  the  whole  proprietorship 
into  one  hundred  equal  parts,  the  trustees  placing  their  ninety 
shares  in  the  market.  Before  this  time — on  the  twenty-ninth  of 
July,  1674 — a  new  grant  had  been  given  by  the  king  to  the 
Duke  of  York,  and  by  the  duke  to  Sir  George  Carteret  and  to 
the  grantees  of  Lord  John  Berkeley.  The  necessity  was  occa- 
sioned by  the  treaty  of  Westminster,  in  1674,  in  which  New  Jer- 
sey was  ceded  to  the  King  of  England  by  the  Dutch,  New 
Netherlands  having  been  captured  and  occupied  by  them  during 
the  previous  year.  In  1675,  John  Fenwicke,  with  a  large  com- 
pany, sailed  from  London  in  the  ship  "  Griffin,"  and  landing  near 
the  head  of  Delaware  bay,  established  on  its  eastern  shore  the 
town  of  Salem.  This  was  the  first  English  settlement  in  West 
Jersey.  The  second  one  was  made  two  years  later  when  a  party 
of  immigrants,  principally  Yorkshire  and  London  Quakers,  landed 
from  the  ship  "  Kent,"  and  laid  out  a  town  which  they  first  called 
New  Beverly,  then  Bridlington,  afterwards  Burlington. 

In  the  second  grant  of  New  Jersey,  made  by  the  Duke  of  York, 
a  dividing  line  was  mentioned  as  running  from  Barnegat  creek  to 


The  Division  of  the  Pkovince.  Ill 

the  Rancocus.  From  this  it  would  appear  that  previous  to  the 
time  of  issuing  the  patent  Berkeley  and  Carteret  had  agreed  upon 
a  division  of  the  province.  It  was  not,  however,  until  the  first  of 
July,  1676,  that  a  formal  partition  of  New  Jersey  was  made 
between  Carteret  and  the  Quaker  proprietors,  it  being  effected 
by  a  conveyance  known  as  the  Quintipartite  deed,  because  of  its 
comprehending  Sir  George,  Penn,  Lawrie,  Lucas  and  Billinge. 
Thenceforth  Carteret's  share  of  the  province  was  what  has  since 
been  known  as  East  Jersey.  It  embraced  all  the  territory  lying 
east  of  a  line,  which,  starting  at  a  point  on  the  Atlantic  coast,  on 
the  east  side  of  Little  Egg  Harbor  inlet,  ran  northwesterly  to  a 
point  in  the  Delaware  river  a  few  miles  below  Minisink  island, 
in  Sussex  county.  This  line  crossed  the  Raritan  river  just  west 
of  Somerville,  the  point  being  still  marked  by  a  surveyor's  stone, 
standing  by  the  roadside,  on  the  south  bank  of  the  river,  nearly- 
opposite  a  residence  built  some  years  ago  by  John  V.  Veghte. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

The  Twenty-four  Proprietors  of  East  New  Jersey — George  Wil- 
locks  and  the  Peapach  Patent. 

In  the  year  1679,  Sir  George  Carteret  died.  By  his  will  he 
devised  his  East  Jersey  property  to  trustees,  empowering  them 
to  sell  the  same  for  the  payment  of  his  debts.  For  over  two 
years  East  Jersey  government  was  administered  in  the  name  of 
"  The  Right  Honorable  the  Lady  Elizabeth  Carteret,  Baroness, 
Widow,  the  relict  and  sole  Executrix  of  the  Right  Honorable  Sir 
George  Carteret,  Knight  and  Baronet,  deceased,  late  Lord 
Proprietor  of  the  said  Province,  and  Grandmother  and  Guardian 
of  Sir  George  Carteret,  Baronet,  Grandson  and  Heir  of  the  said 
Sir  George  Carteret  deceased,  the  present  Lady  Proprietrix  of 
the  Province  aforesaid."  In  1682  the  trustees,  together  with  the 
widow  as  executrix,  in  consideration  of  thirty-four  hundred 
pounds,  conveyed  all  of  East  Jersey  to  twelve  purchasers, 
William  Penn,  Robert  West,  Thomas  Rudyard,  Samuel  Groom, 
Thomas  Hart,  Richard  Mew,  Thomas  Wilcox,  Ambrose  Rigg, 
John  Haywood,  Hugh  Hartshorne,  Clement  Plumsted  and 
Thomas  Cooper.  They,  in  their  turn,  sold  one-half  of  their 
undivided  interests  to  twelve  associates,  Robert  Barclay,  Edward 
Billinge,  Robert  Turner,  James  Brain,  Arent  Sonmans,  William 
Gibson,  Gawen  Lawrie,  Thomas  Barker,  Thomas  Wame, 
James,  Earl  of  Perth;  Robert  Gordon  and  John  Drummond. 
Thus  was  constituted  the  "  Twenty-four  Proprietors  of 
East  New  Jersey,"  an  association  of  land  owners  that  has 
a  corporate  and  active  existence  to  this  day.  On  the  fourteenth 
of  March,  1682,  their  title  was  further  assured  by  a  confirmatory 
deed  from  the  Duke  of  York,  giving  to  the  proprietors  all  neces- 
sary powers  for  establishing  a  council  and  managing  and  govern- 


Origin  of  the  Name  Perth  Amboy.  113 

ing  their  estate  or  province.  We  now  find  that  one  undivided 
twenty-fourth  part  of  East  New  Jersey  is  by  these  conveyances 
as  fully  and  completely  vested  in  each  proprietor  as  if  the  terri- 
tory was  a  farm  or  a  city  lot.  Each  one  had  full  power  to  alien- 
ate the  whole  or  a  portion  of  his  interest,  or  the  privilege  of 
locating  for  himself  certain  lands  which  the  joint  proprietors 
would  secure  to  him  in  severalty  by  a  warrant,  which  acted  as  a 
release  of  the  interests  of  his  associates.  It  also  expressed  what 
amoinit  or  proportion  of  his  common  stock  was  severed  and 
represented  by  these  located  lands. 

The  "  Twenty-Four  Proprietors  "  established  their  seat  of  gov- 
ernment at  Perth  Amboy,  deriving  the  name  from  the  Earl  of 
Perth — one  of  their  number — and  from  Amho,  the  English  cor- 
I'uption  of  an  Indian  word  which  is  generally  believed  to  have 
meant  point.  The  latter  appears  variously  spelled  in  early 
documents;  as  Ompoge,  EmhoyU,  Amhoyle  and  Amho.  .  The  late 
Thomas  Gordon,  of  Trenton,  considered  the  derivative  of  Amboy 
to  be  the  Indian  word  Emholi — meaning  hollow,  like  a  bowl ;  so 
named  because  of  a  depression  in  the  ground,  a  little  north  of  the 
city.  The  Scotch  word  Perth  is  said  to  be  a  corruption  oi  Barr- 
Tatha,  or  the  "  height  on  the  river  Tay."  It  is  on  this  river 
that  the  ancient  city  of  Perth  is  situated. 

The  new  proprietors  modified  somewhat  the  "  Concessions  and 
Agreements"  of  their  predecessors,  though  retaining  many  of 
their  most  important  provisions.  The  liberal  feature  of  offering 
headlands  to  settlers,  free  of  cost  except  quit-rents,  was  retained 
and  continued  in  force  for  a  number  of  years.  Very  complete 
descriptions  were  published  in  Europe  of  the  advantages  that 
would  accrue  to  adventurers  who  removed  to  the  province  ;  the 
manner  of  the  disposition  of  the  lands  was  explained,  and  a  full 
account  given  of  the  physical  condition  of  the  country.  In  these 
published  descriptions  detailed  statements  were  made  as  to  the 
"goodness  and  richness  of  the  soil;"  that  the  country  was  "well 
stored  with  deer,  conies,  wild  fowl"  and  other  game ;  that  the 
"sea-banks  were  well  stored  with  a  variety  of  fish,  such  as 
whales,  cod,  cole,  hake,  etc."  ;  and  that  "  the  bays  and  rivers 
were  plentifidly  stored  with  sturgeon,  great  bass  and  other  scale 
fish,  eels  and  shell  fish,  such  as  oysters,  etc.,  in  great  abundance, 
and  easy  to  take."  Much  stress  was  laid  on  the  fact  of  there 
8 


114  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

beinf^  safe  and  convenient  harbors,  affording  excellent  opportun- 
ities for  the  export  of  the  products  of  the  province,  nmong  which 
were  enumerated  whale-fins,  bone  and  oil,  and  beaver,  mink, 
raccoon  and  martin  skins.  After  dwelling  on  the  salubrity  of 
the  climate,  the  good  temper  of  tlie  Indians,  and  the  manner  and 
costs  of  setting  out  from  the  old  country,  the  descriptions,  or 
advertisements,  closed  with  the  following  excellent  advice  to  the 
prospective  emigrants  : 

All  persons  indlinirif;  unto  those  parts  must  know  that  in  their  settlement 
there  they  will  tind  their  exercises.  They  must  have  their  winter  as  well  as 
summer.  They  must  labor  before  they  reap;  and,  till  their  plantations  be 
cleared  (in  summer  time),  they  must  expect  (as  in  all  those  countries)  the 
mosc]uitos,  flies,  gnats  and  such  like,  may  in  hot  and  fair  weather  give  them  some 
disturbance  where  people  provide  not  against  thera. 

The  mosquitoes  seem  to  have  been  early  recognized  as  among 
the  most  active  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  new  country.  This  is 
not  the  only  time  they  -are  mentioned  by  the  first  settlers. 
John  Johnstone — whose  better  acquaintance  we  shall  shortly 
make — in  a  letter  written  in  1684,  though  "mightily  well  sat- 
isfied with  the  country,"  could  not  forbear  referring  to  a  little 
flea  that  was  occasionally  blown  toward  the  Raritan  from  Eliza- 
bethtown  by  an  east  wind.  The  distribution  abroad  of  these 
plans  and  prospectuses  induced  a  considerable  emigration  from 
Europe,  especially  from  Scotland,  which  country  was  under- 
going at  that  time  great  political  convulsions.  East  Jersey  is 
to  this  day  greatly  benefited  by  the  Scotch  blood  that  was  then 
transfused  into  her  veins.  The  unhappy  scenes  that,  just  before 
and  after  the  year  1700,  were  enacted  in  the  Haymarket  of  the 
gray-castled  city  of  Edinburgh,  and  the  hunting  of  poor  refugees 
through  the  mists  of  the  bleak  Highlands  of  that  grim,  sea-beaten 
land,  resulted  in  the  planting  among  the  hills  of  Somerset  of  a 
sturdy  stock  which  speedily  developed  into  the  three  strong  Pres- 
byterian congregations  of  Bound  Brook,  Basking  Ridge  and  Lam- 
ington;  and  in  many  ways  the  immigrant  Scots  have  contributed 
to  the  individual  strength  and  virtue  of  the  people  of  that  county. 

When  East  Jersey  came  under  the  dominion  of  the  twenty- 
four  proprietors,  in  1682,  their  historian,  William  A.  White- 
head, estimates  the  total  population  of  the  province  to  have  been 
thirty-five  hundred  in  the  towns  and  about  fifteen  hundred  on 
the  plantations.     The  towns  then  existing  were  as  follows  : 


Colonel  Lewis  Morris  Founds  Shrewsbury.        115 

Shrewsbury,  in  Monmouth  county.  The  township,  embracing 
thirty  thousand  acres,  had  a  population  of  about  four  hundred, 
among  whom  was  Colonel  Lewis  JMorris.  He  was  a  brother  of 
that  Richard  Morris,  who,  flying  from  England  to  the  province 
of  New  York  at  the  time  of  the  Restoration,  received  a  grant  in 
1661  of  three  thousand  acres  on  the  Harlem  river,  which  he 
called  Morrisania;  at  his  death.  Colonel  Lewis  Morris  came 
from  Barbadoes,  and  assumed  the  guardianship  of  Richard's 
infant  son,  who  in  later  life  became  governor  of  New  Jersey. 
Colonel  Morris  married  for  his  first  wife,  Tryntje  Staats.  His 
second  wife  was  Tryntje's  own  niece,  Sarah,  daughter  of  Isaac 
Gouveraeur,  whose  wife,  Sarah,  was  the  daughter  of  Major 
Abraham  Staats  of  Albany,  and  an  East  Indian  "Begum"  or 
princess,  whom  the  Major  had  married  in  Java.  These  two  mar- 
riages brought  to  Colonel  Morris  three  distinguished  sons.  By  the 
first,  General  Lewis  Morris  who  signed  the  "  Declaration  ;"  by  the 
second,  Gouverneur  Morris,  and  General  Staats  Morris  who  mar- 
ried the  Duchess  of  Gordon  ;  the  acquaintance  of  this  Scotch  noble- 
woman we  shall  make  later  in  Bedminster.  Before  the  time  of  the 
twenty-four  proprietors  coming  into  possession  of  East  New  Jersey 
Colonel  Lewis  Morris  had  established  at  Shrewsbury  extensive 
iron-works,  which  gave  occupation  to  about  seventy  slaves,  in 
addition  to  white  servants  and  employees.  His  grant,  under  date 
of  1676,  covered  thirty-tive  hundred  and  forty  acres  ;  he  named  it 
Tinturn — now  called  Tinton — after  his  home  in  Britain,  which 
was  in  the  vale  of  Tinturn,  in  the  extreme  south  of  Monmouth- 
shire, Wales.  There  it  was  that  Theodoric,  Christian  king  of 
Glamorgan,  vanquished  the  pagan  Saxons,  though  so  wounded 
that  he  died  shortly  after  the  battle,  in  the  near-by  parish  of 
Matherne.  "This  is  the  vale,"  writes  Gray,  "that  is  the 
delight  of  my  eyes  and  the  very  seat  of  pleasure."  Morris  was 
also  instrumental  in  giving  Monmouth  county  its  name,  he  call- 
ing it  after  the  Welsh  shire.  The  name  Monmouth  is  generally 
accepted  as  meaning,  and  shortened  from,  Monnow-mouth,  the 
English  town  of  Monmouth  being  situated  on  a  tongue  of  land  at 
the  mouth  of  the  river  Monnow. 

MiDDLETOWN,  covering  about  the  same  area  as  Shrewsbury, 
contained  about  five  hundred  people  and  many  improved  planta- 
tions. 


116  The  Stobt  of  as  Old  Far  v. 

This  township  disputes  with  Bei^en,  in  Hudson  coontr,  the 
daim  of  being  the  first  permanent  white  setdement  in  Xew  Jer- 
sey, and  connected  with  the  introdncticHi  of  its  Dntch  occupation 
is  a  strangeh"  romantie  and  interesting  story.  When  Hendrick 
"^      -  '      '  "'Band  of  the  discoveries  he  had  made 

-        nnmbers  soon  came  sailing  OTer  the 

watery  waste  to  visit  this  "goodtyland."     From  then  till  now  the 

craft  have  been  battered  to  fragments  on  the 

:  .^andy  Hook.     The  first  shipwreck  known  to 

have  occurred  at  this  point  was  as  early  as  1620.  and  connected 

with  the  s"!"       "    j   -rf  the  ve^el  there  has  come  down  to  ns  an 

fi.  V'  ant  of  i =:  remarkable  instance  of  the  preservation  of 

Jfe.     On  board  was  a  young  woman  from  Holland  by  the 
:        -  ^lope  van  Frincis ;  at  least  such  was  her  maiden  name, 

: :    .:    _  r    husband,  who  accompanied  her,  being  unknown. 

Those  of  the  ship's  company  who  reached  the  shore  in  safety  made 
their  way  on  foot  to  Xew  Amsterdam  i^Sew  York).  Penelope's 
husband,  being  badly  injured,  was  unable  to  undertake  the  jour- 
ney J  so  she  remained  with  him  in  the  woods  on  Sandy  Hook. 
Soon  after  the  departure  of  their  shipmates  they  were  attacked 
by  Indians,  who  left  them  fi)r  dead.  The  husband  was.  indeed. 
Eo,  but  the  wife,  though  fearfully  injured,  reyived.  Her  skuQ 
was  fractured,  and  her  left  shoulder  so  cut  and  hacked  that  she 
nev^  after  had  the  use  of  that  arm.  Her  abdomen  had  been 
laid  open  with  a  knife  so  that  the  bowels  protruded  and  were 
only  kept  in  place  by  her  hands.  Yet  in  this  deplorable  condi- 
tion she  lived  for  several  days  in  a  hollow  tree,  sustaining  life  by 
eating  bark,  leaves  and  gimi. 

At  the  end  of  a  week  Penelope  was  discovered  by  two 
Indians  who  were  chasing  a  deer.  One  of  them,  an  old 
man,  moved  by  her  conditioD  and  sex,  conveyed  her  to 
his  wigwam,  near  the  present  site  of  Middletown.  where 
he  dre^ed  her  wounds  and  treated  her  with  great  kindness. 
Here  she  remained  &r  some  time,  but,  eventually,  the  Dutch  of 
New  Amsterdam,  cm  learning  that  there  was  a  white  woman  liv- 
ing with  the  natives  in  the  woods  beyond  the  great  bay.  came 
to  her  rdief.  Her  preserver,  who  had  cured  her  wounds  and 
toiderly  cared  for  her,  interposed  no  objections  to  her  rejoining 
her  friends,  by  whom  she  was  welcomed  as  one  fr^m  the  dead. 


The  Settlemext  of  iliDDLETOwy.  117 

Some  time  after,  when  in  her  twenrv-second  rear,  this  vonn" 
Dutch  widow  married  a  wealthy  Enrfish  bachelor  of  fbrtv, 
named  Richard  Stout,  a  son  ot  John  Stout,  a  gentleman  of  good 
family  of  Nottinghamshire,  England.  This  remarkable  woman 
was  the  ancestress  of  the  very  large  and  important  familv  of 
Stoats  in  Xew  Jersey,  and  her  history-,  yon  may  be  sore,  is  often 
told  by  her  posterity.  She  snrr-ived  her  marriage  ei^tv-eight 
years,  attaining  the  extraordinary  age  of  one  hnndred  and  ten, 
and  leaving  at  her  death  five  hundred  and  two  livin?  descend- 
ants. 

After  Penelope  became  3Irs.  Stout  she  did  not  forget  the 
fertile  soil  and  namral  beauties  of  the  yau-res-sing.  or  Nave- 
sink  country,  and  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  she  was 
the  means  of  interesting  her  husband  in  that  localitv.  The 
descendants  of  these  Monmouth  pioneers  claim  that  immediatelv 
after  marriage  they  settled  where  is  now  Middletown.  and  that 
in  1648  they  and  sii  other  families  were  the  only  white  inhabit- 
ants of  that  region.  The  historian.  Smith,  says:  "A  while 
after  marrying  to  one  Stont.  they  lived  together  at  Middletown 
among  other  Dutch  inhabitants.^  in  April,  lrt65.  Governor 
Nicolls.  as  the  representative  of  the  Duke  of  York,  patented  the 
whole  of  Monmouth  and  part  of  iliddlesex  counties  to  Richard 
Stout  and  eleven  associates,  the  patentees  agreeing  to  "  manure 
and  plant  the  aforesaid  land  and  premises,  and  settle  there  one 
htmdred  families  at  least."  The  late  es-Oovemor  Joel  Parker 
is  my  authority  for  saving  that  this  Monmouth  patent  authorized 
and  put  in  operation  the  first  local  government  in  New  Jersev  of 
which  we  have  any  authentic  record.  The  hinders  nnder  this 
grant,  as  was  the  case  with  those  holding  nnder  the  one  made  bv 
Nicolls  to  the  Elizabethtown  associates,  came  into  frequent  Ktig- 
ious  conflicts  with  the  grantees  of  Berkeley  and  Carteret. 

PisCiTAWAT  had  about  four  hundred  inhabitants,  the  township 
embracing  nearly  forty  thousand  acres. 

WOODBRIDGE  contained  about  thirty  thousand  acres  in  the 
township,  and  had  a  population  of  sis  hnndred. 

Ellzabethtow-x.  the  seat  of  Carteret's  government,  possessed 
seven  hundred  inhabitants,  with  fifty  thousand  acres  in  the 
township. 

Newark  also  had  fifty  thousand  acres  in  the  township,  and  a 


118  The  Stouy  of  an  Old  Farm. 

population  of  five  hundred.  In  addition,  it  possessed  jurisdiction 
over  the  plantations  of  Sandford,  Kingsland,  Berry  and  Pin- 
home,  upon  the  Passaic  and  Hackensack  rivers.  The  latter 
estate  was  at  Secaucus,  near  Snake  hill,  and  the  name  of  the 
present  Penhorn  creek  is  derived  from  that  of  its  owner.  Will- 
iam Pinhorne  was  an  Englishman  who  came  to  this  country  with 
Governor  Edmund  Andross  in  1678.  Establishing  himself  in 
New  York  city  he  became  a  successful  merchant  and  occupied 
many  positions  of  public  trust.  On  removing  to  his  estates  in 
New  Jersey,  he  was  appointed  to  the  king's  council,  and  was 
chosen  member  of  the  assembly  and  judge  of  the  supreme  court. 
The  Sandford,  Berry  and  Kingsland  plantations  were  at  what  is 
now  known  as  Rutherford,  then  called  New  Barbadoes'  neck. 
This  vicinity  was  first  settled  by  Captain  William  Sandford,  and 
Isaac  Kingsland  who  came  from  the  West  Indies — hence  the 
name. 

Bergen  had  three  hundred  inhabitants,  and  jurisdiction  over 
several  improved  plantations  on  the  bays,  rivers  and  kiUs, 
besides  over  sixty  thousand  acres  within  its  own  township, 
which  embraced  all  the  present  county  of  Hudson  lying  east 
of  the  Passaic  river.  Bergen  was  established  in  1660.  Among 
the  earlier  settlers  were  Cornelius  Van  Voorst,  Englebert  Steen- 
huysen,  Tielman  Van  Vleck,  Lourens  Anndriessen  (Van  Bos- 
kerk).  Christian  Pieterse,  Michael  Jansen  (Vreeland)  and  Gerrit 
Gerritsen  (Van  Wagenen).  This  is  considered  the  most  ancient 
permanent  settlement  in  New  Jersey,  dwellings  having  been 
erected  at  Pavonia,  within  the  confines  of  the  township  as  after- 
wards established,  as  early  as  1630.  The  latter  name  is  derived 
from  Michael  Pauw,  burgomaster  of  Amsterdam  and  Lord  of  Ach- 
tienhoven,  who  in  that  year  obtained  from  the  Indians  a  convey- 
ance of  a  large  acreage,  lying  on  the  west  shores  of  the  Hudson. 
This  is  believed  to  be  the  first  conveyance  of  lands  in  East  Jer- 
sey. His  title  was  further  assured  by  the  Dutch  government, 
and  its  owner  was  created  one  of  the  original  patroons  of  New 
Netherlands.  Pauw  gave  his  name  to  this  territory,  first  latin- 
izing it  into  Pavonia,  pauw  in  the  Dutch,  and^jat'O  in  the  Latin,, 
meaning  peacock.  Why  should  not  this  proud  bird,  significant 
of  the  first  legal  occupation  of  New  Jersey,  be  impressed  on  the 
great  seal  of  the  state  ! 


Subdivision  of  the  Proprietors'  Interests.         119 

Authorities  differ  as  to  the  origin  of  the  name  of  Bergen.  New 
Jersey's  earliest  historian,  Smith,  derives  its  title  from  the  capi- 
tal of  Norway,  there  having  been  Scandinavians  as  well  as  Dutch 
among  its  early  settlers.  Barber,  Whitehead,  and  Grordon  accept 
this  derivation,  but  Taylor,  in  his  "  Annals"'  considers  Bergen 
op  Zoom,  in  Holland,  to  have  been  the  godfather  of  East  Jersey's 
oldest  town.  Winfield  shows  that  the  towns  oi  Bergen  in  both  Nor- 
wa3'  and  Holland  received  their  names  from  their  respective  near- 
by hills.  The  New  Jersey  village  being  located  on  an  eminence 
overlooking  the  marshes  on  the  east  and  west,  and  the  lowlands 
bordering  the  Hudson,  he  believes  received  its  name  from  the 
same  local  circumstances,  the  word  Bergen  meaning  hill.  This 
seeras  by  far  the  most  reasonable  explanation  of  the  origin  of 
the  name. 

The  first  governor  under  the  proprietors  was  Robert  Barclay, 
one  of  the  associates,  who  was  appointed  for  life  with  the  right 
of  ruling  by  deputy.  To  represent  him  he  selected  Thomas 
Rudyard,  a  London  attorney  of  distinction.  On  arriving  out,  in 
November,  1682,  this  deputy  wrote  home  that  he  was  delighted 
to  find  that  the  province  was  occupied  by  "a  sober,  professing 
people,  wise  in  their  generation,  and  courteous  in  their  behaviour." 
Before  the  end  of  1683  Rudyard  was  superceded  bj  Gawen 
Lawric,  whose  successor  was  Lord  Neil  Campbell,  who  in  turn 
was  followed  by  Andrew  Hamilton.  In  the  autumn  of  1690 
Robert  Barclay  died,  the  power  of  governing  reverting  to  the 
proprietors.  Deputy-Governor  Hamilton,  who  was  then  in 
England  on  a  visit,  thereupon,  though  after  some  delay,  received 
the  appointment  of  govemor-in-chief. 

Many  years  had  not  gone  by  before  the  number  of 
proprietors  and  the  subdivision  of  their  interests  caused 
much  disturbance  and  confusion  in  the  manner  of  govern- 
ment, and  the  choice  of  governor  was  attended  by  great  rivalry 
and  discord.  As  each  proprietor  was  at  liberty  to  dispose 
of  his  propriety  in  as  many  parts  as  he  pleased,  these  sales 
were  frequently  made  in  small  fractions ;  consequently  the  num- 
ber of  proprietors  was  not  only  greatly  augmented,  but  their  dis- 
tribution in  different  countries  caused  much  embarrassment.  At 
this  time  New  Jersey  experienced  its  first  political  convulsion, 
finally  resulting,  in  1709,  in  an  armed  resistance  to  the  authori- 


120 


The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 


ties.  It  must  be  remembered  that  the  people  had  no  choice  in 
the  selection  of  the  chief  magistrate — that  right  devolved  on  the 
proprietors  or  owners  of  propriety  interests.  These  individual 
holdings  so  multiplied  as  to  almost  render  concerted  action 
impossible.  The  following  list  of  portions  of  shares  acquired  by 
George  Willocks — of  whom  much  more  hereafter — will  best 
exemplify  the  extent  to  which  trading  was  done  in  these  propriety 
rights : 


1702,  January  23— 
1692,  February  15- 
1695,  December  2- 


1696,  September  18- 

1727,  July  17 

1725,  October  10--- 

1708,  July  6 

1716,  December  28- 
1727,  June  28 


OBIGlNAIi 
PROPRIETOR. 


GRANTOR. 


Ambrose  Rigg- 
Thos.  Rudyard. 
Tlios.  Rudyard- 
Thos.  Rudyard - 


John   Heywood 


John  Heywood 
John  Heywood 
John  Heywood 
Thomas  Cooper 
Thos.  Rudyard- 
Thomas  Barker 


QUANTITY. 


John  Johnstone 1-5  of  19-20  of  1-24. 

Benj.  Rudyard 1-2  of  1-24. 

Robt.   Wharton 1-2  of  1-4  of  1-24. 

Margaret,   widow  of 
Sam'l  Winder,   mar- 
ries Geo.  Willocks--, 1-2  of  1-2  of  1-24. 
James  Willocks  dies, 
anddevises  to  George 

Willocks 3-4  of  1-8  of  1-24. 

Robt.  Gordon 1-64  of  1-24. 

John  Parker 1-8  of  1-24. 

John  Hamilton 1-16  of  1-24. 

Thomas  Gordon l-20of  1-48  of  1-24. 

.Andrew  Johnstone-  1-8  of  1-24. 
John  Johnstone 1-2  of  1-24. 


Willocks  also  purchased  of  William  Violent  the  one-twentieth 
of  Thomas  Cooper's  original  twenty-fourth,  the  share  being  con- 
veyed to  him  and  Andrew  Hamilton  with  right  of  survivorship  ; 
at  Willock's  death  this  interest  vested  in  Hamilton  as  survivor. 
On  the  twentieth  of  February,  1698,  George  Willocks  conveyed 
to  Jeremiah  Basse  seven-eighths  of  one  twenty-fourth. 

On  the  eighth  of  April,  1698,  Governor  Alexander  Hamilton 
was  succeeded  by  Jeremiah  Basse.  In  the  following  year  num- 
bers of  the  inhabitants  refused  to  him  obedience  on  the  alleged 
discovery  that  his  appointment  had  not  received  the  prescribed 
form  of  royal  approbation,  nor  the  sanction  of  a  sufficient  number 
of  proprietors.  The  disturbances  were  further  increased  by  the 
colonists  in  the  hope  that  continued  agitations  would  provoke  the 
Crown  to  deprive  the  proprietors  of  authority,  in  which  case 
the  land-owners  thought  to  be  able  to  rest  their  titles  on  the 
Indian  grants,  and  thus  be  relieved  from  quit-rents.  The  New 
Jersey  magistrates  imprisoned  some  of  these  malcontents, 
whereupon   other   citizens   rose  in  arms,  broke   open    the  jails, 


The  Propkietors  Abandon  the  Government.        121 

and  confusion  and  anarchy  ensued.  This  condition  of  affairs 
was  increased  by  certain  of  the  proprietors  reappointing 
Hamilton  as  governor.  Those  of  the  people  who  sympathized 
with  Basse,  refused  support  to  the  new  administration,  resulting 
in  still  greater  turbulence.  Justices  were  assaulted,  sheriffs  were 
wounded,  and  such  general  confusion  prevailed  among  the  people 
that  the  proprietors,  weary  of  contentions,  were  glad  to  abandon 
their  government,  in  1702,  to  Queen  Anne,  reserving,  however, 
to  themselves  every  other  right  that  had  been  granted  them. 
The  proprietors,  though  their  importance  was  much  abridged, 
remained  a  powerful  association  of  land  owners,  and  the  fountain 
head  of  the  title  to  all  the  undisposed  acres  of  E^st  Jersey.  The 
owners  of  West  New  Jersey,  as  the  assigns  of  Lord  John  Berke- 
ley, having  had  equal  difficulties  in  the  government  of  their  por- 
tion of  the  colony,  joined  with  East  New  Jersey  in  the  surrender 
of  the  right  of  ruling.  The  two  divisions  again  became  one,  and, 
on  the  fourth  of  August,  1702,  Lord  Cornbury  became  the  first 
governor  under  the  Crown. 

Among  the  proprietors,  and  one  of  the  original  twelve,  was 
John  Heywood,  a  Quaker.  His  title  to  the  one  twenty-fourth 
part  of  East  New  Jersey  emanated  not  only  from  the  estate  of 
Sir  George  Carteret — he  held  as  well,  in  conjunction  with  his 
associates,  a  confirmatory  grant  fi-om  the  Duke  of  York,  dated  the 
fourteenth  of  March,  1682.  A  copy  of  a  deed  in  my  possession 
shows  that  on  the  twenty-third  day  of  the  same  month  Heywood 
transferred  all  his  rights  and  interests  in  and  to  the  province,  to 
"  Robert  Burnet,  of  Lothentie,  in  Scotland,  Gent."  By  an  "  In- 
denture," as  the  conveyance  recites  : 

Made  the  first  day  of  July,  in  the  five  and  thirtieth  year  of  the  reign  of  our 
Sovereign  Lord,  Charles  the  Second,  by  the  Grace  of  God,  of  England,  Scotland, 
France  and  Ireland,  King,  defender  of  the  faith,  etc.,  Anno  Dom.,  1683. 

Burnet  upon  receiving  title  to  his  share  of  East  Jersey,  con- 
veyed to  James  Willocks,  "■  Doctor  in  Phisick"  of  Kenny,  in  the 
Kingdom  of  Scotland  : 

"  In  consideration  of  "—so  runs  the  deed — "  the  sum  of  one  hundred  and  sixteen 
pounds,  thirteen  shillings  and  four  pence,  of  good  and  lawful  money  of  England, 
one  undivided  eighth  part  of  his  undivided  twenty-fourth  part  of  the  said  tract  of 
land,  and  of  all  and  every,  the  isles,  islands,  rivers,  mines,  minerals,  woods,  fish- 
ings, hawkings,  huntings,  fowlings,  and  all  other  royalties,  profits,  commodities 
and  hereditaments,  whatsoever,  reserving  always  to  the  said  Robert  Burnet  and 


122  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

his  foresaids,  the   right  of   the  government,  simply   and  allonerly  as  it  is  now 
established  in  the  persons  of  tlie  Twenty-four  Proprietors." 

It  does  not  appear  that  Doctor  James  Willocks  ever  visited 
America.  He  applied  for,  and  on  the  sixteenth  of  April,  1687, 
received  from  the  joint  proprietors  a  warrant,  which  confirmed  to 
him  in  severalty  four  acres  of  land  at  Perth  Amboy,  and  a  tract 
of  eight  hundred  and  fifty  acres,  lying  on  the  east  side  of  the 
Millstone  river  at  its  conflux  with  the  Raritan.  Soon  after  this 
the  doctor  died,  his  brother,  George,  inheriting    his  real  estate. 

In  April,  1698,  George  Willocks  sailed  from  England  on 
the  ship  "  Despatch,  William  Fiddler,  Master."  He  reached 
Amboy  with  a  cargo  of  goods  belonging  to  the  proprietors, 
of  which  he  had  charge,  and  he  was  also  empowered  to 
act  as  attorney  for  his  associates  in  collecting  quit-rents  from 
settlers.  He  soon  removed  to  Monmouth  county,  and  married 
Margaret,  widow  of  Samuel  Winder,  daughter  of  Deputy-Gover- 
nor Rudyard.  From  that  time  to  1754  he  lived  again  in  Amboy, 
on  Staten  Island,  in  Elizabethtown,  and  in  Philadelphia.  Not 
long  after  reaching  East  Jersey,  Willocks  was  appointed  "  Chief 
Ranger,"  whatever  that  may  have  been,  also  a  commissioner  for 
the  court  of  small  causes.  He  was  deputy-surveyor  of  the 
province  under  John  Reid  in  1701.  During  Burnet's  adminis- 
tration he  was  a  member  of  the  king's  council.  He  does  not 
seem,  however,  to  have  been  in  accord  with  the  governor ;  their 
repeated  diflferences  resulted,  in  1722,  in  his  suspension  from 
office,  being  charged  with  acting  as  leader  for  a  cabal  of  intriguers. 
"  Hi.s  Majesty  King  George,"  under  the  great  seal  of  the 
province  of  New  Jersey,  granted  him,  in  1719,  "  the  sole  right, 
benefit,  and  advantage  of  keeping  a  ferry  over  the  Raritan  river 
from  Perth  Amboy."  He  also  established  a  ferry  across  the  sound 
from  Amboy  to  Staten  Island.  He  served  the  public  in  many 
ways,  among  others  as  that  of  one  of  tiie  commissioners,  appointed 
in  1720,  for  settling  the  boundary  between  the  provinces  of  New 
York  and  New  Jersey.  I '/ 

The  memory  of  George  Willocks  is  most  revered  by  the 
people  of  Perth  Amboy  from  the  fact  of  his  having  been  one  of 
the  founders  and  a  generous  benefactor  of  St.  Peter's  Episcopal 
church,  one  of  the  earliest  organizations  of  that  sect  in  New 
Jersey.     A  congregation  for   services   according  to  the  rites  of 


St.  Peter's  Church  at  Perth  Amboy.  123 

the  Church  of  England  was  established  in  1698.  For  a  number 
of  years  it  worshiped  in  an  ordinary  dvvelling-liouse,  standing  on 
the  banks  of  the  Raritan  near  the  foot  of  High  street,  the  pulpit 
being  supplied  .by  various  missionaries  sent  out  from  England  by 
the  Bishop  of  London,  and  the  "Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the 
Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts."  Lewis  Morris  writes,  in  1700  :  ''  We 
have  made  a  shift  to  patch  up  an  old  ruinous  house  and  make  a 
church  of  it,  and  when  all  the  churchmen  in  the  province  are  got 
together  we  make  up  about  twelve  communicants."  In  1709  the 
Reverend  Edward  Vaughan's  services  were  secured,  who 
oificiated  for  two  years  in  conjunction  with  his  home  charge  at 
Elizabethtown.  He  was  much  esteemed  by  the  people,  which  is 
more  than  can  be  said  of  his  successor,  Mr.  Halliday,  who 
entirely  failed  in  gaining  their  affections,  he  being  stigmatized  by 
some  members  of  his  congregation — among  them  Governor  Hun- 
ter— as  a  wretch,  a  knave  and  a  villain.  Finally,  in  1713,  after 
openly  denouncing  Willocks  from  the  pulpit,  the  doors  of  the 
sanctuary  were  closed  against  this  minister,  and  shaking  the 
dust  of  Amboy  from  his  feet  he  betook  himself  to  other 
parts. 

Again  Mr.  Vaughan  acted  as  an  occasional  supply,  and  in  1720 
St.  Peter's  obtained  its  first  rector,  a  Scotch  divine  of  blessed 
memory.  This  was  the  Reverend  William  Skinner.  He  was  a  Mac 
Gregor,  by  some,  thought  to  be  chief  of  the  clan.  Being  obliged 
to  fly  from  Scotland  after  the  battle  of  Pi-eston  in  1715,  he  came 
by  way  of  Holland  and  Barbadoes  to  Philadelphia,  where  while 
studying  theology  he  supported  himself  as  a  tutor.  In  1721  he 
visited  England  to  receive  ordination  from  the  Bishop  of  London. 
While  there  he  was  appointed  by  the  "  Society  for  Propagating 
the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts "  as  missionary  to  Perth  Amboy. 
On  arrival  he  met  with  such  favor  from  the  people,  that  in  the 
following  year  he  was  called  to  be  the  permanent  pastor  of  the 
society,  which  position  he  filled  faithfully  and  acceptably  until 
his  death  at  the  age  of  seventy-one,  in  the  year  1758. 

In  1718  a  charter  was  granted  by  the  Crown  to  the  congre- 
gation, and  the  erection  of-  a  church  edifice  was  commenced  in 
the  following  year.  This  building  withstood  the  elements  for  one 
hundred  and  thirty  years,  it  giving  place  in  1852  to  the  present 
structure,  which  occupies   the  same   site,  a    beautiful  elevation 


124  The  Story  of  an  Old  Fakm. 

overlooking  the  bay  .ind  ocean.  St.  Peters  liad  many 
benefactors  among  the  early  Scotch  worshipers.  Our  first 
knowledge  of  Mr.  Willocks  in  sach  a  role  is  from  the  minutes  of 
the  Board  of  Proprietors,  which  record  that,  in  1702,  he  and 
Miles  Foster  advanced  six  pounds  for  repairing  the  dwelling, 
then  occupied  for  services.  When  the  first  church  edifice  was 
erected,  the  grounds  (still  in  use)  were  donated  by  him,  Thomas 
Gordon  and  John  Barclay.  Later  on,  he  and  John  Harrison 
presented  the  congregation  with  twelve  acres  of  land  lying 
adjoining  the  town.  On  the  first  of  January,  1723,  he  conveyed 
to  trustees  two  acres  of  land  fronting  on  AVater  street,  upon 
which  was  a  substantial  stone  and  frame  residence.  Under  cer- 
tain restrictions  and  limitations  they  were  to  hold  the  property, 
as  the  deed  recites  : 

For  the  use  of  a  Presbyter  of  the  Church  of  England,  qualified  and  admitted 
into  said  St.  Peter's  Church,  to  serve  the  Cure  thereof— provided  always  notwith- 
standing such  incumbent  or  incumbents  being  admitted  and  qualified,  &c.,  that  any 
time  hereafter  such  incumbent  or  incumbents  that  shall  difier  from  the  doctrine, 
discipline  and  rules  of  the  Church  of  England,  shiill  from  thenceforth  have  no 
benefit,  or  advantage  by  the  benefactions  aforesaid. 

More  of  the  ecclesiastical  gifts  of  George  Willocks  will  appear 
when  we  come,  presently,  to  learn  something  of  the  contents  of 
his  will. 

In  grateful    remembrance  of  the   above,  and  other  generous 

donations,  the  congregation,  in  1825,  affixed  to  the  walls  of  the 

church  auditorium  a  marble  tablet,  upon  which  is  still  to  be  read 

the  following  inscription : 

THIS  TABLET. 

is    designed   to   express    the    gratitude   of    the 

Congregation  of  St.  Peter's  Church  in  this  city, 

to  the  benefactors  of  the  said  church, 

whose  names  follow: 

GEORGE  WILLOCKS, 

who  died  in  1729. 

MARGARET  WILLOCKS, 

his    wife, 

who  died  in  17?2. 

THOMAS  GORDON, 

who  died  April  28,  1722, 

and 

JOHN  HARRISON. 

They  loved  the  habitation  of  God's  house  and 

the  place  where  his  honor  dwelleth. 

Erected  A.  D.  1825. 


GrEORGE    WiIJ.OCK's    IMPORTANCE   IN    THE    COLONY.        125 

John  HaiM-ison  was  the  first  sheriff  of  Perth  Aruboy,  and  in 
the  old  record  his  name  is  often  met  with  as  the  agent  for  the 
proprietors  in  locating  lands  and  buying  the  Indian  rights. 
Thomas  Gordon  came  from  Pitlochie,  Scotland,  in  1684,  with 
his  wife,  Helen,  four  children  and  seven  servants,  and  proved  no 
small  addition  to  the  virtuous  and  refined  societ}'  that  his  fellow 
countrymen  were  establishing  in  East  Jersey.  He  selected  a 
plantation  some  ten  miles  from  salt  water,  on  Cedar  brook,  near 
the  present  village  of  New  Brooklyn,  or  South  Plainfiold.  In 
February  of  the  next  year,  he  wrote  to  the  old  country  as 
follows : 

I  am  settled  here  in  a  very  i)!easant  place  upon  the  side  of  a  brave  plain, 
almost  free  of  woods  and  near  the  water  side,  so  that  I  might  yoke  a  plough 
where  I  please,  were  it  not  for  want  of  hay  to  maintain  the  cattle,  which  I  hope 
to  get  helped  the  next  yeai-,  for  I  have  several  pieces  of  meadow  near  me — 
There  are  eight  of  us  settled  here,  within  half  a  mile  or  a  mile  of  another,  and 
about  ten  miles  from  the  town  of  New  Perth  or  Amboy  point,  so  that  I  can  go 
and  come  in  a  day — Blessed  be  God,  myself  and  wife  and  children  and  servants 
have  been,  and  are  still  in  good  health,  which  God  continue. 

His  prayer  was  futile  ;  in  less  than  two  years  he  was  the  only 
one  of  his  family  alive.  His  wife  and  her  six  children  lie  in  the 
old  burying-ground  of  Perth  Amboy,  where  a  large  stone  with 
an  antiquated  inscription  can  yet  be  seen. 

Altogether  we  may  readily  persuade  ourselves  that  George 
Willocks  was  a  man  of  ability  and  an  important  personage  in 
the  community.  Mr.  Whitehead  tells  us  that  his  time  was 
principally  employed  in  attending  to  his  large  landed  estates,  he 
having  become  deeply  interested  in  real  property.  He  pur- 
chased other  portions  of  propriety  shares,  and  gradually  his  undi- 
vided interest  in  the  province  was  converted  into  holdings  in  sev- 
eralty, he  obtaining  warrants  and  releases  from  his  brother  pro- 
prietors for  large  tracts  of  land  in  Middlesex,  Monmouth,  Hunter- 
don, Somerset,  Bergen  and  Passaic  counties. 

Among  the  many  large  bodies  of  land  acquired  by  George 
Willocks  from  the  proprietors  was  one  lying  in  Somerset  county, 
known  as  the  Peapack  *  patent.     The  warrant   is   made  to  him 

*  Evidently  an  Indian  name.  A  native  thoroughfare  which  ran  from  east  to 
west  through  northern  New  Jersey,  crossing  the  Lamington  river  at  its  falls,  was 
called  the  "  Peapack  Path,"  and  was  frequently  mentioned  as  the  boundary  of 
early  land  grants. 


126  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

and  John  Johnstone  in  severalty,  as  joint  tenants,  on  "  the  sev- 
enth day  of  June,  in  the  thirteenth  year  of  the  reign  of  William 
the  Third,  over  England,  Scotland,  France  and  Ireland,  King, 
etc.,  Annoque  Dom.  1701,"  and  is  signed  by  the  acting  governor 
of  the  province,  Andrew  Hamilton,  and  five  proprietors.  Per- 
haps you  may  wonder  at  so  few  associates  joining  in  the  convey- 
ance. By  this  time  the  proprieties  had  become  divided  into 
many  small  parts,  and  their  owners  were  distributed  into  various 
portions  of  the  world  ;  consequently  it  was  impossible  that  all  of 
the  proprietors,  or  even  a  majority  of  them,  could  join  in  a 
release  to  an  associate.  It  was  the  custom,  therefore,  for  a  cer- 
tain number  of  them  to  meet  with  the  governor  and  examine 
and  pass  upon  applications  for  propriety  lands.  Those  who  met 
for  this  purpose  were  called  the  "  Council  of  the  Proprietors," 
and  to  secure  a  valid  conveyance  it  was  necessary  that  the 
patent,  or  warrant,  should  be  issued  under  the  great  seal  of  the 
province,  and  be  signed  by  the  governor,  and  at  least  five  of 
this  council.  Andrew  Hamilton,  who  executed  the  grant  to 
Johnstone  and  Willocks,  was  a  brother-in-law  of  the  latter,  and 
originally  a  merchant  in  Edinburgh.  He  was  one  of  that  band 
of  well-born  Scotchmen  who  came  to  Amboy  about  the  same 
time,  establishing  a  little  coterie  of  worth  and  aristocracy  in  East 
Jersey  which  long  left  its  impress  on  the  morals  and  manners  of 
the  people.  He  reached  America  in  1685;  coming  as  one  of  the 
proprietors  he  occupied  a  seat  in  the  council  of  Lord  Neil  Camp- 
bell and  succeeded  him  as  deputy-governor  in  1686.  He  was 
governor  from  1692  to  1698,  and  again  from  1699  to  1701,  and. 
died  at  Amboy  in  1703. 

John  Johnstone,  the  joint  owner  with  Willocks  of  the  Peapack 
patent,  was  another  of  East  Jersey's  valued  Scotch  citizens.  He 
had  been  a  druggist  in  Edinburgh,  "at  the  sign  of  the  Unicorn;" 
he  was  also  a  skUful  physician  and  much  esteemed  by  both  rich 
and  poor,  especially  by  the  latter,  who  were  his  particular  care. 
Doctor  Johnstone  arrived  in  the  province  in  December,  1685,  by 
the  "  Henry  and  Francis,  of  Newcastle,  a  Ship  of  three  hundred, 
and  fifty  Tun,  and  Twenty  great  Guns,  Richard  Hutton,  master," 
in  company  with  nearly  two  hundred  of  his  banished  and 
oppressed  countrymen.  This  ship  had  been  chartered  by  Greorge 
Scot,  THE  Laird  of  Pitlochie.     This    Scotch    nobleman    had 


The  Fever  Ship  "Henry  and  Francis."  127 

been  many  times  fined  and  imprisoned  "for  absence  from  the 
King's  host,"  attending  conventicles  and  other  offenses  obnoxi- 
ous to  the  government,  and  was  finally  released  from  prison  upon 
his  engaging  to  go  to  the  plantations.  He  then  published  that 
"Model  of  the  Government  of  East  New  Jersey  in  America,'' 
which  is  to  be  found  bound  with  Whitehead's  "  East  New  Jer- 
sey under  the  Proprietors,"  and  is  the  source  of  much  of  our 
information  as  to  the  earliest  days  of  the  province,  and  especially 
of  its  Scotch  immigration.  The  promulgation,  by  Scot,  of  all  the 
facts  regarding  this  transatlantic  retreat  for  the  persecuted, 
induced  many  of  his  countrymen  to  join  him  in  the  undertaking 
of  removing  thitherward  ;  among  them  was  his  son-in-law,  John 
Johnstone,  who,  on  or  before  sailing,  had  married  Scot's  daughter 
Euphemia.  The  "  Laird"  was  also  authorized  by  the  Crown  to 
take  with  him  to  America  one  hundred  and  five  prisoners,  then 
in  the  tolbooth  at  Leith.  Many  of  these  latter  protested  in 
writing  against  being  banished  for  conscience  sake,  in  that  they 
had  refused  allegiance  to  a  king  whom  they  felt  bound  to  with- 
stand and  disown,  considering  him  an  enemy  to  religion  and  an 
avowed  papist.  As  all  of  these  protestants  were  prisoners,  some 
of  whom  are  said  to  have  suffered  for  their  beliefs  to  the  extent 
of  the  loss  of  a  left  ear,  and  many  of  whom  were  in  danger  of 
death,  it  seems  strange  that  they  should  not  have  welcomed  the 
opportunity  for  transportation  to  a  country  where  safety,  at  least, 
awaited  them,  and  probably  prosperity. 

The  "  Henry  and  Francis"  sailed  from  Leith  on  the  fifth  of 
September,  1685.  Hardly  had  she  reached  Lands  End  when  a 
malignant  fever  broke  out  among  the  passengers  ;  among  its  first 
victims  were  George  Scot  and  his  wife.  The  care  of  the  people 
then  devolved  on  John  Johnstone.  For  many  weeks  the  ship's 
company  battled  against  disease  and  the  fierce  waves  of  the 
Atlantic,  until  finally,  in  December,  when  the  vessel  dropped 
anchor  in  the  harbor  of  Perth  Amboy,  at  least  seventy  of  her  pas- 
sengers had  found  graves  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea.  Notwith- 
standing so  inauspicious  an  advent  into  the  colony,  Doctor  John- 
stone's character  and  attainments  soon  won  for  him  the  consider- 
ation of  the  citizens,  whereby  he  was  forced  to  accept  many 
honorable  and  important  positions  in  the  community.  He  repre- 
sented the  people  for  thirteen  years  in   the   general  assembly,. 


128  The  Story  op  an  Old  Farm. 

and  for  ten  years  was  speaker  of  that  body.  He  also 
served  as  judge  of  the  supreme  court  of  Monmouth  county, 
was  one  of  the  king's  council  under  the  Burnet  administra- 
tion, and  held  many  other  important  offices.  He  seems  for  a 
time  to  have  been  a  resident  of  New  York,  as  he  was  mayor  of 
that  city  from  1714  to  1718.  Doctor  Johnstone's  Amboy  resid- 
ence, a  substantial  brick  mansion,  was  preserved  until  after  the 
Revolution  ;  he  also  spent  much  time  in  Monmouth  county  on  a 
plantation  called  "Scotschesterburg,"  granted  him  and  his  wife 
by  the  proprietors  as  a  reimbursement  for  his  and  his  father-in- 
law's  outlay  in  importing  the  Scotch  refugees.  He  became  an 
extensive  land  owner  in  several  counties,  being  entitled  to  grants 
of  headlands,  and  to  grants  because  of  propriety  interests,  he 
having  purchased  one-eighth  of  Thomas  Rudyard's  original 
share,  one-sixteenth  of  John  Heywood's  and  two-fifth  parts  of 
nineteenth-twentieths  of  Robert  Barclay's. 


CHAPTER     X. 

Early  New  Jersey  History  Continued — The   Story  of  the    Title 
Completed — Somerset  Land  Grants. 

I  wonder  do  iny  readers  grow  weary  of  these  legal  chapters  ? 
If  so,  they  must  turn  over  the  leaves  until  they  reach  some  they 
may  consider  more  interesting.  It  is  a  mistake  to  think  that  an 
author  desires  all  his  pages  read.  Naturally  you  may  ask,  why 
then  were  they  written  1  Miss  Woolson,  in  one  of  her  clever 
sketches,  suggests,  "  perhaps  for  the  writer's  own  amusement." 
I  think  she  is  right,  for  though  these  legal  chapters  may  be  dull 
reading,  their  writing  has  proved  a  most  agreeable  task.  There 
is  a  peculiar  charm  in  poring  over  the  dry  records  of  a  title,  and, 
while  tracing  the  history  of  a  familiar  piece  of  land,  in  forcing  it 
to  divulge  the  various  changes  of  owners  and  conditions  it  has 
sustained  since  those  early  days  when  it  formed  an  undesignated 
part  of  the  vast,  undefined  area  of  primitive  wilderness.  So  it  is, 
that  while  I  have  been  occupied  in  ascertaining  all  that  could  be 
learned  regarding  the  "  Old  Farm,"  from  the  days  when  it  was 
a  portion  of  the  domain  of  the  "Merry  King  Charles"  down  to 
the  time  it  vested  in  that  sturdy  yeoman  Johannes  Moelich,  my 
time  has  not  seemed  uselessly  employed.  It  is  also  pleasant  to 
catch  occasional  glimpses  thi-ough  the  dim  perspective  of  the 
past  of  those  persons  who  have  directly  or  indirectly  been  con- 
nected with  these  ancestral  acres.  Biography  is  said  to  be  the 
home  aspect  of  history;  so,  as  research  brings  to  light  the  names 
of  persons  who  have  been  even  remotely  associated  with  these 
homestead  lands,  I  cannot  refrain  from  endeavoring  to  learn  of 
them  all  that  can  be  discovered.  My  readers  must  be  patient  if, 
at  times,  in  gi^nng  the  results  of  such  research,  unimportant  per- 
sonages are  apparently  allowed  undue  space  and   prominence. 


130  The  Story  oi'  an  Old  Farm. 

In  reaching  the  Peapack  patent  it  will  soon  be  seen  that  we 
have  rescued  the  "  Old  Farm  "  from  the  indefinite  area  of  the 
wild  lands  of  New  Jersey,  and  located  it  within  the  definite 
bounds  of  a  personal  possession.  The  limits  of  this  grant  cannot 
to-day  be  readily  defined  by  its  description,  which  is  as  follows  : 

Begins  on  Rackawack  river,  at  the  upper  corner  of  a  thousand  acres  of  land, 
belonging  to  the  said  George  Willocks,  (hence  up  the  said  Rackawack,  including 
the  same  to  the  falls  thereof,  between  two  steep  hills.  Thence  to  the  head  of  the 
easterraost  crooks  that  unites  with  said  Rackawack,  in  said  Willock's  land,  and 
makes  the  North  Branch  of  Raritan  river.  From  thence  east  and  by  north  to 
the  top  of  that  ridge  of  mountains  that  points  southerly  toward  the  Raritan 
river,  thence  running  along  the  top  of  the  said  mountain  southerly,  as  far  as  the 
northeast  corner  of  a  tract  of  land  formerly  Ann  West's,  now  Michael  Hawdon's, 
thence  due  west  to  said  Hawdon's  land,  thus  following  the  lines  of  said  Jlawdon's 
and  of  said  Willock's  land,  to  where  it  began. 

1  have  searched  in  vain  at  Trenton,  at  Amboy,  and  among  the 
archives  of  the  New  Jersey  Historical  Society,  at  Newark,  for  a 
survey  of  the  land  included  in  this  grant.  If  any  exists  it  must 
be  in  private  hands.  The  conveyance  calls  for  thirty-one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  acres,  but  its  description  embraces  a  territory 
aggregating  nearly  eleven  thousand  acres.  At  first  thought  this 
description  is  hardly  intelligible,  but  a  little  study  of  early  titles 
and  some  knowledge  of  subsequent  transfers  made  of  portions  of 
the  grant  enables  us  to  define  with  considerable  accuracy  the 
boundaries    of    the    premises    intended    to    be    conveyed. 

The  description  commences  at  a  point  in  one  thousand  acres  of 
land  vested  in  George  Willocks  by  right  of  his  wife,  Margaret 
Winder,  who  had  died  in  1722,  which  land  lay  at  the  conflux  of 
the  north  branch  of  the  Raritan  and  Lamington  rivers,  formerly 
known  respectively  as  the  Peapack  and  Allametunk.  This 
tract  is  designated  as  number  51,  on  the  map  accompanying 
schedule  number  III.,  in  the  "Elizabethtovvn  Bill  in  Chancery." 
It  was  conveyed  by  Grcorge  Willocks  to  Daniel  Axtell  on  the 
twenty-fourth  of  June,  1726,  and  soon  after  that  time  that  por- 
tion of  the  land  lying  east  of  the  north  branch  of  the  Raritan 
came  into  the  jjossession  of  George  Teeple,  the  founder  of  the 
Teeple  family  at  Pluckamin.  The  first  real  estate  transfer  within 
the  limits  of  the  present  Bedminster  township,  was  the  purchase 
of  this  tract  by  Mrs.  Willocks — when  the  widow  of  Samuel  Win- 
der— on  the  twentieth  of  May,  1690.  The  description  in  the 
patent    continues,   "  thence  up  the  said  Rackawack."     This   is 


The  Duchess  of  Gokdon.  131 

evidently  an  error,  and  one  probably  made  in  copying  the 
grant  on  the  book  of  records,  although,  possibly,  the  mistake 
may  have  occurred  in  the  original,  as  the  scriveners  of  that 
time  had  but  slight  knowledge  of  the  names  of  the  water-courses 
of  the  New  Jersey  wildernesses.  Rackawack,  in  early  deeds, 
stood  for  Rockaway.  The  line  of  the  Peapack  patent  did  not 
touch  that  stream,  but  ascended  the  Lamington  to  its  falls,  near 
the  Morris  county  line  ;  thence  it  continued  easterly  to  the 
head  waters  of  the  north  branch  of  the  Raritan ;  thence, 
southerly,  following  that  stream  to  a  point  where  it  veers  west- 
erly, below  the  mouth  of  Mine  brook  ;  thence  to  the  top  of  the 
first  mountain  south  of  Pluckamin ;  thence  following  the 
crest  of  that  moimtain  southeasterly,  to  the  northeast  corner  of  a, 
thousand  acre  tract  of  land  conveyed  to  Ann  West  on  the  fom'- 
teenth  of  August,  1693,  and  which  is  designated  as  number  58 
on  the  map  before  referred  to  in  the  "  Elizabethto^vn  Bill  in 
Chancery,"  thence,  westerly,  along  the  north  line  of  this  land,  to 
the  east  line  of  George  Willock's  thousand  acres  ;  thence  along 
his  east  and  north  line  to  the  place  of  beginning. 

Ann  West  was  the  daughter  of  Deputy-Governor  Thomas  Rud- 
yard,  and  a  sister  of  Mrs.  Willocks.  Her  husband  John  West,  a 
merchant,  dying  early,  she  married  Robert  Wharton,  and  later 
became  the  wife  of  Governor  Andi-ew  Hamilton.  The  upper  por- 
tion of  her  land  adjoined  on  the  east  the  lower  portion  of  her 
sister's  tract,  and,  lying  on  both  sides  of  Chamber's  brook,  is  in  both 
Bedminster  and  Bridgewater  townships.  The  title  to  this  lot  passed 
to  Catherine,  Duchess  of  Gordon,  of  Gordon  Castle,  Scotland, 
who  was  the  daughter  of  William,  the  second  Earl  of  Aber- 
deen, and  the  locality  is  still  knoAvn  as  "  The  Duchess."  The 
tract  is  at  pi-esent  bisected  by  the  road  leading  from  the  village 
of  North  Branch  to  Pluckamin,  and  is  now  subdivided,  or  was 
within  a  few  years,  into  the  farm  homesteads  of  J.  T.  Van 
der  Veer,  Jerome  Van  Nest,  Philip  Van  der  Veer,  Jacob 
Powelson  and  others,  they  deriving  their  title  from  the 
descendants  of  Abram  Quick  and  John  Van  der  Veer,  who 
pm-chased  the  land  in  1801  from  Gouverneur  Morris,  as 
agent  of  the  Duchess  of  Gordon.  This  Scotch  noble-woman 
made  the  acquaintance  of  American  investments  through 
having    married    Staats    L.    Morris,    a   brother    of   Gouvemeui* 


132  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

Morris,  who  eariy  in  life  entered  the  English  army,  and  idti- 
mately  attained  the  rank  of  general.  The  Duchess  visited  New 
York  with  her  husband,  and  is  said  to  have  been  long  remem- 
bered by  metrojjolitan  society  for  her  good  heart,  blunt  manners, 
frank   conversation  and  masculine  habits. 

In  studying  the  old  records  of  Somerset  one  cannot  fail 
to  notice  with  interest  how  many  prominent  and  leading 
men  of  the  last  century  have  been  directly  or  indirectly 
connected  with  the  freeholds  of  the  coimty.  Gouverneur  Morris 
may  surely  be  classed  among  this  number,  for,  in  reading 
the  story  of  his  life,  discovery  is  soon  made  that  he  was  a 
much  greater  man  than  the  majority  of  his  contempor- 
•  aries.  Had  he  been  possessed  of  personal  ambition  his  memory 
would  occupy  a  more  exalted  place  in  history,  as  his  present 
fame  is  far  less  than  his  abilities  woidd  have  insured  had  he  con- 
sented to  place  himself  in  the  front  of  the  many  prominent  move- 
ments with  which  he  was  connected.  His  eloquence  in  conver- 
sation was  plienomenal ;  it  is  claimed  that  not  only  would 
intelligent  listeners  hang  on  his  words  in  rapt  admiration,  but  that 
servants,  arrested  by  his  table-talk,  stood  open-mouthed,  dishes 
in  hand,  to  catch  his  glowing  sentences.  Put  Morris  where  you 
woidd,  he  was  always  at  home  and  always  made  an  impression. 
So  great  was  his  equipoise,  it  was  impossible  to  disturb  the  tran- 
quility of  his  mind  and  presence.  Wlien  in  France,  as  United 
States  Minister,  his  marked  individuality,  eccentric  and  original 
manners,  together  with  his  imdoubted  intellect,  made  a  strong 
impression  on  society  in  the  French  capital.  Madame  de  Stael 
credited  him  with  having  "  Vair  trcs  imposant"  and  the  king 
found  in  his  features  an  extraordinary  resemblance  to  those  of 
the  royal  family.  On  one  occasion,  while  attending  an  audience, 
the  American  statesman  was  approached  by  the  monarch,  who, 
after  looking  at  him  fixedly  for  a  moment,  exclaimed  ''  The  like- 
ness is,  indeed,  "too  wonderful  to  be  accidental !  Pray,  Mr.  Mor- 
ris, was  your  mother  ever  in  France  f  Morris  with  a  respect- 
ful bow,  quickly  replied,  "  No,  yom-  Majesty,  but  my  father 
was  !" 

It  is  evident  this  Peapack  patent  embraced  within  its  boimd- 
aries  nearly  the  entire  township  of  Bedminster,  and  extended 
from  below  Pluckamin  to  somewhere  near  the   Morris   county 


Daniel  Axtell,  the  Regicide,  133 

line,  and  from  the  north  branch  of  the  Raritan  on  the  east  to  the 
Lamington  river  on  the  west.  It  inchided  surveys  numbered  59, 
62,  88,  120,  122,  and  those  marked  Daniel  Axtell,  and  Doctor 
Johnstone  Lewis  and  Mary  Jolmstone,  as  laid  do-\vn  on  the  map 
accompanyiag  schedide  III,  "  Elizabethtown  Bill  in  Chancery." 
In  May,  1660,  when  Kmg  Charles  II.  landed  at  Dover  and 
made  his  royal  progress  to  London,  he  foimd  the  people  mad  with 
loyal  excitement.  Drmik  with  the  joy  of  his  restoration.  Crom- 
well, who  had  made  England  the  leadiag  power  of  Europe,  was 
apparently  forgotten.  There  no  longer  seemed  to  be  any  Roimd- 
heads,  Puritans,  Covenanters,  or  Papists  ;  only  a  bell-ringing, 
bonfii-e-blazing  nation,  hysterical  with  delight  at  the  return  of  a 
king.  No  one  was  more  sm-prised  at  this  raptm-e  of  the  people 
than  was  Charles  himself,  who  remarked  to  one  of  his  suite  that 
for  the  life  of  him  he  could  not  see  why  he  had  staid  away  so 
long  when  every  one  seemed  so  glad  to  have  him  back  again. 
In  his  pleasm-e  at  the  enthusiasm  his  presence  everywhere  engen- 
dered, he  was  quite  ready  with  all  manner  of  promises  as  to  for- 
giveness for  past  offences.  Hardly,  however,  had  he  grown  warm 
to  his  seat  in  the  saddle  of  government,  before  he  became  con- 
vinced that  justice  to  his  father's  memory  demanded  vengeance 
on  those,  at  least,  who  had  been  immediately  instrumental  in  the 
suffermgs  of  the  late  king.  Among  the  unhappy  persons  who  were 
consequently  di-agged  on  hurdles  to  their  deaths  was  Daniel  Axtell. 
He  had  been  prominent  in  the  Cromwellian  army,  and  commanded 
the  guard  preserving  order  in  Westminster  Hall,  at  the  court  in 
which  Charles  I,  was  convicted  of  treason  and  sentenced  to  be 
beheaded.  After  the  execution  of  Axtell,  his  son,  also  named 
Daniel,  fled  to  Jamaica,  in  the  West  Indies,  where  engaging  in 
trade  he  accpiired  a  fortmie.  On  visiting  the  American  colonies 
in  search  of  investments,  he  piu-chased  a  large  slice  of  the  Pea- 
pack  patent,  paying  therefor:  "The  sum  of  one  thousand  two 
hundred  and  fourteen  pounds,  money  of  New  York."  The  deed 
to  him  from  Johnstone  and  Willocks,  under  date  of  the  twentieth 
of  June,  1726,  conveyed  as  follows: 

All  that  tract  of  land  situate,  lying  and  being  witliin  the  bounds  of  a  cer- 
tain tract  of  land  granted  by  patent  unto  the  said  John  Johnstone  and 
George  Willocks,  bearing  date  the  seventh  day  of  June,  Anno  Domini  one 
thousand  seven  hundred  .^nd  one,  for  their  rights  to  several  parcels  of  land, 
shares   and   parts   of  proprieties,  in    the   eastern   division    of  N^'v    Jersev,    as 


134  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

aforesaid:  Beginning  upon  the  north  side  of  Peapack  River,  where  the 
east  line  of  a  tract  of  land  (granted  by  the  said  George  Willocks  unto  Daniel 
Axtell  aforesaid)  toucheth  the  said  river  ;  and  from  thence  up  the  said  river,  as 
it  runs,  until  it  comes  about  ten  chains  above  the  forks  thereof;  from  thence 
south,  seventy-three  degrees,  west  three  hundred  and  seventy-two  chains,  unto 
Allametunck  river,  be  it  more  or  less  ;  from  thence  down  the  stream  thereof,  as 
it  runs,  to  where  the  west  line  of  the  land  sold  by  George  Willocks  aforesaid 
unto  the  said  Daniel  Axtell  toucheth  the  said  Eiver,  thence  along  the  said  line 
north  ninety-four  chains,  thence  east  eighty  chains,  thence  south  to  Peapack 
Eiver  to  where  it  is  said  to  begin.  »  *  *  Containing  four  thousand  and 
sixtv-five  acres,  excepting  one  thousand  two  hundred  and  fourteen  acres,  belong- 
ing to  John  Hamilton,  also  four  hundred  and  eighteen  acres  claimed  by  Charles 
Dunster  by  virtue  of  a  survey  made  to  Lord  Neil  Campbell  and  Robert  Black- 
wood, and  entered  in  the  second  book  of  surveys,  folio  132. 

As  at  that  time  a  New  York  pound  had  a  present  United 
States  coin  value  of  three  dollars  and  fourteien  and  one-quarter 
cents,  we  find  that  in  the  year  1726  the  best  of  Bedminster  lands 
were  considered  worth  about  one  dollar  and  fifty-six  cents  per 
acre.  With  the  exception  of  the  exemptions,  and  of  the  Winder 
tract  which  AVillocks  also  sold  to  Axtell,  the  above  conveyance 
covered  all  the  country  bounded  by  the  Lamington  river,  the  north 
branch  of  the  Raritan  river,  and  the  road  leading  from  Bernards- 
ville  to  Lamington  village.  John  Hamilton  was  the  son  of 
Governor  Anckew  Hamihon;  his  reservation  I  am  unable  to  locate. 
The  four  hundred  and  eighteen  acres  "claimed  l)y  Charles  Dun- 
ster" was  situated  near  where  the  two  streams  merge,  and  is 
designated  as  survey  number  59,  in  schedide  III.,  "  Elizabethtown 
Blil  in  Chancery."  The  recital  of  the  area  of  premises  conveyed 
by  the  Peapack  patent,  and  by  this  deed  from  Johnstone  and  Wil- 
locks to  Daniel  Axtell,  enables  us  to  correct  the  following  erron- 
eous statement  to  be  found  on  page  29  of  Messler's  ''  Centennial 
History  of  Somerset  County  "  : 

Between  Lamington  River  and  North  Branch,  Major  Axtell  owned  a  large  and 
valuable  tract  of  land,  out  of  which  Campbell  and  Blackwood  purchased  3900 
acres,  in  1693  ;  Margaret  Winder  1000,  on  May  20,  1690;  .Johnson  and  Willocks 
3150,  June  6, 1701.  This  last  survey  included  all  the  lands  in  Peapack  valley; 
and  finally  Andrew  Hamilton  obtained  a  deed  for  875  acres  on  Lamitunk,  Feb. 
25, 1740.     This  brings  us  to  the  Morris  county  line. 

Like  errors  as  to  the  early  history  of  Bedminster  land  titles 
will  be  found  on  pages  700,  704  and  705  of  Snell's  recent  "His- 
tory of  Hunterdon  and  Somerset  Counties." 

Just  here  permit  me  to  say  that  the   people   of  Somerset  are 


William  AxTELL  in  New  Jersey.  ]35 

greatly  indebted  to  Doctor  Messier  for  publishing  the  results  of 
his  painstaking  researches  as  to  the  early  history  of  the  comity. 
His  labors  have  been  valuable,  not  only  in  bringing  to  light 
facts  of  which,  otherwise,  we  should  have  remained  in  ignorance, 
but  because  of  exciting  in  the  community  an  interest  in  local 
history,  and  by  inciting  in  others  the  desire  to  stUl  further  pierce 
the  dim  mists  that  enshroud  the  days  of  long  ago.  Much  the 
same  may  be  said  of  the  work  of  Mr.  Snell  in  his  compilation 
of  facts,  traditions  and  biography.  But  while  man  remains  finite, 
so  long  will  the  best  of  histories  be  replete  with  errors.  It 
is  not  belittling  the  efforts  of  these  local  historians  to  point 
out  where  their  statements  are  erroneous.  On  the  contrary, 
it  is  giving  an  added  value  to  those  historical  nuggets  they 
have  unearthed,  that  contain  only  the  pm-e  metal  of  truth.  As 
to  the  value  of  the  materials  they  have  collected  there  can  be  no 
dispute,  and,  with  Maeaulay,  we  may  acknowledge  an  indebted- 
ness to  an  historian's  accurate  researches  for  the  means  of  refut- 
ing in  his  work  what  we  cannot  faU  to  discover  as  errors. 

After  the  death  of  Daniel  Axtell,  (second),  his  son,  William, 
who  was  born  in  Jamaica,  came  in  1746  to  New  Jersey  in 
order  to  dispose  of  this  estate.  The  result  of  his  efforts  within  a 
few  years  was  the  planting,  in  this  portion  of  the  township,  of  the 
Van  Doren,  Van  der  Veer,  McDowell,  Teeple,  Streit,  Sloan  and 
other  families.  Ultimately,  while  visiting  New  York,  he  ran 
away  with  and  married  the  beautiful  daughter  of  Abraham  De 
Peyster,  the  treasiu-er  of  that  province.  Axtell  biult  a  substan- 
tial two  storey,  semi-detached  brick  dwelling  ifl  New  York  city, 
where  he  lived  in  a  lavish  manner  as  long  as  his  money  lasted. 
It  stood  on  the  present  site  of  the  Astor  House,  then  in  the  out- 
skirts of  the  city  ;  the  other  half  of  the  structui'e  was  the  resi- 
dence of  Walter  Rutherford,  whose  wife  was  the  sister  of  Lord 
Stirling.  In  Mrs.  Lamb's  "  History  of  the  City  of  New  York," 
there  is  a  picture  of  this  dwelling  showing  it  to  have  had 
a  steep  dormered  roof,  two  small  square  windows  on  the 
main  floor  protected  by  heavy  wooden  shutters,  and  a  front  door 
which,  opening  abruptly  on  the  side  walk  without  step  or  break, 
was  approached  thnuigh  a  wooden  porch.  In  1754  Axtell 
removed  to  England,  stopping  on  his  way  at  Jamaica  where  he 
settled   his    father's    estate.     Some    years    later,    returning    to 


136  ■  The  Story  of  ax  Old  Farm. 

America  he  built  a  large  mansion  at  Flatbush,  Long  Island,  where 
he  permanently  settled.  At  the  breaking  out  of  the  Kevolu- 
tion  he  attached  himself  to  the  patriot  cause,  and  was  active  in 
arousiag  the  people  of  his  county  to  the  support  of  the  American 
arms.  After  the  disasters  on  Long  Island  and  ia  Westchester 
his  convictions  underwent  a  change,  and,  swearing  allegiance  to 
the  Crown,  he  became  a  violent  partisan  of  the  British.  He  was 
commissioned  a  colonel  of  a  regiment  of  foot  in  his  Majesty's 
service,  and  was  also  given  many  offices  of  a  sinecure  nature, 
which  brought  him  a  fortune.  By  marrying  his  adopted  daugh- 
ter to  a  Major  ililes  of  the  Contiaental  army  he  had  hoped  to 
secure  his  estates,  but,  by  an  act  of  attainder  passed  by  the 
New  York  legislature  on  the  twenty-second  of  October,  1779, 
all  of  his  property,  real  and  personal,  was  confiscated,  and  he, 
and  others  who  were  members  with  him  of  the  king's  council, 
were  proscribed.  The  act  declared  that  "each  and  every  of 
them,  who  shall,  at  any  time  hereafter,  be  found  in  any  part  of 
this  state,  shall  be  and  are  hereby  adjudged  and  declared  guilty 
of  felony,  and  shall  suffer  death  as  in  cases  of  felony  without 
benefit  of  clergy."  On  the  evacuation  of  New  York  he  removed 
to  England,  where  he  received  a  pension  and  a  colonel's  half-pay 
for  life. 

There  are  descendants  of  a  collateral  branch  of  the  Axtell 
family  now  resident  in  New  Jersey.  Thomas,  a  brother  of 
Daniel  AxteU  the  regicide,  came  to  this  country  in  about  the 
year  1642  and  settled  at  Sudbury,  Massachusetts,  where  he  fEed 
four  years  later.  His  great-grandson,  Henry,  removed  ia  1 740  to 
New  .lersey,  establishing  himself  at  Mendham  in  Morris  county. 
This  Henry  was  the  great-grandfather  of  the  Honorable  Charles 
F.  Axtell,  of  Morristown,  and  of  the  Honorable  Samuel  B. 
Axtell,  late  chief  justice  of  New  Mexico. 

George  WiUocks  died  in  1729.  His  executors,  the  Reverends 
Edward  Vaughan  and  William  Skinner,  offered  his  will  for  pro- 
bate before  Michael  Kearney,  surrogate,  on  the  thirteenth  of 
February  of  that  year.  I  have  in  my  possession  a  copy  of  that 
voluminous  document.  It  goes  to  show  the  testator  to  have 
been  a  man  of  piety  and  good  works,  as  it  contains  numerous 
generous  bequests  for  religious  and  charitable  purposes,  and  the 
following  solemn  nivocation  and  profession  of  faith  : 


George  Willocks'  Will.  137 

In  the  name  of  God,  Amen.  I,  George  Willocks,  of  Perth  Amboy  in  the  Prov- 
ince of  New  Jersey,  being  under  a  languishing  distemper,  but  by  Go<r»  gvjdness, 
master  of  my  reason  and  memory,  do  think  fit  to  make  this  my  last  will  and 
testament.  I  acknowledge  myself  a  great  sinner,  and  have  nothing  to  rely  upon 
for  the  forgiveness  of  my  transgressions,  but  the  merits  and  mediation  of  ray 
blessed  Lord  and  .Savior  Jesus  Christ,  for  whose  .sake,  merciful  God  forgive  me, 
and  receive  me  into  the  arms  of  thy  mercy,  and  grant  at  the  la«t  day  I  may  be 
raised  among  the  elect,  to  praise  Thee  forever  and  ever. 

This  last  testament  provided  for  the  payment  of  debts,  and  the 
builfling  of  a  tomb  to  cost  seventy  pounds ;  this  vault,  though  in 
ruins,  is  still  to  be  seen  in  St.  Peter's  churchyard  at  Perth 
Amboy.  It  bequeathed  to  two  negro  slaves  some  cows  and 
household  furniture.  The  executors  were  directed  to  build  a 
house  and  lay  out  a  garden  spot  adjoining,  for  the  slaves ;  and  a 
negro  lad  was  to  be  bound  to  a  cooper,  who  was  to  be  paid  for 
in.structing  him  in  his  craft.  The  franchise  and  buUdings  of  the 
"  Long  Ferry"  to  South  Amboy  were  devised  to  trustees,  who 
were  empowered  to  let  or  run  the  same,  and  apply  the  income, 
as  the  will  recites  : — 

To  supfxjrt  the  incambent  serving  the  Cure  of  St.  Peter's  Church  in  Perth 
Amboy,  and  his  success'jrs  provide*]  always  tliat  such  Incumbents  have  received 
ordination  of  Deacon  and  Prie*-!  from  the  hands  of  a  Bishop  of  the  Church  of 
England,  and  do  continae  members  of  the  said  Church  acr^ording  to  the  doctrines 
and  discipline  of  the  said  Charcb. 

Divers  tracts  of  lands  in  divers  counties  were  ordered  to  be 
.sold,  and  the  proceeds  divided  in  specified  sums  between  rela- 
tives, friends,  churches  and  the  poor,  in  America  and  Scotland. 
The  bvdk  of  his  landed  estate,  which  was  \nry  great,  was  devised 
to  Oeorge  Leslie  and  ,\nn  iiich'ti;,  his  nephew  and  niece,  the  lat- 
ter receiving  his  house  and  lot  on  Smith  street  in  Amboy.  The 
will  disprjises  of  the  Peapack  patent  as  follows  : 

And  wherea.s  there  is  a  trar.-t  of  land  remaining  in  jortnership,  besides  what 
hag  been  sold  to  Daniel  Axtell,  and  two  thousand  acres  given  by  me  to  £apliemia 
Johnnume  decea^  and  Margaret  .Smith,  two  danghters  of  John  Johnstone,  the 
remaining  i^rt  of  the  said  tract  is  still  vestwl  in  the  said  .John  Johnstone  and  in 
me  the  said  George  Wilhjcks,  (only  418  a/n-ex  relenm>\  by  the  said  John  John- 
storne  to  me  the  said  George  Willocks).  I,  therefore,  pray  my  executors  to  get 
the  lands  surveyerl  and  a  j/artition  ma/le  between  the  said  .John  Johnstone  and 
me,  after  such  partition  t)e  mafle,  I  give  and  grant  to  my  executors  full  power 
and  authority  to  sell  and  disftose  of  the  same,  and  the  money  arising  from  .such 
gale,  after  the  f/ayment  of  debl«  and  legacies,  the  remaining  i«rt,  I  desire,  may 
be  put  out  ufK;n  gofKl  security  and  applierl  for  the  supj>fjrt  of  the  children  of  the- 
said  George  IjenWe  and  Ann  Kichie,  lawfully  l*t'otlen. 


138  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

Ann  Richie  and  George  Leslie  were  children  of  George  Wil- 
locks'  sister,  the  foi-mer  heing  the  wife  of  John  Richie,  a  mer- 
chant of  Aberdeen,  Scotland.  Leslie  had  joined  his  uncle  in 
America  several  years  before  the  latter's  death,  and  after  that 
event  resided  at  Perth  and  South  Amboy — at  that  time  -within  one 
corporation — until  his  own  death  in  1751.  His  homestead  property 
embraced  some  twelve  hundred  acres  of  land  adjoining  the  ferry  at 
South  Amboy.  He  also  was  an  active  member  of  St.  Peter's 
church,  being  a  vestryman  from  the  year  1722  to  1729,  and 
again  in  1750.  He  occupied  pew  No.  11  for  which  he  paid  six 
pomids  and  seventeen  shillings  per  annum. 

Neither  in  the  Department  of  State  at  Trenton,  nor  on  the 
records  of  the  Board  of  Proprietors  of  East  New  Jersey  at 
Amboy,  nor  among  the  WUlocks  papers  in  the  custody  of  the 
State  Historical  Society,  have  I  been  able  to  find  a  copy  of  the 
survey  directed  by  the  will  to  be  made  ;  nor  any  trace  of  the 
proceedings  in  partition.  That  a  division,  survey  and  map  were 
made,  is  proven  by  frequent  references  in  subsequent  deeds  to 
numbered  lots  in  the  Peapack  patent.  I  have  also  searched  in 
vain  for  the  record  of  any  conveyances  of  Somerset  lands  by  the 
executors  of  George  Willocks.  At  a  meeting  of  the  Boai'd  of 
Proprietors  of  East  New  Jersey,  held  the  thirty-first  of  March, 
1743,  the  surveyor-general  was  directed  to  survey  two  thousand 
acres  of  land  out  of  the  patent  for  George  Leslie.  The  order 
reads  as  follows: 

By  virtue  of  an  ordei-  of  the  Council  of  Proprietors  this  day  made  you  are 
hereby  authorized  and  required  to  lay  out  and  survey  for  Mr.  George  Leslie  or 
his  assigns  within  that  tract  called  Peapack  Two  thousand  acres  of  land  and  for 
so  doing  this  shall  be  your  sufficient  warrant. 

Given  under  my  hand  and  seal  at  Perth  Amboy  the  thirtv-first  day  of  March, 
1743. 

On  such  survey  being  made,  the  proprietors,  on  the  twenty- 
third  of  June,  1744,  conveyed  to  George  Leslie  two  tracts  of 
land.  The  description  of  the  one  in  which  we  are  especially 
interested  reads  as  follows : 

Beginning  at  the  northeast  corner  of  the  land  of  Daniel  Axtell  deceased, 
where  it  touches  Peapack  river;  thence  along  said  Axtell's  line  south,  seventy- 
three  Degrees,  west  one  hundred  and  eighteen  chains,  to  a  corner  of  land  late  of 
Doctor  John  Johnstone  deceased  ;  then  along  said  Johnstone's  line,  north  and  by 
east  thirty-five  chains  to  his  northeast  corner  ;  then  along  another  line   of  said 


George  Leslie's  Bedminster  Grant.  139 

Johnstone's  land,  south  seventy-six  degrees,  west  one  liundred  and  twenty-tliree 
cliains  to  a  stake  to  the  northward  of  a  white  oak  tree  marked  on  four  sides,  dis- 
tant therefrom  forty  links,  which  stake  is  upon  the  rising  of  a  hill  near  to  Julius 
Johnstone's,  and  is  another  corner  of  said  Jolmstone's  land  ;  thence  north  and  by 
east  lo  the  southwest  corner  of  another  tract  of  land  belonging  to  the  said  John 
Johnstone  deceased,  called  by  the  name  of  lot  No.  4,  forty  chains;  thence  north 
seventy-six  degrees,  east  to  the  southeast  corner  of  said  lot  No.  4;  thence  north 
and  by  east  forty  chains;  thence  north  seventy-six  degrees,  east  twenty-eight 
chains  to  a  brook  commonly  called  Lawrence's  Brook.  Thence  down  the  stream 
of  said  brook  to  where  it  empties  itself  into  said  Peapack  river;  thence  along 
said  Peapack  river  to  the  beginning.  Containing  twelve  hundred  and  ninety-one 
acres  strict  measure. 

The  other  tract  conveyed  by  this  warrant  contained  "  four 
hundred  and  ninety-eight  acres  and  thirty-two  hundredths," 
lying  on  the  east  side  of  the  Lamington  river,  just  below  its  falls, 
and  adjoining  lot  No.  13,  belonging  to  John  Johnstone's  estate. 

It  wovdd  thus  appear  that  if  the  executors  sold  the  portion  of 
the  Peapack  patent  set  off  to  WiUocks,  the  proprietors  became 
the  purchasers.  If  not,  in  some  other  manner  they  must  have 
acquired  legal  title.  It  is  well  known  that  the  great  difference 
in  acreage,  between  what  the  original  patent  called  for  and  what 
it  eventually  siu'veyed,  gave  rise  to  complications  and  disinites 
between  the  proprietors  and  the  beneficiaries  mider  the  Willocks 
will,  which  greatly  retarded  the  settlement  of  the  estate.  It  is 
not  impossible,  therefore,  that  these  complexities  resulted  in  a 
compromise  whereby  a  portion  of  the  patent  again  became  vested 
in  the  proprietors.  This  last  view  of  the  case  is  made  the  more 
probable  on  the  discovery  of  the  following  clause  in  the  will  of 
John  Johnstone,  which  was  proven  on  the  seventeenth  of  Novem- 
ber, 1732: 

And  whereas  in  the  tract  of  land  at  Peapack  formerly  Patented  to  George 
Willocks  and  to  me  the  quantity  of  my  share  thereof  does  exceed  the  quantity 
of  Proprietary  Rights  that  I  may  have  been  entitled  to.  Mow  I  doe  hereby 
appoint  and  Empower  my  Executors  or  the  Major  part  of  them  or  the  Survivors 
or  Majority  of  the  Survivors  of  them  to  compromise  and  agree  that  matter 
with  the  Proprietors  and  for  sucli  quantity  of  acres,  as  it  will  be  found  that  I 
have  at  Peapack  beyond  my  proprietary  Kight.  I  Irapower  my  Executors  to 
release  and  convey  in  fee  or  otherwise  a.ssume  to  the  proprietors  an  Equivalent 
out  of  That  Tract  of  Land  Esteemed  in  the  County  of  Bergen,  containing  about 
five  thousand  eight  hundred  acres  which  I  am  entitled  to  by  a  return  of  survey 
in  the  Western  Division  of  New  Jersey. 

We  may  conclude,  therefore,  that  Doctor  Johnstone's  instruc- 
tions being  carried  out,  all  differences  as  affecting  his  estate  were 
healed  by  the  conveyance  of  otlier  lands  to  the  proprietors.     His 


140  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

executors  and  heirs  apparently  came  into  peaceful  possession  of 
all  that  portion  of  the  Peapack  patent  lying  between  the  two 
rivers,  the  Morris  county  line,  and  the  north  line  of  the  grant  to 
Leslie  which  crossed  the  township  at  the  mouth  of  Peapack 
brook  (Schomp's  Mills).  His  estate  also  owned  numerous  sur- 
veyed lots  of  extensive  area  lying  east  of  Lamington  and  west 
of  the  Leslie  tract — also  the  southeast  corner  of  the  patent,  at 
and  below  where  Pluckamin  was  later  established ;  the  first  sale 
made  by  Doctor  Lewis  and  Mary  Johnstone  being  five  hundred 
acres  to  Jacob  EofF,  which  included  the  site  of  that  village. 

By  referring  to  the  description  in  the  grant  to  Leslie,  it  will 
be  seen  that  it  commenced  at  Axtell's  northeast  corner.  This  point 
was  where  "  Demund's  bridge  "  now  spans  the  north  branch  of  the 
Earitan,  and  is  the  same  corner  at  which  the  description  contained 
in  the  deed  from  Leslie  to  Johannes  Moelich  began.  The  line  of 
the  grant  extended  westerly  for  nearly  one  and  one-half  miles 
along  Axtell's  boundary,  which  lay  in  the  centre  of  the  road 
running  from  Bernardsville  to  Lamington  ;    here  it  reached  the 


'& 


southeast  corner  of  a  plot  that  had  been  allotted  to  John  Johns- 
tone, that  fronted  on  this  road  for  two  miles,  and  extended  back, 
northerly,  three  thousand  and  eighty  feet.  Leslie's  line  continued 
along  the  east  and  north  bomidaries  of  this  Johnstone  plot  west- 
erly to  its  west  corner,  a  distance  of  over  two  miles.  From  there 
it  extended  in  a  northeasterly  direction,  following  the  lines  of 
several  plots  that  had  been  set  off  to  Johnstone,  to  Lawrence's — 
then  so  called — now  Peapack  brook.  From  there  it  continued 
along  the  brook  to  its  mouth,  and  so  on  dovm  the  north  branch  of 
the  Raritan  to  the  place  of  beginning.  The  greatest  breadth  of  this 
tract,  from  east  to  west,  was  about  three  and  one-half  miles,  audits 
greatest  depth,  from  north  to  south,  one  mile.  With  the  excep- 
tion of  the  natiu-al  meadows  bordering  the  river,  it  was  entirely 
covered  with  timber.  Leslie's  right  to  this  land  docs  not  seem 
to  have  rested  on  the  fact  of  his  having  been  the  heir  of  George 
Willocks.  It  was  probably  granted  to  him  by  the  proprietors  in 
consideration  of  proprietary  interests,  he  having  become  the 
owner  of  one-sixteenth  part,  and  seven  sixty-fourths  part  of  John 
Heywood's  original  twenty-fourth  ;  one-half  of  Thomas  Barker's, 
one-eighth  of  Thomas  Rudyard's,  one-fortieth  of  Thomas  Cooper's 
and  one-fifth  of  nineteen-twentieths  of  Robert  Barclay's. 


Some  Perth  Amhoy  Residents  in  1751.  141 

George  Leslie  marie  no  disposition  of  any  portion  of  this  prop- 
erty until  the  year  1751.  And  so,  after  a  long  story  with  many 
digressions,  we  now  find  oui'selves  where  we  started  in  this  legal 
talk — at  the  conveyance,  on  the  first  of  November,  1751,  of  the 
three  hmidi-ed  and  sixty-seven  acres  to  Johannes  Moelich.  In 
retiu-ning  to  this  deed  it  is  interesting  to  notice  that  in  phrase- 
ology and  general  form  it  does  not  materially  differ  from  such 
instruments  now  in  use.  It  was  signed  by  George  Leslie  and  his 
wife  Elizabeth,  witnessed  by  Griffon  Disbrow  and  Jonathan 
Nisbitt,  and  recorded  by  Thomas  Bartow,  secretary  of  the  prov- 
ince. Instead  of  the  grantors  having  made  acknowledgments 
as  to  their  signatures,  Samuel  NevdU,  one  of  the  justices  of  the 
supreme  coiu-t,  certifies  that  the  witnesses  to  the  conveyance 
having  been  didy  sworn  made  oath  that  they  "  saw  the  grantors 
seal,  and,  as  their  act  and  deed,  deliver  the  same,  etc."  Of  these 
attesting  witnesses  I  know  but  little.  Griffen  Disbrow  probably 
lived  at  or  near  Perth  Amboy,  as  he  was  one  of  St.  Peter's  con- 
gregation, the  minutes  of  that  church  showing  that,  in  1751, 
when  pew  No.  18  was  forfeited  for  non-payment  of  dues,  it  was 
secured  by  him  at  an  annual  rental  of  £5.2.0.  Thomas  Bartow, 
the  secretary  of  state,  was  the  son  of  the  Reverend  John  Bartow, 
the  first  rector  of  St.  Peter's  chiu'ch,  Westchester,  New  York, 
and  the  grandson  of  the  Huguenot  General  Bertaut,  who  fled 
from  France  in  1685.  Bartow  was  frequently  in  the  service  of 
the  province,  and  was  clerk  in  chancery  when  the  famous  Eliza- 
bethtown  bill,  at  the  suit  of  "John,  Earl  of  Stair,  and  others,  Pro- 
prietors of  the  Eastern  Division  of  New  Jersey  against  Benjamin 
Bond,  and  others,"  was  filed  on  the  thirteenth  of  April,  17-45.  By 
and  by,  when  we  shall  have  occasion  to  visit  Perth  Amboy  with 
Johannes,  we  mil  look  up  this  worthy  secretary  and  learn  some- 
thing of  his  home  and  surroimdings. 

Judge  Samuel  Nevill  ranked  among  the  most  important  men 
of  the  province.  He  was  a  native  of  Stafford,  England,  and 
bred  a  lawyer  in  London,  where  for  a  time  he  edited  a  news- 
paper. The  occasion  of  his  coming  to  America  was  in  this 
wise.  One  of  the  original  proprietors  was  Arent  Sonmans,  a 
Hollander,  who  Lived  in  Scotland.  In  addition  to  his  own  twenty- 
fourth  part,  he  ovraed  portions  of  the  several  shares  that  had  been 
vested  in  Gawen  Lawrie,  David  Barclay  and  Hugh  Hartshome, 


142  The  Story  of  an  Omi  Fahm. 

which,  together  with  sundry  other  portions  that  he  had  pur- 
chased, aggregated  five  and  one-quarter  proprieties.  Sonmans, 
while  prepai-ing  to  visit  East  Jersey  and  while  journeying 
between  Scotland  and  London,  was  set  upon  by  some  highway- 
men and  fatally  wounded.  His  son,  Peter,  inherited  his  Ameri- 
can interests  and,  coming  to  America  in  1688,  died  in  1734,  and 
lies  buried  in  St.  John's  chm-chyard  at  Elizabeth.  He  devised 
his  estates  to  his  wife,  Sarah.  At  her  death,  which  occurred 
soon  after,  Samuel  Nevill,  as  her  eldest  brother  and  heir-at-law, 
came  into  possession  of  the  five  and  one-quarter  proprieties, 
excei)ting  a  small  portion  that  had  been  sold  by  Peter  Sonmans 
to  John  Vail. 

By  this  time  these  shares  had  grown  to  be  of  considera- 
ble value.  Mr.  Nevill,  on  finding  himself  possessed  of  such 
important  American  interests,  decided  ,to  cross  the  ocean, 
which  he  did  in  1736,  settling  permanently  at  Perth  Amboy. 
His  varied  talents  at  once  attracted  attention,  and  he  soon  rose 
to  eminence.  The  then  great  dignity  of  being  the  mayor  of  this 
ancient  capital  was  forced  upon  him ;  he  became  a  member  of 
the  pro^^ncial  assembly,  judge  of  the  court  of  common  pleas, 
second  judge  of  the  supreme  court,  and  in  many  other  important 
ways  served  with  honor  the  people  and  his  king.  Under  the 
auspices  of  the  assembly,  between  the  years  1732  and  1761,  he 
published  in  two  volumes  an  edition  of  the  laws  of  the  province. 
In  1758,  he  established  and  edited  the  first  of  New  Jersey's 
periodicals  and  the  second  one  on  the  continent.  It  was  called 
the  "New  American  Magazine,"  to  distinguish  it  from  its  pre- 
decessor at  Philadelphia,  which  relinquished  publication  upon 
the  ajjpearance  of  this  competitor.  Nevill's  magazine  contained 
about  forty  octavo  pages,  and,  judging  from  the  copy  to  be  seen 
in  the  library  of  the  New  York  Historical  Society,  it  compared 
favorably  with  many  modem  publications  of  the  same  character. 
It  was  printed  at  Woodbridge  by  James  Parker,  who,  having 
served  his  time  with  the  famous  New  York  printer,  William 
Bradford,  had  set  up,  in  1751,  the  first  printing  press  in  New 
Jersey.  Besides  the  magazine  he  printed  "  Nevill's  Laws,"  and 
Smith's  "History  of  New  Jersey  "  which  appeared  in  1765;  from 
time  to  time  he  published  legislative  and  other  official  docu- 
ments and  did  generally  the  work  of  the  colony. 


::  4dmri^m^;^ 


How  THE  Would  Moves  !  143 

Samuel  Nevill  died  on  the  twenty-seventh  day  of  October, 
1764,  at  the  age  of  sixty-seven.  He  and  his  -ivife  lie  side  by 
side  under  the  shadows  of  the  walls  of  St.  Peter's,  of  which 
church  he  was  a  warden  for  twenty  j'ears. 

As  before  recited,  the  consideration  for  the  purchase  of  the 
three  hundred  and  sixty-seven  acres  was  seven  hundred  and 
fifty-four  poimds.  Of  this  amount  Johannes  paid  three  liundrcd 
and  twenty-four  pounds  in  cash  ;  the  balance  by  the  execution  and 
delivery  of  two  bonds,  payable  in  six  months,  for  two  hundi-ed  and 
two,  and  two  hundred  and  twenty-eight  pomids.  These  obligations 
were  discharged  on  maturity,  and,  as  Leslie  had  died  soon  after 
the  sale  was  consummated,  they  bear  the  satisfaction  receipt  of  his 
two  children,  George  and  Elizabeth.  Among  my  old  papers  relat- 
ing to  this  property  are  these  two  satisfied  bonds.  They  are  espec- 
ially valued  as  preserving  excellent  specimens  of  Johannes'  writ- 
ing ;  on  one  of  them  the  sig- 
nature is  as  plain  and  distinct 
as  if  penned  within  a  few 
years.     Here  is  a  fac-similc  :  f^  ('  ^ 

To  the  manuscript  lover,  nuich  pleasure  is  derived  from 
handling  an  old  document  that,  having  played  its  part  in  the  work 
of  the  world,  has  in  some  mysterious  way  escaped  the  fate  of  like 
papers  and  is  preserved  to  testify  of  circumstances  and  events  of 
an  age  long  past.  How  the  world  moves  !  Consider  the  changes 
that  have  come  to  people  and  countries  since  these  old  bonds 
were  new.  When  these  instriunents — now  in  the  sere  and  vel- 
low,  and  valueless  save  as  relics — were  vested  with  the  poten- 
tiality of  enforcing  the  payment  of  a  no  inconsiderable  sum,  the 
land  for  which  they  had  been  given  in  part  consideration  was  in 
truth  as  much  of  a  howling  wilderness  as  it  had  been  for  a  thou- 
sand previous  years.  Lafayette,  whose  name  was  to  be  as  fami- 
liar as  household  words  in  this  hill  country  of  New  Jersey,  was 
yet  unborn.  Washington,  still  unknown  to  fame,  was  a  lad  in 
his  teens ;  and  seventeen  years  must  come  and  go  before  the 
Corsican  babe  would  open  his  eyes  on  that  Europe  he  was  almost 
to  master.  Travellers  still  crossed  the  stormy  Atlantic  in  frail 
pinks,  ketches,  snows  and  bilenders.  France  was  being  pom- 
padoured  into  a  condition  to  make  possible  the  fourteenth  of 
July,  1789.     And  what  of  England,  then  as  now,  considered  in 


144  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

the  van  of  civilization  ?  Its  crown  was  worn  by  a  Hanoverian 
diillard  who  hated  "busic  and  boetry."  In  all  the  island  there  was 
not  a  macadamized  road,  and  the  royal  mail  was  carried  on  "  fly- 
ing machines,"  protected  from  highway  robbers,  even  in  the  sub- 
urbs of  London,  by  guards  armed  with  loaded  blunderbusses. 
Parliament  was  a  den  of  corruption,  borough  seats  in  the  house 
of  commons  being  publicly  advertised  and  openly  sold.  The 
British  people  knew  but  little  of  their  law  makers,  as  to  publish 
the  proceedings  of  their  legislature  was  a  misdemeanor  carrying 
a  heavy  punishment.  There  were  laws  enough,  however,  and 
they  were  severe  enough,  for  nearly  two  hundred  crimes  knew 
capital  punishment  as  their  penalty,  and  children  of  tender  years 
were  sentenced  to  death  for  petty  pilfering.  And  yet  we  are 
constantly  told  that  the  world  grows  no  better,  that  the  move- 
ment and  direction  of  mankind  is  not  onward  and  upward. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

The    Building    of   the   "  Old    Stone    House" — Redetnptioners — 
White  Slaver ij  in  the  Colonics. 

Behold  Johannes — the  proud  possessor  of  three  hundred  and 
sixty-seven  fertile  Bedminster  acres  !  land  that  has  lain  dormant 
for  centuries,  unconscious  of  its  destiny,  but  ever  ready  and 
eager  to  smile  into  fruitfulness  upon  the  first  advances  of  the 
husbandman.  In  fancy  we  can  see  our  German  ancestor  and  his 
two  stalwart  sons  betaking  themselves  to  the  hillside.  Soon, 
crash  after  crash  denote  the  falling  oaks  that  the  sturdy  strokes 
and  keen  axes  of  the  Moelichs  have  marked  as  the  most  fitting 
contributors  to  the  sills,  walls  and  gables  of  a  new  log  house  ;  for 
temporary  shelter  is  necessary  while  the  more  permanent  stone 
dwelling  shall  be  reai-ing  its  massive  walls. 

Days  are  spent  in  the  timber  ;  tree  after  tree  is  attacked  ;  they 
fall  on  every  side  !  The  undergrowth  is  cut  down  and  heaped, 
and,  by  and  by,  the  warm  sunlight,  for  the  first  time  perhaps  in 
ages,  breaks  in  upon  a  clearing  of  two  acres,  which  from  that 
time  has  been  consecrated  by  the  sorrows  and  gladnesses, 
rejoicings  and  repinings,  and  all  the  sympathetic  experiences 
that  rally  around  an  enduring  family  homestead.  The  location 
is  well  chosen.  Now  that  the  trees  are  prostrate,  it  shows  an 
open  cheery  slope,  upon  which  the  sim  looks  kindly  down.  The 
ascending  uplands  bar  the  chill  north  winds,  and  to  the  south  and 
east  the  ground  falls  away  gently  to  the  meadows  bor- 
dering the  brook  and  river,  which  just  here,  with  pleas- 
ant splash  and  babble,  merge  into  one  stream.  Teams  draw 
the  big  logs  to  the  spot  selected  for  placing  the  tem- 
porary dwelling.  It  was  across  the  present  road  leading  to 
the    farm    buildings,    opposite    and    facing    the    door-yard    of 

10 


146  The  Stoey  of  an  Old  Faum. 

the  stone  house.  The  ends  of  the  logs  are  squared,  and  so  cut 
as  to  be  let  in  or  dove-tailed  together.  And  now  comes  the 
memorable  day  of  the  "  raising."  Old  neighbors  from  Hunter- 
don are  invited,  and  come  in  goodly  numbers.  They  bring  with 
them  willing  hearts  and  stout  arms,  and  plenty  of  provisions,  for, 
as  there  are  no  dwellings  near,  the  raising  dinner  must  par- 
take somewhat  of  the  character  of  a  picnic.  Songs  and  merry 
stories  go  round,,  as  the  walls  and  gables  slowly  rise  from  the 
ground.  How  easy  to  imagine  the  happiness  of  Johannes,  as  he 
now  aids  in  the  work,  and  now  directs  his  friends  and 
co-laborers  !  Alariah  Katrina,  too,  is  there,  lending  in  the 
German  fashion  a  strong  and  ready  hand ;  and  the  boys 
occupy  themselves  in  keeping  up  brisk  fires  with  fragrant  chips, 
and  crackling  boughs  and  branches.  Cannot  you  see  the  smil- 
ing, hear  the  laughing,  and  enjoy  the  joking,  while  they  dine 
from  ofi^  the  logs  and  stumps,  and  drink  to  the  future  happiness 
of  the  new  residents  ?  The  walls  go  up  apace  ;  by  afternoon, 
skids  ai'e  necessary  upon  which  to  roll  the  heavy  logs  to  their 
places;  and  when  the  western  sky  beyond  the  crest  of  the  long 
hill  is  aflame  with  the  rich  colors  of  the  after-glow,  the  rude 
house  is  raised,  though  still  without  roof,  doors  or  floor.  When 
entirely  completed  it  was  nothing  more  than  a  square  enclosure, 
with  but  one  storey,  and  a  cock-loft  above,  and  a  roof  thatched 
with  leaves  or  straw — a  primitive  cabin,  much  like  many  others 
scattered  along  the  narrow  tracks  and  trails  of  this  newly-opened 
country. 

As  it  was  now  late  in  the  autumn,  or  early  in  the  winter,  noth- 
ing could  be  done  in  the  actual  erection  of  the  stone  house  ; 
but  during  the  cold  weather  much  was  accomplished  in 
the  way  of  preparation.  He  who  in  building  a  house  calls  in 
the  aid  of  architect  and  artisan,  and  himself  supplies  only  the 
money  wherewith  to  pay  for  design  and  work,  knows  but  little 
of  the  true  sweetness  of  creating  a  homestead.  Our  ancestor 
must  have  felt  to  the  full  this  supreme  happiness,  as  with  his 
boj'S  he  labored  day  after  day  in  furthering  the  preparations  for 
the  building.  Stones  were  hauled  and  dressed — a  quarry  having 
been  opened  in  the  extreme  northwest  comer  of  the  property; 
materials  were  brought  upon  the  ground,  and  round,  straight  trees 
selected  and  rough-hewed  to  the  line,  converting  them  into  the 


A  Redemptioner  Stone-Mason.  147 

stanch,  square  floor  timbers,  that  to-day,  exposed  in  the  ceiling  of 
the  living  room,  show  no  signs  of  decay — are  sound  to  the  core. 
With  what  interest  must  Johannes'  wife  and  children  have 
viewed  the  work,  and  how  his  heart  must  have  leaped  within 
him  as  they  watched  with  delight  the  slow  creating  of  the  family 
nest.  With  the  disappearance  of  frost  the  cellar  under  the  west- 
em  gable  was  excavated,  and  early  in  the  spring  the  foundations 
were  laid  and  the  building  was  fairly  under  way. 

To  assist  in  the  construction,  the  services  were  secured — so 
runs  the  'Story — of  Caspar  Berger,  a  Grerman  stone-mason 
and  a  redemptioner.  He  had  reached  New  York  in  1744, 
and,  being  sold  by  the  captain  of  his  ship  to  repay  the  costs  of 
passage,  was  purchased  for  a  term  of  years  by  Cornelius  Van 
Home,  of  White  House,  in  Hunterdon  county.  John  G. 
Van  Houten  of  that  place,  whose  wife  was  a  granddaughter 
of  Van  Home,  informed  me,  when  eighty-four  years  of  age, 
that  he  had  often  heard  his  wife's  fiither  say  that  after  Cas- 
par Berger  had  served  three  years  of  his  time  he  obtained  his 
freedom  by  building  three  stone  houses.  One  of  them  was  for 
Cornelius  Van  Home  at  White  House,  now  owned  by  Abraham 
Pickel ;  and  one  for  Abraham  Pickel  in  the  same  neighborhood, 
now  owned  by  William  Pickel,  a  descendant.  The  third  house, 
near-by,  he  believed,  was  "  for  a  Melick,"  but  could  not  remember 
the  first  name.  As  there  is  every  probability  that  at  this  time 
Johannes  was  living  between  North  Branch  and  White  House  vil- 
lages,on  the  property  afterward  owned  by  Jacob  Kline,  it  is  reason- 
able to  suppose  that  it  was  for  him  that  this  third  house  was  built ; 
if  so,  no  trace  of  the  structure  remains,  although,  as  mentioned  in 
a  previous  chapter,  the  descendants  of  Jacob  Kline  are  still  able 
to  locate  the  spot  where  stood  the  Moelich  homestead.  Mr.  Van 
Houten  was  confident  in  his  statement  that  Berger  also  built  a 
stone  house  in  Bedminster  township,  Somerset  county.  Without 
doubt  this  last  was  the  dwelling  of  Johannes  Moelich ;  as  such  a 
story  is  in  full  accord  with  the  accepted  beliefs  of  past  genera- 
tions connected  with  the  "  Old  Stone  House." 

The  descendants  of  Caspar  Berger  claim  that  his  emigration 
from  the  old  coimtry  was  involuntary ;  he  with  others  having 
been  enticed  on  board  a  ship  by  its  captain,  who  then  set  sail  for 
America.     This  is  not  improbable,  as  the  masters  of  vessels  were 


148  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

often  guilty  of  cruel  and  unjust  acts  in  this  business  of  the 
importation  of  redemptioners.  Isaac  Weld,  Jr.,  in  his  book  of 
travels  in  America,  published  in  the  last  century,  asserts  that  it 
was  the  custom  of  ship-masters  at  Rotterdam  and  the  Hanse 
towns  to  inveigle  the  people  into  their  vessels  under  promise  of 
free  passage  to  America.  On  reaching  the  colonies,  announce- 
ment of  the  arrival  of  mechanics  and  laborers  would  be  made, 
and  persons  in  want  of  such  would  flock  to  the  ships,  and  the 
poor  Germans  would  be  sold  to  the  highest  bidders,  the  captains 
pocketing  the  proceeds.  Caspar  Berger,  after  obtaining  his 
freedom,  by  his  frugality  and  industry  prospered  in  the  new 
country  and  soon  waxed  well-to-do.  During  the  Revolution  he 
kept  the  Readington  tavern,  and  later  owned  a  large  tract  of 
land  north  of  Holland  brook  ;  the  mill  of  William  Fitch,  on 
that  stream,  was  also  his  property.  At  his  death  in  1817  he 
divided  his  homestead  farm  of  four  hundred  acres  at  Readington 
between  his  three  sons,  Aaron,  Peter  and  Jasper.  Aaron's  son, 
John  S.,  now  an  old  man,  still  owns  and  occupies  a  portion  of 
this" home  farm. 

Redemptioners,  or  term  slaves,  as  they  were  sometimes  caUed, 
constituted  in  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century  a  pecu- 
liar feature  of  colonial  society.  They  were  recruited  from  among 
all  manner  of  people  in  the  old  world,  and  through  this  channel 
Europe  emptied  upon  America,  not  only  the  virtuous  poor  and 
oppressed  of  her  population,  but  the  vagrants,  felons,  and  the 
dregs  of  her  communities.  There  was  thus  established  among 
the  first  settlers,  a  society  that,  in  many  places,  was  almost 
imbued  with  a  moral  pestilence.  In  Section  10,  page  275, 
"S.  P.  0.  Colonial  Entry  Book,"  number  92,  we  find  the  follow- 
ing recital : 

That  all  sturdy  beggers  ae  gipsies  and  other  incorrigible  rougues  and  wan- 
derers may  be  taken  upp  by  constables  and  imprisoned  until  at  the  next  Assizes 
©r  sessions  they  shall  either  beacquited  and  assigned  to  some  settled  aboade  and 
course  of  life  here,  or  be  appointed  to  be  sent  to  the  plantations  for  five  years 
under  the  conditions  of  servants. 

Among  the  redemptioners,  however,  were  a  fair  proportion  of 
sturdy  souls,  strong  in  purpose  and  endeavor,  who  appreciated 
the  great  opportunity  created  for  them  by  this  complete  change 
of  life  and  country.     At  the  expiration  of  term  of  service,  many 


Indented  Servants  and  Free-Willers.  149 

by  thrift  and  industry  elevated  themselves  to  a  respectable 
position,  and  were  absorbed  in  the  middle  class.  Of  necessity 
there  were  improvident  and  shiftless  ones,  who  contributed  to 
the  vicious  and  ignorant  element  of  the  population. 

There  were  two  kinds  of  redemptioners  :  "  indented  servants," 
who  had  bound  themselves  to  their  masters  for  a  term  of  years 
previous  to  their  leaving  the  old  country  ;  and  "  free-willers," 
who,  being  without  money  and  desirous  of  emigrating,  agreed 
with  the  captains  of  ships  to  allow  themselves  and  their  families 
to  be  sold  on  arrival,  for  the  captain's  advantage,  and  thus  repay 
costs  of  passage  and  other  expenses.  The  former — indented  ser- 
vants— were  often  trapped  into  their  engagements  by  corrupt 
agents  at  home,  who  persuaded  them  to  emigrate,  under  false 
promises  of  tender  and  humane  treatment,  and  under  assurances 
of  remunerative  employment  at  expiration  of  service.  Section 
five  of  the  "Colonial  Entry  Book,"  before  referred  to,  testifie^as 
follows  in  corroboration  of  the  above  statement : 

The  waies  of  nbtayning  these  servants  have  beene  usually  liy  employing  a  sorte 
of  uien  and  women  who  make  it  theire  profession  to  tempt  or  gaine  poore  or 
idle  persons  to  goe  to  the  Plantations  and  having  persuaded  or  deceived  them 
on  Shipu  board  they  receive  a  reward  from  tlie  person  who  employed  them. 

The  immigrants  often  discovered,  on  arrival,  that  tlio  advan- 
tages represented  to  be  obtained  in  America  had  been  painted 
by  tlie  agents  in  much  too  alluring  colors  ;  frequently  their 
masters  forced  them  to  most  rigid  labor,  and  exercised  an 
unnecessary  severity.  Edward  Eddis,  a  surveyor  of  customs  in 
the  province  of  Maryland,  in  his  "Letters  from  America," 
asserts  that  this  class  of  servants  often  groaned  beneath  a  worse 
than  Egyptian  bondage,  as  their  masters,  knowing  that  their 
servitude  could  last  but  for  a  few  years,  treated  them  with  a 
rigor  more  severe  than  thoy  extended  to  their  negro  slaves,  to 
whom,  being  actual  property,  they  were  more  lenient. 

The  free-willers  suffered  even  worse  treatment  at  the  hands 
of  ship-masters  and  agents,  who  had  inveigled  them  into  emi- 
gration by  false  and  specious  promises.  They  were  led  to 
believe  that  on  arrival  in  America  their  services  would  be 
eagerly  solicited  by  parties  who  would  gladly  pay  the  cost  of 
their  passages ;   which,    being  only   nine   pounds,  the    emigrants 


150  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

would  soon  be  able  to  repay,  and  thus  secure  their  liberty,  and 
all  the  enjoyments  and  prosperity  that  the  new  country  offered 
to  adventurers.  Agreements  were  entered  into  whereby  these 
deluded  ones  bound  themselves,  that  if  on  arrival  they  did  not 
succeed  within  a  certain  number  of  days  in  securing  employment 
on  their  own  conditions,  they  could  be  sold  for  a  term  of  years  to 
defray  the  charges  for  their  passages.  Alas  !  the  "  free-willers," 
with  rare  exceptions,  had  a  rude  awakening  on  reaching  the 
colonies.  Under  their  agreements,  the  captains  had  a  legal  lien  on 
the  persons  of  the  immigrants  until  the  ship  charges  were  paid ; 
consequently  they  were  not  allowed  to  go  on  shore,  but  were 
exposed  to  view  on  deck  to  the  people  who  came  on  board  in 
search  of  servants.  Except  in  cases  of  extraordinary  qualifica- 
tions, very  few  of  them  were  happy  enough  to  make  their  own 
stipulations.  The  sanguine  expectations  of  the  redemptioners 
were  doomed  to  disappointment,  and  they  found  themselves  sold 
for  several  years  of  tedious  labor  and  servitude. 

Professor  Kalm,  the  Swedi^  botanist,  reached  Philadelphia  on 
the  seventh  of  September,  1748,  by  the  ship  "Mary,"  which  had 
on  board  twenty-three  Germans  and  their  families.  He  narrates 
that  when  about  going  on  shore  with  his  captain,  the  latter  turned 
to  the  second  mate  and  strictly  charged  him  "to  let  no  one  of  the 
German  refugees  out  of  the  ship  unless  he  paid  for  his  passage,  or 
somebody  else  paid  for  him,  or  bought  him."  Masters  of  vessels 
often  acted  with  needless  cruelty  toward  their  bond-passengers. 
Published  accounts  of  travels  in  America  during  the  last  cen- 
tury frequently  tell  sad  stories  of  the  enforced  separation  of  hus- 
bands from  wives,  and  parents  from  children.  Doctor  Ernest 
Otto  Hopp,  in  a  book  on  German  slavery  in  North  America, 
recently  published  in  Berlin,  tells  of  a  ship  captain  by  the  name 
of  Heerbrand  who  acquired  a  great  reputation  as  a  kidnapper 
of  poor  Germans  for  the  American  market.  He  had  in  his  pay 
a  number  of  men  whose  business  it  was  to  regularly  steal  beg- 
gars, vagabonds  and  other  people  without  connections,  he  paying 
the  captors  two  florins  a  head  for  each  victim  delivered  at  his 
vessel.  It  is  said  that  this  man  brought  over  six  hundred  such 
persons  to  America. 

The  terms  and  conditions  of  service  differed  in  the  different 
colonies.     Among  the   archives  of  the   Pennsylvania    Historical 


Colonial  Laws  Regarding  Redemptioners.         151 

Society,  are  some  orifj^inal  bonds,  or  agreements,  between  ship 
captains  and  redemptioners.  From  them  we  learn  that  the 
usual  price  paid  in  that  colony,  for  three  years'  service,  was 
twenty-one  pounds,  one  shillinj^'  and  six  pence.  When  his  time 
had  expired  a  man  was  entitled  to  receive  two  suits  of  clothes,  a 
grubbing  hoe,  a  weeding  hoe  and  a  new  axe.  Children  sold 
for  from  eight  to  ten  pounds,  and  their  masters  were  required  to 
see  that  they  were  taught* to  read  and  write,  and  had,  at  least, 
one  quarter's  schooling.  In  New  Jersey — according  to  "  Learn- 
ing and  Spicer  " — no  white  servant,  if  sold  or  bound  after  seven- 
teen years  of  age,  could  serve  above  four  years.  If  under  that 
age,  they  were  to  be  free  on  reaching  their  majority.  At  the 
expiration  of  service  their  masters  were  obliged  to  supply  them 
with  two  good  suits  of  clothing,  suitable  for  a  servant,  one  good 
falling  axe,  one  good  hoe,  and  seven  bushels  of  Indian  corn. 
A  servant  was  to  be  immediately  freed  in  case  of  being  so  abused 
by  master  or  mistress  as  to  result  in  the  loss  of  an  eye  or  a  tooth. 
The  laws  against  aiding  redemptioners  to  escape  were  very  severe. 
A  fine  of  five  povuids  was  imposed  for  offering  assistance  in  such 
cases,  and  the  aider  and  abettor  were  obliged  to  make  fidl 
satisfaction  to  master  or  mistress  for  all  loss  or  damage  sustained 
by  tlie  absence  of,  or  search  for,  the  runaway.  Any  one  who  con- 
cealed or  entertained  an  absconding  redemptioner,  could  be  fined 
at  the  discretion  of  the  court,  and  be  made  to  pay  ten  shillings 
to  the  owner  for  each  day  that  they  had  harbored  the  servant. 
It  was  not  uncommon  for  thrifty  Germans,  who  were  possessed 
of  enough  money  to  pay  their  passages  and  defray  the  first 
cost  of  settling,  to  allow  themselves  to  be  advantageously,  and 
on  favoi'able  terms,  sold.  This  was  in  order  that  during  their 
servitude  they  might  have  an  opportunity  of  learning  the  lan- 
guage and  of  growing  familiar  with  the  manners,  customs  and 
institutions  of  the  country.  Advertisements  announcing  redemp- 
tioners for  sale  are  frequently  to  be  found  in  newspapers  of  the 
last  century.  One  in  the  "Pennsylvania  Messenger"  of  the  fourth 
of  April,  1 776,  ofl'ers  for  sale  : 

A  young  girl  and  raaid-servant,  strong  and   healthy ;   no  fault.     She  is  not 
qualified  for  the  service  now  demanded.     Five  years  to  serve. 

The  same  paper,  on  the  eighteenth  of  January,  1774,  contains 
the  following  notice: 


152  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

Germans — we  are  now  offering  fifty  Germans  just  arrived — to  be  seen  at  the 
Golden  Swan,  liept  by  the  widow  Kreider.  The  lot  includes  schoolmasters, 
artisans,  peasants,  boys  and  girls  of  various  ages,  all  to  serve  for  payment  of 
passage. 

It  seems  rather  odd  that  schoolmasters  should  be  offered  for 
sale  in  the  market.  You  would  think  that  they  would  have  been 
eagerly  sought  for,  but,  on  the  contrary,  they  appear  to  have 
been  a  drug,  as  is  shown  by  D.  von  Biilow  in  a  book  published  in 
Berlin,  in  1797.     He  says: 

It  is  easy  to  sell  the  farmers,  but  there  are  often  men  whom  it  is  not  so  easy  to 
dispose  of,  e.  g.,  officers  and  scholars.  I  have  .seen  a  Kussian  captain  offered  for 
sale  eight  days,  and  not  a  bid  made.  He  had  absolutely  no  market  value.  It 
was  of  no  use  for  his  owner  to  put  him  up  again  and  again,  to  offer  to  make  fifty 
per  cent,  discount.  "  He  is  good  for  notliing,"  was  all  the  answer  to  tlie  offer. 
The  captain  of  the  ship  then  liad  him  walked  about  the  town  to  show,  but  in 
vain.  After  waiting  several  weeks,  he  was  finally  sold  at  a  ridiculously  low 
price  as  a  village  schoolmaster. 

On  this  subject  Doctor  Hopp  recites  that  Pastor  Kunz  of 
Philadelphia,  related  that  in  1773  he  was  beginning  to  econo- 
mize in  order  to  get  together  twenty  pounds,  as  he  wanted  to  buy 
a  German  student  for  a  teacher. 

As  late  as  September,  1786,  the  following  advertisement 
appeared  in  the  "  Pittsburgh  Gazette  "  : 

To  be  sold.  (For  ready  money  only.)  A  German  woman  servant.  She  has 
near  three  years  to  serve,  and  is  well  qualified  for  all  liousehold  work  :  would 
recommend  her  to  her  own  country  people,  particularly,  as  her  present  master 
has  found  great  inconvenience  from  his  not  being  acquainted  with  their  manners, 
customs  and  language.  For  further  particulars  enquire  at  Mr.  Ormsby's  in 
Pittsburgh. 

In  looking  back  on  the  many  peculiarities,  changes  and  grad- 
ations of  society  in  New  Jersey's  colonial  days,  it  is  curious  to 
note  how  the  well-to-do  immigrants,  who  brought  with  them,  or 
purchased  after  arrival,  redemption  servants,  often  lost  the 
prestige  of  their  affluence ;  being  unable  in  the  new  country  to 
maintain  their  rank  and  influence.  Their  humble  servitors, 
however,  inured  by  hardship  and  labor  to  the  stern  necessities 
of  colonial  existence,  prospered  and  throve.  The  bonds-people, 
after  serving  their  time,  acquired  by  diligence  and  saving  lands 
and  homes  ;  it  was  not  uncommon  in  the  second  generation  to 
find  them  taking,  in  every  way,  precedence  to  the  children  of 
the   master  who  had  owned  their  time  during  their  first  years  in 


Mariah  Katrina  Carries  Mortar  on  Her  Head.     153 

the  country.  The  affluent  immigrant,  having  been  accustomed 
to  ease,  proved  unequal  to  the  struggle ;  and  his  children, 
through  faulty  and  ignorant  education,  rapidly  deteriorated. — 
Enough  of  redemptioners  ! 

Among  the  many  odd  tales  of  early  days  at  the  "  Old  Stone 
House,"  which  have  enlivened  winter  evenings  around  the  great 
fire-place  in  the  living  room,  is  the  legend  that  at  its  building, 
Johannes'  wife,  Mariah  Katrina,  cai-ried  mortar,  balanced  on  her 
head,  to  the  masons  at  work  on  the  walls.  A  very  exalted  posi- 
tion, you  may  ironically  say,  in  which  to  place  one's  great-great- 
grandmother  ;  but  these  chapters  are  supposed  to  preserve  tradi- 
tions as  well  as  facts,  and  the  writer  must  put  to  one  side  any 
predilections  he  may  have,  as  to  the  matter  to  be  presented. 
Members  of  the  family,  whose  pride  may  rebel  against  belief  in 
this  story,  are  at  liberty  to  consider  it  fable  ;  but  the  mortar,  at 
least,  must  be  accepted,  for  to  this  day  it  is  as  solid  and  imper- 
vious as  the  stones  between  which  it  lies.  Builders  of  the  pres- 
ent aver  that  its  manufacture  is  a  lost  art,  and  that  all  of  its 
component  parts  are  not  known.  Visitors  to  this  ancestral  dwel- 
ling, who,  after  passing  under  the  wide  circumference  of  the  old 
maple's  shade,  climb  the  hiU,  until  they  stand  in  the  presence  of 
the  structure's  kindly  and  venerable  front,  can  attribute  to  this 
mortar  the  fact  that  it  exists  to-day.  It  has  been  the  agent 
which  has  enabled  these  massive  walls  to  withstand  for  nearly 
a  century  and  a  half  of  winters,  the  wear  and  tear  of  time  ;  and 
it  still  binds  their  stones  together  in  one  compact  mass  of 
masonry,  which,  without  doubt,  will  continue  to  bear  up  bravely 
against  the  assaults  of  many  years  to  come.  Great-great-grand- 
mother Moelich  figures,  traditionally,  again,  at  the  building  of 
the  house.  She  is  said  to  have  vigorously  protested  against  the 
introduction  of  so  many  windows — they  are  ridiculously  few  and 
small.  The  good  woman  had  probably  not  forgotten  the  window- 
tax  of  the  old  country,  and  had  in  mind,  perhaps,  the  possibility 
of  such  an  impost  being  levied  in  New  Jersey, 

By  early  in  the  summer  the  house  must  have  been  completed. 
Very  plain,  both  as  to  exterior  and  interior,  with  no  fan-lighted 
door-heads,  or  ambitious  columns,' pilasters  and  carvings.  Yet, 
as  we  view  it  to-day,  its  solid  simplicity  is  truly  architectural, 
for  it  bears  on  its  every  feature  a  dignified  expression  of  truth — 


154  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

of  being  only  what  it  claims  to  be,  an  humble  farmhouse  of 
simple  utilitarian  porportions  and  fashion,  the  general  effect  of 
whose  eaves,  roof-tree,  double  Dutch  doors,  hall  and  chambers, 
tut  express  the  purposes  of  its  construction.  It  is  not  altogether 
without  picturesqueness.  Bedded  in  the  gr.een  of  its  surround- 
ing elms,  its  wooden-seated  porch,  sloping  roof  and  rough  stone 
gables  coated  with  lime  and  pebbles,  present  a  homely  picture 
of  comfort  and  domesticity,  in  full  accord  with  its  setting  of 
turfy  hillsides  and  verdure-clad  meadows.  To  one  who  appre- 
ciates in  a  structure  the  beauty  of  simplicity  and  appropriate- 
ness, the  "Old  Stone  House"  must  ever  be  a  delightful  object. 
To  those  of  us  who  claim  kinship  with  its  early  builder,  this 
ancestral  home  will  always  be  a  place  of  jealous  regard  ;  a  spot 
where  will  linger  reminiscences  of  former  days,  and  traditions  of 
ty-gone  generations  ;  of  men  and  women  whose  names  have  been 
associated  with  the  sturdy  walls  and  hospitable  atmosphere  of 
this  brave  old  dwelling. 

The  huge  German  locks,  with  their  exposed  and  complicated 
mechanism,  were  fastened  to  the  doors  ;  heavy  pieces  of  furni- 
ture were  placed  in  the  rooms,  one,  at  least,  the  stupendous 
Dutch  cupboard,  occupying  to-day  its  original  position  ;  clean 
white  sand  from  the  brook  was  spread  on  the  floors,  and  the 
great  crane  was  hung  in  the  deep-chested  fire-place.  Mariah 
Katrina,  as  priestess  of  the  household,  has  put  the  first  torch  to 
the  hickory  boughs  on  the  hearthstone ;  the  crackling  flames 
leap  up  the  broad  chimney,  while  wreaths  of  curling  smoke  soar 
heavenward,  seemingly  bearing  in  their  pungent  odors  an 
incense  of  thanksgiving.  The  tea-kettle,  suspended  over  the 
fire,  sings  its  cheery  note — the  bubbling  pot  with  savory  breath 
joins  in  the  chorus — the  procession  of  generations  of  good-cheer 
has  commenced.  Let  us  conceive  the  table  spread  in  the  living- 
room,  and  the  members  of  the  family  gathered  about  the  board 
for  their  first  meal  in  the  "  Stone  House."  While  regaling  them- 
selves with  creature-comforts  from  the  good  wife's  newly-stocked 
larder,  if  ever  faces  could  be  said  to  reflect  content,  so  must 
have  theirs,  as  they  congratulated  each  other  on  the  comfort  ot 
their  surroundings.  And  in  the  evening — believing,  as  we  do, 
in  the  deep  religious  feeling  that  controlled  all  the  thoughts  and 
actions  of  the  sire,  we  need  not   doubt  the  erection   of  a  family 


I^^^^^l 


O 
J?; 

(73 


H 


The  Bedminster  House  Completed. 


155 


altar;  nor,  that  at  the  close  of  this  all-important  day,  with  a 
heart  overflowing  with  thankfulness,  and  a  voice  choked  with 
emotion,  Johannes'  devout  prayers  of  praise  and  dedication, 
borne  on  the  wings  of  faith,  ascended  to  the  Most  High  ;  to 
that  kind  Providence  who  had  guarded  and  guided  him  and  his, 
through  the  vicissitudes  of  all  the  year  since  leaving  Germany, 
bringing  them  at  last  in  safety  to  the  repose  of  a  happy  home  on 
this  peaceful  Bedminster  hillside. 


CHAPTER     Xn. 

Johannes  Goes  to  the  Post  Office  —  Bedminster  and   the  Adja- 
cent  Townships  in  1752. 

Just  here  it  may  be  well  to  survey  the  appearance  presented  by 
Somerset  county  and  East  New  Jersey  at  the  time  the  Moelichs 
took  possession  of  the  "  Old  Farm."  In  no  better  way  can  we 
do  this  than  by — in  fancy — accompanying  Johannes  to  Perth 
Amboy,  thirty  miles  away.  He  is  going  to  see  if  John  Fox,  the 
postmaster,  has  a  letter  for  him  from  the  old  country  ;  for  be  it 
known  that  in  the  year  of  grace,  1752,  the  province  boasts  of 
but  three  post  offices — one  at  Amboy,  one  at  Trenton,  and  one 
at  Burlington.  Letters  were  left  at  those  places  by  the  Phila- 
delphia mail  carrier,  weekly  in  summer  and  once  in  two  weeks 
during  the  winter ;  rather  meagre  facilities  for  the  people,  but 
they  had  to  be  contented  until  1754,  when  the  service  was  consid- 
erably increased.  In  December,  1733,  the  following  notice 
appeared  in  the  Philadelphia  "Weekly  Mercury  ":  "  There  are  a 
number  of  letters  in  the  post  office  at  Perth  Amboy  for  persons 
living  in  Somerset,  Monmouth  and  Essex  counties." 

To  us  of  the  present  day,  Johannes  would  have  presented  a 
striking  appearance,  as,  mounted  on  a  stout  cob,  he  clattered 
down  the  incline  upon  which  he  had  built  the  new  stone  house, 
and  turned  west  up  the  long  hill.  He  is  now  over  fifty  years  of 
age,  with  a  figure  not  tall,  but  robust,  having  a  high  color,  blue 
eyes,  and,  had  the  fashion  of  the  day  allowed,  the  whole  would 
have  been  supplemented  by  an  abundant  reddish  brown  beard. 
His  German  origin  is  still  readily  recognized,  though  many  of 
his  foreign  characteristics  have  been  lost.  He  speaks  English, 
but  not  with  the  facility  of  the  mother  tongue,  and  his  dress  is 
that  of  a  well-to-do  colonial  yeoman.      A  coarse  grey  coat  with 


Johannes  in  the  Saddle,  157 

generous  skirts  cut  square,  buttons  across  his  brawny  chest,  not 
hiding  an  ample  leather  waistcoat.  His  breeches,  also  of  leather, 
meet  at  the  knee  stout  blue  yam  stockings,  drawn  over  a  pair 
of  sturdy  calves,  which  are  further  protected  by  deer-skin  leg- 
gings extending  over  his  buckled  shoes.  A  short  grey  wig 
and  a  three-cornered  hat  complete  his  decently  picturesque 
appearance,  while  his  further  belongings  comprise  a  fresh  cut 
whip  of  sapling,  and  a  pair  of  saddle-bags  suspended  on  either 
side  of  the  horse. 

As  he  climbs  the  hill  and  overlooks  his  broad  acres,  he  turns 
in  the  saddle  for  a  good-bye  glance  at  the  new  house  resting  so 
cosily  against  its  sunny  bank.  What  wonder,  that  as  he  rides 
through  the  fresh  dewy  morning  air  his  face  glows  with  satis- 
faction !  We  can  well  imagine  it  because  of  his  thoughts  dwell- 
ing on  the  pleasant  surroundings  of  his  newly  established  home, 
and  on  the  peaceful  promise  it  seems  to  give  for  the  future,  as 
compared  with  the  unhappy  uncertainties  of  the  German  life  he 
had  known  on  the  banks  of  the  far  distant  Rhine.  Johannes' 
first  thirteen  years  in  America  have  been  preparatory,  and 
to  an  extent,  migratory ;  but  now  he  feels  about  him  the  atmos- 
phere of  an  abiding  home.  He  recognizes  and  appreciates  that 
he  is  no  longer  a  pioneer,  but  a  permanent  member  of  a  commu- 
nity, where  each  individual  has  an  interest  in  the  common 
wealth,  and  in  the  continued  growth  and  improvement  of  the 
neighborhood.  Here  he  expects  to  end  his  days — here  be 
buried  ;  and  here  he  hopes  his  children  will  live,  and  their  gen- 
erations prosper. 

The  road  Johannes  traveled  was  but  little  more  than  a  broad 
path  cut  through  the  woods ;  the  trees  pressed  close  on  either 
side  of  the  ruts  and  wheel  tracks,  often  the  bark  of  the  flanking 
oaks  and  hickories  showing  the  marks  made  by  the  hubs  of 
passing  vehicles.  It  must  have  been  pleasant  riding  along  for 
miles  under  the  arching  branches,  the  air  surcharged  with 
the  balsam  of  the  aromatic  breath  of  thousands  of  acres  of  giant 
trees :  monarchs  of  the  forest  that  for  centuries  had  towered 
over  the  hills  and  dales,  enriching  the  ground  with  their  yearly 
falling  leaves,  till  the  soil,  rank  with  vitality,  only  needed  the 
warm  sun  and  man's  command,  to  blossom  into  fields  of  abund- 
ance.    Occasionally,  on  the  roads  emerging  from  its  long  green 


158  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

arcade,  our  traveller  came  upon  isolated  dwellings,  seated  amid 
little  clearings,  from  which,  in  many  instances,  the  stumps  had 
not  yet  disappeared.  The  smoke  that  gently  cm-led  heaven- 
ward from  the  chimneys  of  these  dwellings  perfumed  the  morn- 
ing air  with  the  odors  of  burning  fresh-cut  wood— such  smoke  as 
can  only  come  from  fires  fed  by  glowing  oaken  back-logs  and  crack- 
ling hickory  boughs,  over  which  the  good-wife  has  swung  the  great 
black  kettle.  These  rude  homes  of  new  settlers  were  few,  however  ; 
population  had  been  very  slow  in  penetrating  this  portion  of 
Somerset.  The  country  lay  in  a  broad  and  almost  unbroken 
extent  of  fertile  waste,  with  but  infrequent  traces  of  human  habi- 
tation discernible.  As  the  grass  covers  a  rolling  meadow,  mant- 
ling it  in  continuous  green,  so  the  forest  buried  the  Bedminster 
and  Bridgewater  hills  and  valleys  in  vast  undulations  of  leafy 
verdure.  From  the  Morris  county  line  on  the  north  to  the 
Raritan  river  at  Bound  Brook  on  the  south ;  from  Bernards  on 
the  east  to  Hunterdon  on  the  west,  the  whole  area  was  a  broad 
expanse  of  woodland  wilderness,  the  continuity  of  green  being 
interrupted  here  and  there  by  a  few  houses  clustering  as  an 
embryo  village,  while  an  occasional  interval,  open  to  the  sun, 
marked  the  germ  of  a  future  farm. 

At  Pluckamin  the  nucleus  of  a  society  was  forming ;  and  at 
Lamington — a  corruption  of  the  more  majestic  Indian  name, 
Allametunli — the  Pi-esbyterians  had  erected  a  church  edifice  in 
1740,  though  services  had  been  held  in  a  barn  for  several  pre- 
ceding years.  Among  the  earlier  members  of  the  congregation 
were  William  Hoagland,  Jacobus  Van  der  Veer,  Henry  Sloane, 
Ephraim  McDowell,  John  Craig,  William  Logan,  Richard  Poi-- 
ter,  Peter  Demun,  Thomas  Van  Horn,  Mathias  Lane  and  Guisbert 
Sutphen.  At  this  time  the  church  building  had  just  been 
enlarged,  and  the  pastor  of  the  congregation  was  the  Reverend 
James  McCrea,  he  having  in  17-10,  accepted  a  call  from  the 
congregation  known  as  that  of  "  Lametunk,  Lebanon,  Peapack, 
Readington  and  Bethlehem."  He  was  the  father  of  that  Jennie 
McCrea,  whose  tragic  death  on  the  upper  Hudson  in  the  year 
1777  by  the  tomahawks  of  Burgoyne's  treacherous  Indian 
allies,  was  to  send  a  thriU  of  horror  throughout  the  entire  country. 
Though  much  of  Bedminster  remained  in  a  state  of  nature, 
beyond  its  borders,  in  adjacent  townships,  communities  had  been 


The  Settlement  of  Bernards  Township.  159 

planted  and  many  acres  of  farming  lands  were  cleared.  On  the 
north  the  settlement  of  Morristown  by  people  from  Newark  and 
New  England  dated  from  early  in  the  century,  and  its  Presby- 
terian church  had  been  established  since  1738,  the  year  of  the 
organization  of  the  county.  Until  about  that  time  the  neighbor- 
hood had  been  known  as  West  Hanover,  the  first  record  of  the 
new  name,  Morristown,  being  found  in  an  order  of  the  court  of 
general  sessions  of  the  peace  dated  the  twenty-fifth  of  March, 
1740. 

By  the  year  1713  squatters'  cabins  existed  at  Roxiticus,  now 
Mendham — the  original  settlers  being  Byrams,  Drakes,  Cooks, 
Careys,  Thompsons  and  others.  Its  first  tavern,  afterwards  the 
famous  "  Black  Horse,"  was  kept  by  a  Byram,  and  the  oldest 
stone  in  the  graveyard  perpetuates  the  name  of  Stephen  Cook, 
who  died  in  1749.  Its  Presbyterian  congregation  is  first  men- 
tioned in  1738,  in  connection  with  New  Brunswick.  In  this 
year,  1752,  the  congregation,  under  the  pastorate  of  Eliab 
Byram,  possessed  a  small  frame  church  building  which  must 
have  been  erected  previous  to  1745,  as  in  that  year  it,  together 
with  its  site,  was  conveyed  by  deed  of  Edward  Burnet.  He  may 
have  been  a  good  man,  but  he  surely  was  an  evil  speller.  He 
describes  himself  in  the  conveyance.  "  Edmon  Burnnant  of 
Rocksiticus  in  yere  County  of  Summerset  in  east  nu  Jareses  in 
Amaracah."  The  description  of  the  premises  conveyed  begins, 
"Scairteen  pees  of  parsel  of  land  on  which  the  meeting  hows 
Now  Standeth." 

Basking  Ridge,  in  Bernards  township,  already  possessed  a 
flourishing  community  with  a  well-established  Presbyterian 
church  under  the  charge  of  a  Scotch  worthy,  the  Reverend 
Samuel  Kennedy.  His  education  had  been  gained  at  Edin- 
burgh University,  and  coming  to  America,  he  was  in  1751 
ordained  pastor  of  this  congregation,  which  he  faithfully  served 
for  thirty-six  years  at  a  salary  of  one  hundred  and  ten  pounds. 
In  addition  to  his  ministerial  duties  he  practiced  medicine,  and 
established  and  took  charge  of  a  classical  school  which  attained 
to  great  celebrity.  Authorities  differ  as  to  the  time  that  Bask- 
ing Ridge  and  Bernards  township  were  first  settled.  By  some  it 
is  claimed  that  a  Scotch  congregation  and  a  log  church  were  in 
existence  in  the   year   1700.     Doctor    John   C.    Rankin,   in  his 


160  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

published  ''Historical  Discourse,"  very  properly  asserts  that  there 
could  have  been  no  church  before  there  were  inhabitants.  He 
goes  on  to  show  that  it  was  not  until  the  year  1717  that  John 
Harrison,  acting  as  agent  for  the  proprietors  of  East  New  Jer- 
sey, purchased  Indian  rights  to  about  three  thousand  acres, 
embracing  the  site  of  the  village,  and  much  of  the  territory  occu- 
pied by  the  present  congregation.  John  Harrison  will  be  remem- 
bered as  one  of  the  benefactors  of  St.  Peter's  church  at  Perth 
Amboy,  his  name  appearing  with  those  of  George  Willocks  and 
Thomas  Gordon  on  a  tablet  affixed  to  its  walls.  This  tract,  pur- 
chased from  the  natives,  was  subsequently  sold  to  and  divided 
between  four  purchasers,  one  of  whom  was  .James  Alexander, 
the  surveyor-general  of  New  Jersey  and  the  father  of  Lord  Stir- 
ling. Alexander's  portion  embraced  between  six  and  eight  hun- 
dred acres  of  land  of  great  beauty  and  fertility.  This  was  the 
property  that  his  son  William,  in  1761,  on  his  return  from  Eng- 
land, after  his  futile  eftbrts  to  secure  an  earldom,  improved  until 
it  blossomed  into  his  great  estate,  with  a  iine  mansion,  rich  gar- 
dens and  a  park  stocked  with  deer. 

The  first  actual  settlers  of  Basking  Ridge  seem  to  have  come 
about  the  time  of  Harrison's  purchase.  By  1720  the  recorded 
names  appear  of  James  Pitney,  Henry  Rolfe,  and  John  Ayres. 
The  latter  came  from  Woodbridge,  New  Jersey,  though  bora  at 
Newbury,  Massachusetts,  from  which  place  he  migrated,  as  a 
child,  with  his  father,  Obadiah.  He  died  in  1732,  and  left 
seven  sons,  who  all  lived  in  the  neighborhood,  and  became  active 
members  of  the  church  and  community.  In  1731,  John  Ayres 
conveyed  to  James  Pitney,  Mordecai  McKenne,  George  Pack, 
Samuel  Rolfe,  Daniel'Morris,  Thomas  Riggs  and  Obadiah  Ayres, 
trustees,  one  and  one-half  acres  of  land,  in  the  centre  of  which, 
surrounded  by  a  grove  of  trees,  stood  a  log  meeting-house.  This 
primitive  structure  was  superseded,  in  1747,  by  a  frame  edifice 
that  remained  standing  for  ninety  years.  The  oldest  gravestone 
in  the  churchyard  records  the  death  of  Henry  Haines,  on  the 
ninth  of  June,  1736.  There  was  at  this  time  living  in  Bernards 
township  one  Abraham  Southard,  who  in  the  previous  year  had 
migrated  with  eight  children  from  Hempstead,  Long  Island.  His 
coming  had  insured  to  Somerset,  in  the  future  a  citizen  who  was 
to  prove  a  great  honor  to  the  state.     His  son   Henry,  who  was 


The  Bedminster  Van  der  Veers.  161 

born  in  1747,  lived  at  Basking  Ridge  until  he  died  at  the  age  of 
ninety-five,  having  liad  thirteen  children.  One  of  them,  Samuel 
L.  Southard,  lived  to  have  a  national  reputation  as  one  of  Amer- 
ica's greatest  statesmen.  Henry  Southard,  the  father,  also 
served  faithfully  and  well  his  state  and  country.  For  eight 
years  he  was  a  member  of  the  legislatiu-e,  and  for  twenty-one  a 
representative  in  congress.  Before  he  retired  from  that  body 
he  saw  his  distinguished  son  a  United  States  senator,  and 
met  him  at  a  meeting  of  the  joint  committees  of  the  two 
houses.  The  father  and  son  were  chairmen  of  their  respective 
committees — a  circumstance,  as  it  has  been  said,  without  par- 
allel in  the  political  history  of  our  country. 

We  have  already  learned  how  New  Germantown  was  thriving 
.  in  the  west,  and  toward  the  south  in  the  direction  of  White 
House  were  comfortable  homesteads  and  cultivated  lands.  But 
as  Johannes  rode  toward  the  Raritan  he  traversed  almost  a 
wooded  solitude.  As  yet  there  were  no  signs  of  the  hamlet  of  the 
Lesser  Cross  Roads,  the  only  houses  in  that  vicinity  being  the 
one  of  logs  of  John  Burd,  near  where  "  Demund's  bridge"  now 
spans  the  north  branch  of  the  Raritan,  and  a  similar  structure,  occu- 
pied by  William  Hoagland,  standing  on  George  Leslie's  land  west 
of  the  line  of  the  "Old  Farm."  The  road  from  BernardsviUe  to 
Lamington  had  been  marked  out  since  17-11,  but  was  a  mere 
trail,  and  but  little  travelled.  South  of  this  road  the  forest  con- 
tinued with  hardly  a  break  to  Pluckamin.  In  the  territory 
lying  between  the  two  rivers — the  Axtell  tract — there  was  thus 
far  but  meagre  settlement.  Without  much  doubt  a  log  house 
was  standing  where  now  lives  Henry  Ludlow  (below  Bedmin- 
ster church).  It  is  known  that  about  the  year  1760,  Jacobus 
Van  der  Veer  built  the  house  now  occupied  by  Mr.  Ludlow. 
He  had  purchased  the  land  of  William  Axtell — two  hundred  and 
sixty  acres  fronting  on  the  north  branch  of  the  Raritan — 
some  time  between  1746  and  1752  ;  the  records  do  not  show  the 
exact  date,  but  it  must  have  been  before  the  time  of  which  we 
write,  as  he  was  a  resident  in  1751.  In  that  year  he  was 
appointed  a  commissioner  of  the  highways — an  office  that  could 
not  have  been  attended  with  very  laborious  duties.  He  was 
a  great-grandson  of  Cornelius  Jansse  Van  der  Veer,  who,  emi- 
grating from  Alckmarr  in  the  province  of  North  Holland,  a  forti- 
11 


162  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

fied  city  of  about  ten  thousand  people,  landed  from  the  ship 
"  Otter "  in  February,  1659,  and  settled  at  Flatbush,  Long 
Island.  This  emigrant's  son  Dominicus  migrated  to  some  point 
in  the  Raritan  valley,  and  one  of  his  sons,  Jacobus,  who  married 
Femmetje  Stryker,  was  the  father  of  the  Bedminster  Jacobus 
Van  der  Veer,  and  also  of  that  Elias,  who  some  years  later 
improved  the  water-power  north  of  Pluckamin,  thus  establishing 
what  has  ever  since  been  a  county  landmark — Van  der  Veer's 
mills. 

Some  distance  west  of  the  Van  der  Veer  land,  still  on  the 
Axtell  tract,  was  another  clearing,  in  which  stood  a  newly 
erected  log  house.  It  was  the  home  of  Ephraim  McUoweO,  who 
on  the  first  of  May,  1750,  purchased  of  William  Axtell  two  hun- 
dred and  thirty  acres  of  land,  a  portion  of  which  is  still  owned 
and  occupied  by  his  descendants.  A  few  years  later  a 
frame  dwelling  with  shingled  sides  succeeded  the  original 
log  cabin  ;  it  stood  for  sevent3'-five  years,  one  of  its  rooms  being 
the  birth  place  of  three  successive  generations.  Five  genera- 
tions have  been  welcomed  to  this  ancestral  home.  Ephraini 
McDowell  died,  and  was  buried  in  Lamington  churchyard,  in 
1762.  The  posterity  of  this  sturdy  Scotch-Irish  Presbyterian 
have  left  indelible  marks  of  their  individuality  and  strength  of 
character  on  the  society  of  this  and  other  states.  None  more  so 
than  his  grandsons,  John  and  William,  who  as  the  pastors  of 
the  Presbyterian  churches  of  Morristown  and  Elizabeth  were, 
we  are  told,  the  means  of  the  conversion  of  three  thousand  souls. 

At  this  time  there  was  no  bridge  where  the  Pluckamin  road 
crosses  the  north  branch  of  the  Raritan.  The  river  was  often  too 
high  to  be  forded,  as  in  those  early  days  when  the  country  was 
invested  as  a  garment  with  heavy  timber,  all  of  the  streams  flowed 
much  greater  volumes  of  water.  At  such  times  travellers  south- 
ward were  obliged  to  cross  the  river  near  Mine  brook,  or  often  as 
far  north  as  Peapack  brook,  and  thus  make  their  way  through 
Bernards  township.  On  reaching  Pluckamin  .Johannes  found 
there  about  a  dozen  small  houses  and  a  tavern.  This  inn  was 
the  first  place  of  entertainment  established  in  the  township ;  it 
was  built  in  1750  by  Jacob  EofF,  who  was  one  of  the  pioneers  of 
the  village.  He  was  a  native  of  Holland,  and  early  in  the  last 
century  purchased   five   hundred   acres  of  land  of  the   heirs  of 


Pluckamin  in  1752.  163 

John  Johnstone,  which  included  the  present  site  of  Phickamin. 
His  tavern  remained  standing  for  sixty-four  years,  its  location 
being  the  corner  now  occupied  by  the  house  of  Joseph  D. 
Nevius.  During  the  Revolution  it  was  the  meeting  place  for 
the  committee  of  safety,  and  when  Washington's  army  was  quar- 
tered in  this  and  adjoining  counties  its  boniface  dispensed 
hospitality  to  many  of  the  leading  men  of  the  country.  After 
Jacob's  death  the  tavern  was  kept  by  his  maiden  sister  Sarah, 
who,  in  turn,  was  succeeded  by  Jacob's  son  Christian ;  he 
abandoned  the  old  structure  to  his  brother  Cornelius,  who  occu- 
pied it  as  a  residence.  Christian  built  on  the  opposite  corner — the 
present  tavern  site — a  long,  low  building  called  the  "  Barracks." 
Here  he  waxed  famous  as  a  popular  host.  With  the  best  society 
of  New  York  and  Philadelphia,  this  landlord's  name  became 
synonymous  with  good  living  ;  and  summer  visitors  to  Schooley's 
mountain — a  watering-place  then  in  its  glory — always  arranged 
that  the  night  necessarily  spent  on  the  journey  should  be  passed 
at  Christian  Eoff's  tavern.  Aristocratic  coaches  with  the 
family  arms  emblazoned  on  their  panels,  and  drawn  by  four  and 
six  horses  were  not  uncommon  in  those  good  old  days  in  this 
quaint  village  of  Phickamin.  In  the  foundation  wall  of  the 
public  house,  destroyed  within  a  few  years  by  tire  and  which 
took  the  place  of  the  '*  Barracks,"  is  a  stone  bearing  the  date 
1750,  which  was  taken  from  the  walls  of  the  original  tavern 
buOt  by  Jacob  Eoff. 

Of  the  twelve  houses  standing  at  the  time  of  our  ancestor's  rid- 
ing through  the  village,  four  are  believed  to  be  still  extant.  The 
one  recently  known  as  the  Parker  house  was  occupied  by  John 
Boylan — afterwards  Pluckamin's  first  store-keeper,  who  was 
called  "  Captain  Bullion."  He  was  a  contemporary  of  Jacob  Eoff, 
whose  daughter  at  the  age  of  tifteen  became  his  wife.  Mrs. 
Boylan  lived  to  the  good  old  age  of  ninety-five,  surviving 
her  husband  fifty  years ;  Mrs.  Sarah  Parker,  the  late  owner  of 
the  house,  was  her  daughter.  Another  of  the  original  dwellings 
still  preserved  to  us  is  the  one  known  as  the  Hanner  house,  and 
owned  by  John  Fenner,  Jr.  In  Johannes'  daj'  it  was  the  resi- 
dence of  Matthew  Lane,  whose  family  settled  about  17-48  on  the 
north  branch  of  the  Raritan,  east  of  Van  Vleits'  mills.  The  old 
Losey  dwelling,  in  which  Jacob  Losey  kept  the  post  otfice  from 
1830  to  1860,  is  also  said  to  have  been  built  as  early  as  1 752. 


164  The  Stoey  of  an  Old  Farm. 

A  few  years  later  settlers  began  to  multiply  in  the  vicinity  of 
Pluckamin,  but  at  this  time  the  inhabitants  of  the  neighborhood 
were  not  many.  Colonel  William  McDaniels,  as  early  as  1744, 
owned  a  large  tract  of  land  and  a  saw-mill,  on  the  north  branch 
of  the  Raritan,  where  are  now  Kline's  mills.  South  of  this  property 
resided  in  the  same  year  George  and  Jerry  Reemer ;  the  name 
of  the  former  appears  among  the  contributors  to  the  fund  for 
building  St.  Paul's  church,  in  1756.  On  the  east  side  of 
the  river,  on  part  of  the  tract  (Winder)  that  George  Wil- 
loeks  sold  to  Daniel  Axtell,  lived  George  Teeple  and  his 
sons,  John  and  Christopher.  He  emigrated  from  Germany  as 
early  as  1700,  and  his  grandson  William  was  living  recently  in 
Pluckamin  at  an  advanced  age.  The  records  show  George 
Teeple  to  have  been  living  in  the  township  in  1745,  and  his 
name  and  that  of  his  son  John  also  appear,  in  1756,  as  sub- 
scribers to  the  building  of  St.  Paul's  Lutheran  church.  From 
a  gravestone  in  the  churchyard  we  learn  that  John  married 
Margaret  Castner  on  the  tenth  of  January,  1756,  and  after  liv- 
ing together  for  fifty-seven  years  they  died  within  three  hours 
of  each  other  on  the  seventeenth  of  March,  1813,  and  were 
buried  in  the  same  grave.  John  Wortman,  a  native  of  Holland, 
in  1750  bought  five  hundred  acres  of  land  located  west  of 
Pluckamin  on  the  road  leading  to  Burnt  mills,  upon  which  he 
erected  a  long,  one  and  a  half  storey,  Dutch  structure.  The 
present  Schoonmaker  dweOing,  recently  remodelled,  embraces  a 
part  of  the  original  Wortman  homestead,  and  is  consequently 
one  of  the  oldest  houses   in  the  township. 

It  is  fair  to  presume  that  Johannes  dismounted  at  Eofi''s  tavern 
to  wish  Jacob  '■'guten  morgen"  and  discuss  with  him  the  quality 
of  some  of  his  best  Jamaica.  It  will  be  seen,  as  we  proceed  with 
the  telling  of  our  story,  that  the  Moelichs,  both  father  and  son, 
were  intimately  associated  with  the  early  citizens  of  this  vicinity. 
Among  their  old  documents  and  miscellaneous  papers  in  the 
hands  of  the  writer  are  many  on  which  appear  the  signatures 
of  the  Eofi^s,  Teeples,  Wortmans,  McDonalds,  Van  der  Veers 
and  other  Pluckamin  worthies.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  Johan- 
nes, in  this  and  other  visits  to  the  village,  did  not  ascertain  and 
transmit  to  his  posterity  the  origin  of  its  name.  It  has  long 
been  a  vexed  question,  and  has   served  as  a  subject   for  many 


Origin  of  the  Name  Pldckamin.  165 

arguments  and  communications.  A  popular  belief  among  the 
villagers  is  that  this  strange  cognomen  was  occasioned  by  the 
assiduously-acquisitive  habits  of  an  early  innkeeper,  who,  in  his 
eagerness  to  secure  customers,  would  "Pluck-'em-in."  This 
ancient  tavern-porch  tale  is  an  antiquated  joke,  and,  without 
doubt,  dates  back  to  the  founding  of  the  village.  The  same 
mythical  tavern-keeper  has  been  found  at  Mendham,  (I'U-Mend- 
em),  New  Jersey,  and  in  Tarrytown,  New  York.  No  one,  how- 
ever, has  ever  known  his  name,  or  in  what  year  he  flourished. 

By  many,  ^' Flaqttemine"  has  been  considered  the  proper 
spelling  of  the  word,  there  being  such  a  town  in  France,  and  one 
in  the  French  portion  of  the  Louisiana  low-lands.  I  have  long 
been  persuaded  that  the  name,  in  its  present  form,  is  the  result 
of  the  linguistic  efforts  of  our  Dutch,  German  and  English  fore- 
fathers to  spell  and  pronounce  an  Indian  word.  It  is  repeatedly 
written  JBlocJchemen  in  the  old  German  archives  of  Zion  church. 
In  the  year  1885,  when  Edward  Eggleston  was  engaged  in 
researches  among  the  manuscripts  of  the  British  museum 
in  London,  I  wrote  him,  asking  if  he  would  endeavor  to 
discover  some  trace  of  the  word  Pluckamin.  I  had  thought 
it  possible  the  name  might  appear  among  the  minor  ham- 
lets of  Somersetshire,  from  which  we  have  received  the 
names  of  Bridgewater  and  Bedminster.  His  reply,  imder  date 
of  September  sixteenth  of  that  year,  was  as  follows  : 

I  have  tried  in  vain  in  the  best  English  gazeteers  to  find  Pluckamin.  I  think 
it  may  be  a  corruption  of  Puckamin,  which,  I  believe,  though  I  cannot  be  sure, 
was  a  dialect  form  of  the  Algonquin,  Pukhamin,  corrupted  by  our  ancestors  to 
persimmon,  the  fruit  of  that  name.  This  seems  like  a  wild  conjecture,  but  I  think 
it  is  the  solution.     At  any  rate,  the  name  is  Indian,  I  doubt  not. 

As  the  present  county-seat  did  not  come  into  existence  until 
nearly  half  a  century  later,  there  was  at  this  time  no  road  lead- 
ing from  Pluckamin  in  the  direction  of  Somerville.  The  county 
of  Somerset  was  first  erected  and  set  off  from  Middlesex  in  1688, 
but  for  twenty-five  years  after,  it  had  no  courts  of  its  own,  relying 
upon  Middlesex  for-  the  administration  of  justice."  The  first 
court-house  and  jail  was  erected  some  time  lietween  the  vears 
1714  and  1717,  at  Six  Mile  Run,  the  buildings  standing  about 
three  hundred  feet  east  of  the  present  church  in  that  village, 
where  its  foundation  stones  can  still  be  discovered.     This  struc- 


166  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

ture  being  destroyed  by  fire  in  1737,  the  county-seat  was 
removed  to  Hillsborough  (Millstone),  where  a  new  court-house 
and  jail  were  erected.  This  last  building  was  destroyed 
by  the  British  in  1779,  the  remains  of  its  foundation  being 
still  in  existence.  In  1783  the  county  erected  a  tem- 
porary court-house  and  a  log  jail  at  Tunison's  tavern,  or 
Raritan.  The  former  stood  just  east  of  the  present  court-house 
grounds,  where  in  1798  permanent  county  buildings  were 
erected.  This  gave  a  great  impetus  to  settlement  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, which  three  years  later  assumed  the  name  of  Somer- 
ville.  The  road  upon  which  our  rider  pursued  his  way  followed 
a  more  easterly  course,  and  ran  along  the  edge  of  the  mountains 
to  Middlebrook,  or  Bound  Brook.  Below  Pluckamin  was  a  tract 
of  four  hundred  and  seventy  acres  belonging  to  William 
McDonald,  who  had  recently  built  on  the  ravine  of  Chambers 
brook  a  mill  that  ground  the  grists  of  Bedminster  people  until 
after  the  Revolution.  Upon  crossing  this  tract  the  road  plunged 
directly  into  the  forest,  and  from  there  on  was  but  little  more 
than  a  bare  wagon  track. 

Let  us  imagine  Johannes  traversing  this  shady  way.  As  he 
puffs  his  pipe  and  rides  musingly  along,  he  gives  rein  to  his  steed, 
and  abandons  himself  to  agreeable  reflection.  While  his  mind 
dwells  on  the  futiu-e  grain  fields,  barns,  miOs  and  improvements 
in  contemplation  for  the  Bedminster  hillside,  he  turns  his  horse 
on  the  soft  green  moss  that  carpets  either  side  of  the  trail, 
and,  as  he  slowly  moves  on  between  the  stately  trees,  breathes 
with  delight  the  cool  sweet  breath  of  grass  and  leaves  and  forest. 
Now  he  threads  a  little  bridle  path  or  cut-off,  which  leaving  the 
highway  runs  under  a  mass  of  foliage,  through  which  wild 
honeysuckles  and  blossoming  grape-vines  clamber  from  bash  to 
tree,  filling  the  air  with  their  fragrance.  On  every  side  the 
shadowy  dells  and  bosky  bowers  are  vocal  with  the  sweetest 
of  nature's  music,  the  chirping,  twittering  and  singing  of  early 
summer  birds.  On  the  branches  overhead  saucy  grey  squirrels, 
with  a  whisk  of  their  spasmodic  tails,  scurry  up  the  tree  trunks 
to  safer  altitudes,  from  where  they  peer  down  on  the  horse- 
man below  through  a  curtain  of  trembling  leaves.  Perhaps  a 
bear,  with  its  awkward  cubs,  shufHes  across  the  trail  before  him, 
or  a  startled  red  deer  bounds   away  through   the   glades   of  the 


The  Great  Raritan  Road.  167 

forest,  disappearing  in  its  sombre  distances.  There  were  other 
beasts  and  game  at  this  time  frequenting  the  quietudes  of  these 
Phickamin  hills,  for  we  know  that  in  1730  a  law  was  passed  in 
the  province  offering  a  bounty  of  twenty  shillings  for  full  grown 
wolves,  five  shillings  for  whelps  not  able  to  prey,  and  fifteen 
shillings  for  panthers.  Notwithstanding  this  inducement  for  the 
extirpation  of  wolves,  they  seem  to  have  grown  more  numerous, 
as,  in  1751,  an  act  was  passed  increasing  the  bounty  to  sixty 
shillings,  and  to  ten  shillings  for  whelps. 

And  now  the  thicket  and  undergrowth  recede  ;  the  ground 
falls  away,  and  the  trail  descending  to  the  broad  level  of  the 
Raritan  loses  itself  in  the  "  Great  Raritan  Road,"  which  had 
been  the  thoroughfare  of  early  colonial  travel  since  the  year 
1700.  It  commenced  at  a  point  on  the  north  bank  of  the  river, 
opposite  New  Brunswick,  and  following  the  stream  to  its  branches 
extended  west  to  the  Delaware.  Here  Johannes  finds  the 
already  old  village  of  Round  Brook  (Middlebrook),  its  loca- 
tion then,  as  now,  being  one  of  much  natural  beauty.  Seated  on 
the  grassy  banks  of  the  Raritan,  it  overlooks  that  stream  just 
where  with  a  graceful  bend  it  sweeps  to  the  south,  and  so 
makes  its  deepening  way  through  a  fertile  valley  to  the  sea. 


CHAPTER     XIII. 

Bound   Brook  in  the    Olden   Time  —  The   Baritan    Valley 

in  1752. 

Bound  Brook  has  of  late  years  grown  familiar  to  the  travel- 
ling public,  owing  to  the  name  being  used  to  designate  one  of  the 
prominent  railway  routes  to  Philadelphia.  Trains  by  this  line, 
while  taking  their  hurried  flight  across  the  state,  pause  for  a  few 
moments  at  the  entrance  door  to  this  old  village.  Their  passen- 
gers look  from  the  car  windows  with  curious  eyes  upon  the 
ancient  settlement  sequestered  amid  its  venerable  trees  ;  but  few 
of  them  appreciate  that  their  glances  rest  on  a  place  that  has 
been  the  theatre  of  colonial  and  Revolutionary  scenes  of  much 
historic  interest ;  and  on  a  locality  whose  nanle  dates  away  back 
to  the  year  1666. 

To  one  fond  of  the  beautiful  in  nature  this  valley  of  the  Rari- 
tan  abounds  in  rural  loveliness.  It  is  but  its  superficial  charm. 
He  who  has  an  appetite  for  the  quaint  and  old,  and  is  eager  to 
discover  localities  around  which  memories  of  the  past  cluster 
thickly,  finds  much  along  this  river  upon  which  to  feed  his 
antiquarian  tastes.  Its  associations  are  among  the  oldest  in  New 
Jersey — none  more  so,  save  those  of  the  Hudson  and  the  Dela- 
ware. After  the  establishment  of  the  capital  of  the  province  at 
Perth  Amboy  in  1682,  the  Scotch  and  English  soon  made  their 
way  northerly  as  far  as  the  forks  of  the  Raritan.  Long  before 
this  time  the  Dutch  had  been  quick  to  discover  the  agri- 
cultural promises  of  this  favored  region.  These  pioneers, 
toiling  in  the  vanguard  of  settlement,  while  making  their  way 
through  the  thick  gloom  of  the  woods  bordering  the  river  were 
attracted  by  the  intervals  of  broad  meadow-spaces,  horizoned  by 
zones    of  forest   and    rich    in    abundant    grasses.       Under     the 


The  Genesis  of  Bound  Bkook.  169 

shadow  of  their  bordering  trees  often  stood  Indian  cabins,  for 
the  red  men  had  used  these  savannas  for  raising  com,  beans,  and 
pumpkins.  The  Hollanders  had  good  cause  for  rejoicing  at 
finding  in  the  dense  woods  lands  destitute  of  trees  and  ready  at 
once  for  the  plow.  The  secretary  of  the  New  Netherlands,  Cor- 
nelius Van  Tienhoven,  writes  in  1650  that 

The  district  inhabited  by  a  nation  called  Raritangs  is  situated  on  a  fresh 
water  river  that  flows  through  the  centre  of  a  lowland  which  the  Indians  culti- 
vated. This  vacant  territory  lies  between  two  high  mountains,  far  distant  the 
one  from  the  other.  This  is  the  handsomest  and  pleasantest  country  that  man 
can  behold.  It  furnished  the  Indians  with  abundance  of  maize,  beans,  pumpkins, 
and  other  fruits.  *  *  *  Through  this  valley  pass  large  numbers  of  all  sorts 
of  tribes  on  tlieir  way  north  or  east.  This  land  is,  therefore,  not  only  adapted 
for  raising  grain  and  rearing  all  descriptions  of  cattle,  but  also  very  convenient 
for  trade  with  the  Indians. — Doc.  History,  N.  Y. 

It  is  generally  believed  that  the  name.  Bound  Brook,  is 
derived  from  the  fact  that  the  boundaries  of  the  present  town  are 
the  brooks  that  empty  into  the  Raritan ;  this  is  a  natural  mis- 
take, the  name  having  a  much  greater  and  more  significant 
meaning.  In  the  year  1666,  after  certain  portions  of  the  Eliza- 
bethtowii  patent  had  been  set  otF  to  the  Woodbridge,  Piscataway 
and  Newark  settlers,  it  became  necessary  to  define  the  limit  of 
what  was  left  of  this  grant ;  consequently  it  was  declared  to 
extend  from  the  mouth  of  the  Raritan  on  the  west  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Passaic  on  the  east,  and  from  the  Rahway  river  on  the 
south  to  the  brook  emptying  into  the  Raritan  on  the  north,  which 
was  from  thenceforth  known  as  Bound  brook.  This  is  the 
stream  that  is  crossed  by  the  Central  Railroad  just  below  the 
station,  and  in  after  years  it  gave  its  name  to  the  hamlet  that 
grew  upon  its  banks.  Bound  Brook  has  the  honor  of  being 
Somerset's  oldest  settlement,  the  land  on  which  the  village  stands 
having  been  purchased,  in  the  year  1681,  by  Governor  Philip 
Carteret,  and  others,  from  two  Raritan  Indians  named  KON- 
ACKAMA  arid  QuEEOMAK.  Doctor  Messier  considers  this  to  be 
the  first  land  purchased  in  this  county.  It  was  described  as 
embracing  territory  lying  within  the  boundaries  of  the  Raritan 
river  on  the  south  ;  Bound  brook,  or  Sacu)/k,  (Indian  for  slow, 
sluggish  stream),  on  the  east;  Middle  brook,  or  Rha-weigh-iveiros 
(Indian  word  meaning  running  from  a  deep  hole),  on  the  west ; 
and  of  a  certain  stony  hill  and  Metapes'  wigwam  at  the  mouth  of 


170  The  Stoky  of  an  Old  Farm. 

Cedar  brook  on  the  north.  The  whole  area  being  known  as 
Raca-hova-wallahy,  or  "A  round  plain  by  the  deep  crooked 
watei'." 

Only  two  of  these  eight  purchasers  seem  to  have  appeared  in 
the  county — Thomas  Codrington  and  John  Royce.  The  former 
had  apportioned  to  him  eight  hundred  and  seventy-seven  acres 
on  the  westerly  side  of  the  grant,  fronting  on  Middle  brook. 
Soon  after  1683,  he  built  upon  it  a  large  mansion,  giving  his 
homestead  the  name  of  Racaivackhana,  an  Indian  word  meaning 
a  meadow  or  flat  by  a  rapid  brook.  This  is  the  same  property 
now  owned  and  occupied  by  George  La  Monte.  Codrington  was 
a  man  of  considerable  influence  ;  before  removing  to  Bound 
Brook  he  had  been  sheriif  of  the  city  of  New  York,  and  after 
becoming  a  citizen  of  the  province  of  New  Jersey  he  was 
appointed  a  member  of  the  governor's  council,  which  position  he 
seems  to  have  been  still  holding  in  1698.  The  name  of  John 
Royce  is  preserved  in  that  of  Roycefield,  southwest  of  Somerville, 
where  he  owned  twenty  thousand  acres  of  land. 

That  portion  of  this  Indian  grant,  which  is  the  immediate  site 
of  Bound  Brook,  became  the  property  of  Thomas  Rudyard,  one 
of  the  original  twenty-four  proprietors  of  East  New  Jersey  and 
its  first  deputy-governor.  It  was  his  daughter  who,  while  tlie 
widow  of  Samuel  Winder,  became  the  wife  of  George  Willocks. 
About  the  year  1700  George  Cussart,  Samuel  Thompson  and 
Jacob  De  Groot  purchased  Rudyard's  land,  together  with  eight 
hundred  and  seventy-seven  acres  adjoining,  belonging  to  .John 
Royce.  George  Cussart  built  his  residence  where  now  stands 
the  village  hotel ;  and  Thompson's  house  stood  where  the 
Central  Railroad  line  crosses  the  highway,  and  was  extant  until 
the  construction  of  the  railway. 

The  most  important  Raritan  resident  in  social  and  political 
consequence  in  the  seventeenth  century  was  Lord  Neil  Camp- 
bell. He  lived  in  considerable  state  on  a  plantation  of  sixteen 
hundred  and  fifty  acres  situated  near  where  the  north  and  south 
branches  of  the  Raritan  join.  He  was  a  brother  of  the  Duke 
of  Argyle,  and  was  connected  with  that  nobleman's  disastrous 
efl'ort  to  aid  the  handsome  "  Pretender's"  attempt  to  seize  the 
crown  of  England.  More  fortunate  than  many  of  his  co-conspir- 
ators.   Lord    Neil    Campbell    saved  his  head;  and   in   October, 


BoiND  Brook  Presbyterian  Church.  171 

1685,  he  reached  East  New  Jersey,  hearing  the  commission  of 
its  proprietors  as  deputy-governor.  A  retinue  of  sixty-iive  ser- 
vants, that  had  preceded  him,  awaited  his  arrival  at  his  planta- 
tion. His  two  sons,  John  and  Charles,  were  here  before  their 
father,  they  also  being  under  the  ban  of  the  home  government 
for  political  offenses.  John,  with  his  wife,  three  children  and 
eleven  servants  it  is  thought  lived  on  an  estate  of  eighteen 
hundi'ed  and  seventy  acres  that  he  owned  on  the  west  side  of 
the  south  branch  of  the  Raritan  near  Corle's  mills.  Archibald 
Campbell,  a  nephew  of  Lord  Neil,  and  also  a  refugee,  is  said 
about  this  time  to  have  lived  in  baronial  style  on  Herbert's 
island,  his  residence  being  known  as  Kells'  Hall.  He  had  many 
house  and  field  servants,  and  hanging  in  the  belfry  of  the  Bound 
Brook  academy  is  an  old  bell  with  which,  it  is  said,  he  used  to 
call  his  slaves  from  their  labors.  Within  fifty  years  descend- 
ants of  the  Campbells  were  living  in  this  viUage  ;  there  are  none 
now,  though  in  the  adjoining  county  they  are  said  to  be  num- 
erous. 

The  Scotch  and  English  multiplied  in  this  vicinity,  and  by  the 
year  1700  they  were  in  sufficient  numbers  to  warrant  forming 
the  "  Presbyterian  Congregation  of  Bound  Brook,''  which 
before  long  became  one  of  the  most  flourishing  and  important 
I'eligious  organizations  in  the  colony.  We  have  no  record  of 
where  the  first  services  were  held — probably  in  one  of  the  log 
dwellings  that  were  distributed  along  the  willow-fringed  banks 
of  the  river.  It  was  not  until  1725  that  the  congregation  elected 
its  first  edifice,  a  low  one-storey  house  wliich  stood  within  the 
present  church  grounds,  and  was  preserved  until  far  in  this  cen- 
tury, the  uses  of  its  later  years  being  that  of  a  school-house.  Itin- 
erant preachers  served  the  needs  of  the  people  until  1741,  when 
the  Reverend  James  McCrea  was  appointed  by  the  Presbytery 
as  a  supply,  which  service  he  continued  till  1749.  A  second 
and  more  pretentious  building  was  completed  about  the  year 
1760,  the  funds  having  been  obtained  from  the  proceeds  of  a 
public  lottery. 

Affixed  to  the  walls  of  the  present  church  edifice  is  a  tablet 
showing  the  first  settled  minister  of  the  congregation  to  have 
been  the  Reverend  Israel  Read.  He  was  called  to  the  pastorate 
in  1750,  "in  which  he  was  faithful  to  his  Divine  Master  to  the 


172  The  Story  of  an  Old  Fakm. 

death."  In  November,  1793,  he  was  thrown  from  his  carriage 
while  riding  near  New  Brunswick,  receiving  injuries  of  which 
three  days  later  he  died.  Judging  from  the  congregational 
records  it  would  seem  that  members  of  the  Field  family  have, 
from  the  founding  of  this  religious  society,  been  among  its  most 
active  supporters  and  benefactors.  A  portion  of  the  church 
grounds  was  conveyed  by  Benjamin  and  Jeremiah  Field  in  the 
year  1749,  and  the  large  church  Bible  which  bears  a  London 
imprint  of  1772,  has  on  its  leaf,  in  the  hand  writing  of  the  Rev- 
erend Mr.  Read,  the  following :  "  Mr.  Michael  Field's  Book 
178-4  he  Presents  to  the  Reverend  Mr.  Read  being  the  Second 
Small  Legacy  made  by  him  to  the  Church  at  Bound  Brook. 
Pris-1-8-0."  Michael  Field  died  on  the  thirteentli  of  January, 
1792;  a  copy  of  his  will,  in  my  possession,  shows  that  he 
bequeathed  one  thousand  pounds  to  the  trustees  of  the  congrega- 
tion, the  interest  of  which  was  to  be  applied  "towards  supporting 
the  gospell  in  the  Presbiterian  Church  at  Bound  Brook."  He 
also  left  the  sum  of  five  hundred  pounds  for  the  support  of  a  free 
school  within  the  congregation.  This  was  not  the  first  one  of  the 
village.  The  Scotch  Presbyterians  held  the  school  almost  in  equal 
estimation  with  the  church;  schoolmasters  were  brought  from  the 
old  country  and  early  established  in  the  East  Jersey  settle- 
ments. Li  1752,  when  Johannes  visited  Bound  Brook,  John 
Wacker  taught  the  village  children  in  a  low  one-storey  building 
within  the  present  church  grounds.  Doubtless  the  colonial 
lads  found  that  pedagogue's  name  to  be  appropriate  to  his  call- 
ing, for  schoolmasters  of  the  olden  time  considered  that  mental 
perceptions  were  precipitated  by  knuckles  and  palms  being  well 
ridged  by  hard  rulers.  One  of  the  first  teachers  in  the 
free  academy  established  by  the  bequest  of  Michael  Field  was 
Isaac  Toucey,  who  afterwards  was  secretary  of  war  under 
Buchanan's  administration. 

When  in  1752  our  wayfarer  rode  do'wn  this  ancient  high- 
way— the  Great  Raritan  Road — thi'ough  Bound  Brook,  he  found 
a  village  of  about  twenty  houses,  all  of  one  storey,  guarded 
at  either  end  by  a  spiritual  and  material  sentinel,  for  at  the 
extreme  south  stood  the  church,  while  equally  far  north  was 
William  Harris's  tavern.  This  "  public  "  continued  in  the  same 
family  until    1815,  when    Isaac   Harris  combined   the   duties   of 


Bound  Rrook  Residents  in  1752.  173 

being  its  landlord  with  those  of  the  sheriff  of  the  county.  A 
portion  of  the  original  structure  continues  to  represent  the  hos- 
pitalities of  this  neighborhood  in  the  present  Middlebrook  hotel. 
It  has  been  said  that  it  was  not  until  near  the  end  of  the  century 
that  Peter  Van  Norden  erected  the  first  two-storey  house,  and 
painted  it  a  bright  green.  So  much  was  this  architectural  extra- 
vagance condemned  by  the  villagers,  that  it  became  known  as 
"  Van  Norden's  Folly."  It  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  1882,  and 
until  then  was  occupied  by  descendants  in  the  fourth  generation 
of  its  ambitious  builder.  Besides  the  tavern  there  is  still  another 
building  standing  in  that  vicinity,  which  was  in  existence  at  the 
time  of  Johannes'  visit.  It  is  the  old  Shepherd  house  on  the 
heights  back  of  the  village,  which  was  built  before  the  year 
1730. 

Among  the  citizens  of  this  ancient  burgh  in  the  year  1752, 
besides  those  already  mentioned,  was  Peter  Williamson,  who 
lived  in  a  house  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  just  south  of  where 
now  is  the  railroad  station,  built  in  1684  by  John,  son  of  Lord. 
Neil  Campbell ;  John  de  Groot,  whose  house,  built  by  his  father 
in  1700,  stood  just  north  of  the  main  street, — his  son  Jacob, 
who  lived  to  be  ninety -four  years  of  age,  died  in  this  dwell- 
ing, which  was  preserved  until  the  year  1839  when  it  was 
destroyed  by  fire  ;  John  Anderson,  the  remains  of  whose  house  are 
still  to  be  seen  on  the  property  of  Isaac  J.  Fisher  ;  William 
Moore,  a  hatter  ;  John  Castner,  a  shoemaker ;  and  Tobias  Van 
Norden,  who  built  a  store  in  1849,  upon  the  site  of  the  one  now 
or  lately  owned  by  John  D.  Voorhees.  It  was  a  long  building  of 
but  one  storey,  with  two  dormer  windows  in  its  sloping  gambrU 
roof.  Van  Norden  continued  as  Bound  Brook's  storekeeper  until 
after  the  Revolution,  and  we  can  imagine  Johannes  dismounting, 
either  going  or  coming,  in  order  to  fill  some  little  commissions 
from  home,  as  at  this  time  it  was  the  nearest  shop  to  the  "  Old 
Farm."  A  grandson  of  Van  Norden  says  that  for  some  twenty- 
five  years  previous  to  1765  his  grandfather  was  extensively 
engaged  in  baking  ship  bread,  which  he  exported  direct  to  the 
West  Indies,  carting  it  in  wagons  to  New  Brunswick  where  it 
was  transferred  to  vessels. 

Speaking  of  a  lottery  as  a  means  of  raising  money  for  complet- 
ing the  Bound  Brook  church,  brings  to  mind  their  prevalence  in 


174  The  Story  of  ax  Old  Farm. 

colonial  times.  It  was  the  financial  fashion  of  the  age,  and  con- 
sidered quite  as  legitimate  as  is  to-day  the  placing  on  the  mar- 
ket of  authorized  railway  securities.  The  following  curious 
extract  from  the  diary  of  the  Reverend  Samuel  Seabury,  father 
of  Bishop  Seabury,  shows  the  peculiar  views  prevailing  in  the 
last  century  as  to  the  propriety  and  morality  of  lotteries  and 
gambling : 

The  ticket  Xo.  -5,S86,  in  the  Light-house  and  Public  Lottery  of  New  York, 
drew  in  my  favor,  by  the  blessing  of  .-Vlmighty  God,  500  pounds  sterling,  of  which 
I  received  425  pounds,  there  being  a  deduction  of  fifteen  per  cent ;  for  which  I 
now  record  to  my  posterity  my  thanks  to  .A.lmighty  God,  the  giver  of  all  good 
gifts. 

These  enterprises  were  under  the  patronage  of  the  best  people 
in  the  land.  Among  the  autographic  treasures  of  John  F.  McCoy, 
of  Brooklyn,  is  the  following  : 

176S.  This  Ticket  (No.  176)  shall  entitle  the  Possessor  to  whatever  Prize  may 
happen  to  be  drawn  against  its  number  in  the  Mountain  Road  Lottery. 

(Signed)  Go.  VVashington. 

Judging  from  the  advertisements  appearing  in  the  middle  of 
the  last  century  in  the  New  York  papers,  there  was  hardly  a 
settlement  in  the  province  that  had  not  on  foot  some  plan  for  a 
lotterv.  The  beneficiaries  of  those  extraordinary  monetary 
schemes  were  most  varied  in  character,  and  they  were  often  for 
the  aid  of  private  as  well  as  public  enterprises.  One  set  up  in 
Xew  Bnmswick  was  for  the  relief  of  an  insolvent  debtor.  Peter 
Bodine  advertised  another  having  one  hundred  and  ninety-five 
prizes,  "  many  of  them  being  lots  in  the  heart  of  that  growing 
place.  Earitan  Landing,  which  is  a  market  for  the  most  plen- 
tiful wheat  country  of  its  bigness  in  America.''  It  would  seem 
that  speculative  real  estate  bubbles  were  early  afloat  in  the  New 
Jersey  air.  The  Landing  must  have  stopped  growing  very  sud- 
denlv,  and  one  woidd  need  to  search  diligently  now  to  iind  that 
number  of  lots  in  this  then  called  market.  Within  a  few  years 
of  that  time  the  Presbyterian  "  meeting-houses"  at  Amwell  and  at 
Bound  Brook,  the  English  church  at  New  Brunswick,  St.  John's 
church  at  EHzabethtown,  and  Trinity  church  at  Newark,  were 
all  completed  with  the  assistance  afforded  by  lotteries.  In  Phila- 
delphia, in  174-9,  one  was  established  to  raise  fifteen  hundred 
pounds  for  the  benefit  of  Nassau,  now  the  College  of  New   Jer- 


Lotteries  ix  the  Olden-Time.  175 

sey  at  Princeton  ;  and  in  May,  1754,  a  Peunsyls-ania  newspaper 
advertised  that  tickets  in  a  Connecticut  lottery  for  the  benefit  of 
this  same  college,  "wUl  be  had  of  Mr.  Cowell,  at  Trenton."  In  1 773 
that  institution,  in  conjunction  with  the  Presbyterian  church  at 
Princeton,  secured  by  the  same  means  fifty-six  hundred  and 
twenty-six  pounds.  Toward  the  end  of  the  century  lotteries 
had  grown  in  bad  repute  and  were  generally  prohibited ;  but 
immediately  after  the  Revolution  the  legislature  of  New  Jersey 
granted  the  borough  of  Elizabethtuwn  the  privilege  of  holding 
one  "  to  raise  a  sum  of  money  for  building  a  court-house  and 
jail,  and  finishing  the  academy,  which  during  the  late  war  was 
burned  by  the  enemy." 

As  Johannes  left  Bound  Brook  and  rode  southerly  down  the 
valley  of  the  Raritan,  the  country  quite  lost  that  impress  of  soli- 
tude it  had  borne  during  the  earlier  stages  of  his  jouraey.  The 
heavy  timber  was  now  left  behind,  the  trees  grew  more  sparsely, 
for  he  had  reached  a  region  where  settlers  under  the  first  prop- 
rietors earliest  penetrated,  and  established  their  plantations.  He 
was  now  in  Middlesex  county,  and  the  township  he  traversed 
had  for  fifty  years  been  occupied  by  the  husbandman.  Gener- 
ous orchards  and  abundant  fields  had  long  before  taken  the  place 
of  tangled  maizes  and  impenetrable  thickets,  and  much  of  the 
bottom  and  bench  lands  had  been  wrested  by  the  hand  of  culti- 
vation from  the  grasp  of  primeval  nature.  No  longer  were  the 
rude  structures  of  logs  that  had  housed  the  families  of  pioneers 
the  sole  architectural  features  of  the  landscape;  in  many  instances 
they  had  made  way  for  the  more  pretentious  farm-house,  the 
homes  of  permanent,  well-established  residents ;  and  ample 
bams  bore  testimony  to  the  fertility  and  productiveness  of  the 
surrounding  acres.  The  board  houses  were  of  one  storey,  with 
long  sloping  roofs  extending  over  a  porch  in  front  and  descend- 
ing nearly  to  the  ground  in  the  rear.  Here  the  overhanging 
eaves  sheltered  the  big  Dutch  oven,  and  a  broad  space  where  rus- 
set-gowned maids  sang  at  their  spinning  wheels,  and  where  busy 
house-wives  did  the  family  weaving  at  their  clumsy  looms. 
These  frame  houses  were  generally  unpainted  and  rapidly  grew 
venerably  dark  in  color.  Their  interiors  were  divided  into  but 
few  rooms  ;  one  or  two  sufficed  for  the  needs  of  the  family,  while 
the  others  harbored  pumpkins,  carrots   and  potatoes,  with  dried 


176  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

apples  and  peaches  hanging  in  festoons  from  the  ceiling.  The 
humble  log  hut,  which  had  originally  done  residential  duty,  stood 
like  a  poor  relation  at  a  respectful  distance,  often  degraded  to 
the  menial  service  of  sheltering  pigs  and  kine.  Sometimes  it 
was  converted  into  a  rude  brew-house,  for  the  Raritan  settlers 
manufactured  and  drank  great  quantities  of  malt  liquors. 

Mention  has  been  made  before  of  the  fact  that  Hollanders 
from  Long  Island  had  early  learned  of  the  fertility  and  desirabil- 
ity of  land  in  the  rich  valley  of  the  Raritan.  By  the  year 
1703,  they  were  thoroughly  established  on  both  sides  of  the 
river.  Judging  from  a  report  made  by  Governor  Dongan,  of 
New  York,  to  the  English  Board  of  Trade  in  1687,  it  would 
seem  that  even  by  that  time  the  Dutch  had  emigrated  from 
Long  Island  to  New  Jersey.  English  emigrants,  in  1685,  had 
divided  into  about  six  hundred-acre  tracts  nearly  all  the  land 
between  New  Brunswick  and  Bound  Brook,  extending  for  two 
miles  back  from  the  south  bank  of  the  river;  by  the  year  1717 
the  greater  part  of  these  lands  was  out  of  the  hands  of  their  original 
owners  and  occupied  by  the  Dutch.  Interspersed  among  the 
Hollanders  that  located  on  the  north,  or  east,  bank  of  the 
river,  were  many  permanent  English  and  Scotch  settlers,  as  the 
names  of  Field,  Boice,  Smith,  Ross,  Low  and  others  bear 
witness. 

Primogeniture  being  now  unknown  in  this  country,  instances 
are  not  frequent  where  land  descends  from  father  to  son 
for  successive  generations.  In  addition  to  the  usual  necessity 
of  dividing  estates,  too  often  the  heir  to  homestead  lands 
is  quite  wanting  in  that  love  and  reverence  for  ancestral 
acres  that  distingmshes  people  of  an  older  comitry.  It  is 
pleasant  to  be  able  to  record  and  make  honorable  mention 
of  so  rare  a  preservation  of  a  family  property  as  that  of  Benja- 
min M.,  Benjamin  B.,  John  K.,  and  John  B.  Field,  who  now 
own  and  occupy  five  hundred  acres  of  land  fronting  on  the  river, 
a  short  distance  below  Bound  Brook.  Theirs  is  one  of  the  few 
instances  in  New  Jersey  of  persons  being  able,  in  walking 
over  their  lands,  to  feel  the  proud  consciousness  of  overlooking 
a  broad  territory  that  has  been  theirs  and  their  ancestors  for 
nearly  two  himdred  years.  The  New  Jersey  forefather  was 
John  Field,  who,   on  the  fourteenth  of  December,   1695,  pur- 


John  Field's  Raritan  Purchase  in  1695.  177 

chased  ten  hundred  and  fifty-five  acres  of  land,  fi-onting  the 
Raritan  for  two  miles  and  a  half,  extending  about  three  quarters 
of  a  mile  inland  and  commencing  about  one  mile  below  Bound 
Brook.  He  came  from  Long  Island,  where  he  was  born  in 
1659,  being  the  grandson  of  Robert  Field,  bom  in  1610,  who  it 
is  supposed  came  to  Rhode  Island  with  Roger  Williams.  Rob- 
ert with  fifteen  associates  obtained  in  1645  from  Governor 
William  Kieft,  of  New  Netherland,  a  patent  for  a  large  area  of 
land  on  Long  Island,  embodying  the  present  location  of  Flush- 
ing. The  New  Jersey  ancestor  was  fifth  in  descent — in  the 
direct  line — from  the  famous  astronomer,  John  Field,  born  A.  D. 
1525,  who  introduced  the  Copernican  system  in  England.  While 
living  in  London  in  1556  he  published  the  first  English  astro- 
nomical tables  on  the  basis  of  the  new  discoveries.  In  recogni- 
tion of  this  service  he  received  from  the  Crown  a  patent  author- 
izing him  to  bear  a  crest  on  his  family  arms.  His  son  Richard 
became  chaplain  to  Queen  Elizabeth,  and  was  the  author  of  sev- 
eral religious  works.  The  Fields  trace  their  descent  from 
Hubertus  de  la  Feld,  who  held  lands  in  the  county  of  Lancaster, 
England,  in  the  thii-d  year  of  the  reign  of  William  the  Con- 
queror. The  name,  in  the  old  English,  was  written,  "  Feld  ;" 
and  is  merely  the  past  participle  of  the  verb  to  fell.  Field-land 
is  opposed  to  wood-land,  and  means  land  where  the  trees  have 
been  felled.  When  such  land  is  spoken  of  by  such  old  authors 
as  Gower,  Chaucer  and  others,  it  is  always  written  ''  feld:"  "  In 
Woode,  in  Feld  or  Cittee,  Shall  no  man  steale  in  nowise." 

John  Field  purchased  his  Raritan  lands  in  1695  from  Benja- 
min Clarke,  who  inherited  the  property  from  his  father — also 
"named  Benjamin.  The  senior  Clarke,  who  died  in  1689,  arrived 
in  Perth  Amboy  in  1683,  securing  headlands  for  himself,  his 
son,  and  eight  others.  He  is  said  to  have  built  a  house  near  the 
junction  of  Market  and  Water  streets,  where  he  established  New 
Jersey's  first  stationery  and  book  store.  In  a  letter  to  Scotland 
in  March,  1685,  Charles  Gordon  writes :  "  Neither  are  we 
altogether  destitute  of  Books  and  Clergy,  for  George  Keith,  who 
arrived  three  weeks  since,  with  others — (they  were  all  winter  in 
Barbadoes) — have  brought  mathematics,  and  Benjamin  Clarke  a 
Library  of  Books  to  sell ;  so  you  may  see  New  Perth  begins  to  be 

founded  upon  Clergy."  Clarke  was  a  Quaker,  and  we  may  judge 
12 


178  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

him  a  stiff-necked  one  after  reading  the  following  extract  from 
the  old  book  of  records  of  the  Society  of  Friends  : 

At  the  monthly  meeting  held  in  Amboy  the  thirteenth  of  the  fifth  month, 
1687,  the  friends  appoynted  to  speak  to  Benjamin  Clerk  brought  his  answer,  which 
was,  that  he  would  not  come  to  meeting  because  Governor  Lawry  called  him  a 
divil  (as  he  sayes)  wherewith  friends  not  being  satisfied  desires  George  Keith  and 
John  Barclay  to  speak  to  him  again. 

Many  of  these  ancestral  acres  have  been  the  homestead  lands 
of  Fields  from  that  day  to  this.  At  the  time  Johannes  rode 
through  this  domain  the  original  estate  was  owned  and  occupied 
by  the  grandsons  of  John  Field — as  follows :  Jeremiah,  bom 
in  1713,  who  lived  on  the  farm  lately  owned  by  Stephen  Voor- 
hees,  and  whose  stone  dwelling  is  still  extant ;  John,  born  in 
1714,  who  lived  on  what  was  lately  known  as  the  Oliver  farm, 
in  a  stone  house  still  standing  which  has  inscribed  on  the  west 
wall  the  date  1743  and  the  initials  J.  F.  ;  Michael,  bom  in 
1723,  who  lived  on  the  mill  property  lately  owned  by  Louis 
Clark;  Benjamin,  born  in  1735,  who  lived  on  the  farm  now 
owned  by  Benjamin  M.  Field,  in  a  frame  house  still  standing, 
the  newer  portion  of  which  is  inscribed  with  the  date  1761  and 
the  initials  B.  F. ;  and  Richard,  born  1726,  who  lived  on  the 
farm  lately  owned  by  John  D.  Field.  His  house  is  still  standing, 
its  corner-stone  being  marked  with  the  date  1710  and  the 
initial  F. ;  it  is  thought,  however,  that  this  stone  was  taken  from 
the  original  house  of  the  first  purchaser,  John  Field,  which 
stood  a  few  hundred  yards  away,  its  foundations  and  cellars 
being  still  plainly  visible. 

You  may  wonder  at  so  prolonged  a  narrative  of  the  Fields' 
and  their  property.  It  should  have  an  interest  to  the  descend- 
ants of  Johannes  from  the  fact  that  the  two  families  are  in  this 
wise  connected  :  Jeremiah  Field,  born  in  1753,  married  Jane, 
daughter  of  Captain  Jacob  Ten  Eyck  of  Revolutionary  fame. 
He  settled  in  Bedminster  township,  purchasing  on  the  sixth  of 
February,  1790,  from  Daniel  Heath  a  farm  of  one  hundred  and 
three  acres,  fronting  on  the  Lamington  river.  Here  Richard  J. 
Field  was  born  in  1785,  who  on  the  twenty-second  of  Decem- 
ber, 1808,  married  Mary  Kline,  born  on  the  seventeenth  of 
April,  1791,  she  being  the  granddaughter  of  Jacob  Kline,  and  his 


Raritan   Landing's  Industries  in  1752.  179 

wife  Veronica  Gerdrutta,  the  eldest  daughter  of  Johannes 
Moelich. 

On  reaching  Raritan  Landing,  two  miles  above  New  Bruns- 
wick, Johannes  found  it,  for  those  days,  a  place  of  considerable 
prominence ;  its  marked  growth  of  a  few  previous  years  having 
given  rise  to  expectations  of  ultimate  commercial  greatness  that 
the  future  was  not  to  realize.  Its  prosperity  was  gained  mainly 
from  the  fertile  valley  bordering  the  Raritan,  and  the  rich  fields 
of  wheat  and  corn  that  were  rapidly  midtiplying  between  that 
river  and  the  Delaware.  This,  together  with  the  fact  that  the 
Landing  was  on  tide-water  and  at  the  head  of  sloop  navigation, 
gave  it  an  importance  second  only  to  that  of  New  Brunswick, 
and  by  many  it  was  thought  to  be  a  serious  business  rival  to  that 
city.  In  addition  to  its  shipj>ing  interests  this  point  had  active 
manufacturing  industries.  The  Raritan  was  here  dannned,  and 
mills  were  in  successfid  operation,  both  for  grinding  the  grain  of 
the  back  country  and  for  manufacturing  flour  and  meal  for 
shipment  to  New  York  and  more  eastern  ports.  Among  the 
manuscript  papers  of  the  late  Ralph  Voorhees  is  the  Frank- 
lin township  tax  list  for  the  year  1735.  This  old  paper  testifies 
directly  as  to  the  early  prosperity  of  this  portion  of  Somerset,  by 
showing  that  at  that  date  there  were  already  established  in  the 
township  six  grist  mills  :  one  at  the  Landing,  owned  by  Coert 
Van  Voorhees ;  another,  a  mile  up  the  river,  on  the  Rapelye 
brook ;  the  third,  owned  and  operated  by  John  Folkers,  on  the 
brook  emptying  into  the  Raritan,  east  of  the  house  now  or  lately 
occupied  by  Abram  Sebring  ;  there  was  also  the  Wyckoft"  mill  at 
Six  Mile  Run ;  the  Moere  mill  at  Rocky  HiU ;  and  another  on 
the  Millstone  river,  owned  by  Benjamin  Griggs  who  is  supposed 
to  have  been  the  founder  of  Griggsto^\^l.  This  last  mill  in  the 
year  1752  was  owned  and  operated  by  Nicholas  Veghten.  At 
this  time  there  was  also  a  mill,  which  had  been  erected  in  1747 
by  Hendrick  Schenck,  located  on  the  west  side  of  the  Millstone 
river,  since  known  as  Black  wells ;  and  in  1749  Abram  Berean 
erected  on  the  same  river  the  Weston  mill,  lately  known  as 
Robeson's. 

Much  testimony  could  be  produced  going  to  show  the  popu- 
lousness  and  growth  of  this  part  of  New  Jersey  at  that  time  as 
compared  with  other  portions  of  the  province.  A  correspondent  of 


180  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm, 

ex-Governor  Robert  Hunter,  in  a  letter  to  him  in  England, 
about  the  year  1730,  writes  that  •*  New  Brunswick  had  grown 
very  rapidly  for  the  reason  that  the  country  back  of  this  town 
had  improved  quite  fast.  The  farmers  principally  raised  wheat, 
and  the  large  mills  in  the  vicinity  rendered  this  an  important 
flouring  mart."  Ralph  Voorhees,  in  one  of  his  sketches  of  the 
early  settlers,  tells  us  that  the  water-power  at  the  Landing  was 
destroyed  about  the  time  of  the  Revolution  by  the  people  along 
the  upper  Raritan,  who  were  exasperated  because  it  prevented 
shad  from  ascending  the  stream. 

When  Johannes  reached  the  Landing  he  was  much  inter- 
ested in  viewing  what  was  then  considered,  and  properly  so, 
a  very  grand  mansion.  It  was  surpassed  by  few,  if  any,  resi- 
dences in  the  province.  Nearly  fifty  feet  square,  it  elevated  a 
dormer-windowed  hipped  roof  above  two  stone  storeys,  pre- 
senting a  strong  contrast  to  the  ordinary  wooden  buildings  of  the 
surrounding  country.  Embowered  in  a  luxuriant  growth  of  ivy, 
it  is  still  to  be  seen  on  the  hillside  opposite  the  road  leading  to 
the  covered  bridge,  being  owned  and  occupied  by  George  W. 
Metlar.  This  important  dwelling  was  built  by  Cornelius  Low, 
Jr.,  who  was  born  on  the  thirty-first  of  March,  1700, 
and  settled  in  East  Jersey  about  1730,  through  the  influ- 
ence of  the  Gouvemeur  family,  he  having  married  Johanna 
Gouverneui-  in  1729.  He  was  a  surveyor,  and  did  much 
valuable  work  in  the  province  in  defining  the  boimdaries 
of  important  estates.  Schuyler's  "  Colonial  New  York  "  con- 
tains the  record  from  Low's  family  Bible,  which  recites  that 
he  built  his  new  house  at  "  Raritan  Landing,  on  the  mountain," 
in  1741.  The  record  repeatedly  mentions  the  burial  of  members 
of  his  family  in  Jacob  De  Groot's  vault.  This  tomb  was  prob- 
ably in  the  Presbyterian  churchyard  at  Bound  Brook,  as  this 
was  the  same  De  Groot  who  in  the  year  1700,  in  company  with 
Cussart  and  Thompson,  purchased  the  site  of  that  village  from 
Deputy- Governor  Rudyard.  Cornelius  Low,  Jr.,  does  not 
appear  to  have  been  of  the  Presbyterian  persuasion,  as  we  find 
on  the  minutes  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  church,  "  op  de  Mill- 
stone,^^ his  name  entered  as  a  communicant.  This  congregation 
was  organized  in  1727,  by  the  Reverend  Henricus  Coens  of 
Acquackanonk  (Passaic).     In  this  year,  1752,  a  new  edifice  had 


The  Ciicrch  Op  De  Millstone. 


181 


been  erected  on  the  site  of  the  present  Harlingen  church.  It 
was  an  antiquated  Dutch  structure,  having  lofty  gables  and  a 
long  steep  roof.  The  interior  was  divided  by  one  aisle,  faced 
with  short  pews  in  which  sat  the  men,  while  the  body  of  the 
church  was  occupied  by  square  pews  filled  with  chairs  for  the 
use  of  the  women  and  children.  I  do  not  find  that  the  name  of 
Low  has  been  perpetuated  in  either  Somerset  or  Middlesex.  A 
descendant  married  the  late  Charles  King,  president  of  Coliunbia 
college,  New  York,  and  died  in  Paris  a  few  years  since ;  her 
only  son,  C.  L.  King,  lives  in  Bellows  Falls,  Vermont,  and 
a  daughter  is  the  wife  of  Mr.  Waddington,  the  present  French 
minister  at  the  English  court. 

Johannes  crossed  the  river  on  the  riffle  below  the  dam,  and 
making  his  way  down  the  opposite  shore  he  was  soon  in  New 
Brunswick,  where  he  dismounted  in  front  of  a  tavern  on  Water 
street,  the  city's  main  thoroughfare.  After  his  long  ride  we  can 
imagine  him  quite  ready  for  what  some  one  has  called  the  hope 
of  the  hungry,  the  rest  of  the  weary,  the  consolation  of  the  mis- 
erable— dinner. 


CHAPTER     XIV. 


From  an  Indian  Path  to  the  King's  Highway — New  Brunswick 
and  Historic  Piscataivay. 

The  antiquated  college  town  of  New  Brunswick,  which  the 
traveller  Philadelphia-ward  finds  perched  on  the  high  rolling 
banks  of  the  Raritan,  is  located  on  the  most  ancient  highway  in 
New  Jersey  ;  a  road  that,  before  the  foot  of  the  iirst  white  man 
had  trod  the  American  continent,  was  centuries  older  than  were 
its  flanking  oaks,  chestnuts  and  hickories. 

In  those  remote  days  —  before  the  advent  of  Em'opeans 
—  a  faint  path  could  be  traced  on  nature's  carpet  of  fallen 
leaves  and  twigs,  running  east  and  west  through  the  thick- 
ets and  undergrowth  of  the  vast  and  sombre  forest.  It 
was  the  soft  impress  of  the  moccasined  feet  of  the  Lenni- 
Lenape,  made  while  on  their  frequent  way  to  the  Lcnni- 
Wihittuck,  or  Delaware  river.  This  Indian  path  started  at  what 
is  now  Elizabethport  and  plunging  into  the  solitudes  of  the 
wOderness  extended  almost  in  a  direct  line  to  a  point  on  the 
Raritan  opposite  where  Albany  street,  in  New  Brunswick,  now 
terminates.  Here  the  red-men  at  low  water  forded  the  river,  or 
at  higher  tides  paddled  across  in  their  birch  canoes.  Passing  up 
the  present  line  of  Albany  street,  the  foot-path  traversed  the 
hoary  woods  with  but  little  deviation  tiU  it  reached  the  Dela- 
ware, just  above  where  now  is  the  capital  of  the  state.  This  was 
the  Indian's  thoroughfare — their  main  artery  of  travel.  It  was 
intersected  by  others,  the  most  important  being  the  one  by  which 
the  Monseys  and  more  northern  tribes  found  their  way  to  the 
sea.  Commencing  on  the  Delaware  in  what  is  now  Sussex 
county,  near  where  three  states  converge,  this  trail,  known  as 
the  Minisink  path,  ran  southeasterly  to  within  five  miles  of 
where  Carteret  foimded  his  capital,  Elizabethtown.     Turning  to 


Indian  Paths  Across  New  Jersey.  183 

the  right,  it  stretched  across  the  country  to  the  Raritan,  three  miles 
above  its  mouth.  Following  the  south  Lank  of  the  river  and 
the  shore  of  the  Lower  bay,  the  footpath  continued  along  where 
now  is  the  village  of  Middletown,  and  so  onward  over  the  pleas- 
ant rises  and  gentle  declivities  of  Monmouth,  till  it  penetrated 
the  hemlock  heights  of  the  Highlands,  and  descending  on  their 
ocean  side  reached  the  river  which  the  red-man  had  named 
Nauvessing,*  "  the  place  of  good  fishing."  Another  Indian 
trail  branched  from  the  first  one  at  the  Raritan  ford,  and  follow- 
ing the  river  bank  extended  north  and  west,  by  way  of  the  site 
of  Bound  Brook,  to  the  forks  of  the  stream,  where  it  divided.  It 
was  over  this  trail  that  settlers  first  made  their  way  up  into 
Bedminster. 

Early  in  the  seventeenth  century  other  than  Indian  forms  were 
to  be  seen  passing  along  our  ancient  highway.  Over  this  path, 
which  had  never  been  pressed  by  human  feet  save  by  those  of 
the  soft-stepping,  stealthy  savage,  strode  burly  Dutchmen  wear- 
ing hats  of  generous  brim,  broad  belts  and  stout  leather  jerkins  ; 
the  smoke  from  their  pipes,  fragrant  with  the  odors  of  the  best 
Virginia,  mingling  with  the  breath  of  the  woods  and  exuberant 
herbage.  The  Hollanders  had  settled  New  Amsterdam  ;  sailing 
in  their  high-pooped  shallojis  through  the  Kill  von  KoU — the 
creek  of  j  the  bay — they  landed  on  the  west  shoi-es  of  the  Achter 
KoU — ^the  back  bay — and  foimd  this  Indian  trail  a  most  conveni- 
ent route  to  their  settlement  on  the  Delaware.  Later  on,  when 
the  English  had  captured  New  Amsterdam,  they,  too,  discovered 
that  the  natives  had  marked  out  an  excellent  line  for  a  road 
across  the  Jerseys — and  a  road  it  has  been  from  that  day  to  this. 

A  mutual  good  will  soon  existed  between  the  Dutch  and  Eng- 
lish and  the  dusky  occupants  of  the  little  wigwam  villages  that 
were  planted  in  cool  and  shady  glens  or  by  the  side  of  sparkling 

*  When  the  Dutch  first  landed  on  the  shores  of  this  part  of  Monmouth,  they 
wrote  down  the  Indian  name  for  the  phtce  as  it  sounded  to  them,  thus  "  Nau-ves- 
sing."  The  English  converted  tlie  word  into  Nave-sink,  from  which  Neversink 
is,  perhaps,  a  natural  result.  The  generally-accepted  significance  of  the  name — 
"  the  place  of  good  tishing"— is  not  endorsed  by  all  authorities.  By  some  the 
original  word  is  interpreted  as  meaning,  "  high  lands  between  the  waters,"  while 
others  claim  its  significance  to  be  "pleasant  fields,''  referring  to  all  the  country 
lying  between  the  Highlands  and  Chingarora,  as  tlie  vicinity  of  Keyport  was 
called. 


184  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

rills.  The  white  man  had  not  long  used  this  foi-est  trail  before 
signs  of  human  thrift  began  to  break  in  upon  the  wildness  of 
nature.  He  travelled  not  only  with  matchlock  and  hanger, 
but  with  mattock  and  axe  as  well.  The  wild  grape-vines  and 
stunted  bushes  that  encumbered  the  path  were  cleared  away  ; 
the  decaying  tree-trunks,  giants  that  had  fallen  from  mere 
weight  of  years,  no  longer  impeded  the  passer-by.  Foot-logs 
crossed  the  little  streams,  and  soon  the  glittering  axe  hewed  out 
a  clearing  here  and  there  on  the  side  of  the  path,  from  which 
rose  little  log  cabins,  premonitory  symptoms  and  prophecies  of 
populous  hamlets  and  villages  soon  to  follow.  In  1665,  when 
PhUip  Carteret  reached  the  place  he  called  Elizabethtown,  it  was 
ab'eady  a  settlement  of  four  log  huts.  Some  of  the  immigrants 
who  had  accompanied  him  from  England  made  their  way  along  this 
trail,  till  reaching  a  convenient  point  their  brawny  arms  forced 
back  the  forest  on  either  side,  and  planted  the  germ  of  a  town 
which  later  migratoi's  from  New  England  named  Woodbridge. 
In  the  following  year  other  pioneers,  striding  sturdily  westward, 
felled  the  trees  and  let  the  warm  sunlight  in  on  a  new  settlement, 
soon  baptized  as  Piscataway. 

A  few  years  later  New  Brunswick  received  its  first  inhabitant. 
Tradition  gives  his  name  as  Daniel  Cooper.  Early  in  1681  John 
Inians  and  some  associate  purchased  ten  thousand  acres  of  land  at 
Ahanderhamock,  as  this  vicinity  had  been  named  by  the  Indians. 
In  November  of  the  same  year  Inians  located  for  himself  on  the 
west  bank  of  the  river  twelve  hundred  acres,  embracing  the  pres- 
ent site  of  New  Brunswick.  By  1684  a  number  of  Holland  people 
had  settled  on  his  land,  among  whom  were  the  ancestors  of  such 
old  Jersey  families  as  the  Vrooms,  Andersons,  Probascos,  Van 
Duyns  and  others.  A  charter  for  a  ferry  was  granted  in  1697 
to  John  Inians  for  the  term  of  his  or  his  wife's  life,  at  the 
yearly  rental  of  five  shillings.  Soon  quite  a  settlement  grew  up 
about  Inian's  ferry,  and  travellers  by  the  old  Indian  path  began 
to  be  frequent.  It  lost  its  early  appellation  and  became  known 
as  the  Dutch  trail ;  indeed,  for  many  years  later  it  was  little  bet- 
ter than  a  trail  through  the  woods,  and  was  used  only  by  pedes- 
trians and  hoi-semen.  In  1716,  nearly  twenty  years  after  the 
estabHshment  of  the  ferry,  the  tariff  named  only  "  horse  and 
man  "  and  "  single  person."     Within  a  few  years  this  old  Dutch 


New  Buunswick  in  1717.  185 

trail  began  to  present  some  of  the  characteristics  of  a  road,  and 
we  find  imposed  upon  the  innkeepers  of  Elizabethtown,  Wood- 
bridge  and  Piscataway  a  total  annual  tax  of  ten  pounds  for 
keeping  the  highway  free  from  fallen  timber.  This  impost, 
was  laid  for  the  preservation  of  the  ''  lower  road,"  which, 
following  a  branch  Indian  path,  diverged  from  the  main  trail  a 
few  miles  beyond  the  Raritan,  its  trend  being  southwesterly,  by 
way  of  Craabury,  to  Burlington.  The  necessity  for  this  tax,  as 
the  act  declares,  was  because  of  the  unsettled  condition  of  the 
country  the  road  traversed,  whereby  it  was  in  danger  of  falling 
into  "decay  to  the  great  inconvenience  of  travelers  who  may  pass 
and  repass  that  way  unless  care  be  taken  to  maintain  the  same 
until  such  time  as  it  may  be  maintained  by  those  who  inherit  it." 

The  town  grew  apace,  and  before  1717  there  were  people 
enough  to  necessitate  the  building  of  a  church.  A  frame  struc- 
ture fifty  feet  front,  containing  fifty  pews,  was  erected  under  the 
superintendence  of  Elder  Roelef  Sebring  and  Deacons  Ilendi-ik 
Bries  and  Roelef  Lucas.  It  faced  the  river  on  the  corner  of 
what  is  now  Biu-net  and  kSchureman  streets,  and  for  more  than 
fifty  years  housed  the  congregation  of  the  First  Dutch  Reformed 
church  of  the  town.  This  was  not  the  earliest  house  of  worship 
in  this  vicinity.  One  had  been  erected  some  years  before,  about 
one  and  one-half  miles  beyond  the  present  New  Brunswick  city 
limits,  and  it  is  believed  it  was  the  first  sanctuary  built  in  the 
county  of  Somerset.  Tradition  characterizes  it  as  a  rude  struc- 
ture, never  entirely  completed ;  the  settlement  about  Inian's 
ferry  growing  rapidly,  the  congregation  preferred  to  transfer 
itself  to  a  new  church  in  "  the  town  by  the  river  "  rather  than 
complete  the  old  one  at  a  point  where  evidently  population  woidd 
not  centre. 

From  this  time  the  tide  of  settlers  rose,  and  rolled  steadily  on 
toward  and  beyond  the  Raritan.  In  1730  the  popidation  of  New 
Brunswick  was  augmented  by  the  arrival  of  a  niunber  of  Dutch 
families  from  the  upper  Hudson,  who  planted  themselves  on 
either  side  of  the  road  leading  up  from  the  ferry,  giving  it  the 
name  of  Albany  street.  Before  then  it  had  been  known  as 
French  street,  deriving  its  appellation  from  Philip  French,  the 
person  from  whom  these  new-comers  had  acquired  their  lands. 
He  was  a  large  owner  in  Middlesex  county,  and  was  the  son  of 


186  The  Stoky  of  an  Old  Fakm. 

Philip  French  who  had  been  mayor  of  the  city  of  New  York  and 
speaker  of  the  assembly  of  that  province.  In  addition  to  their 
native  thrift  the  migrators  introduced  into  East  Jersey  the  good 
old  Holland  names  of  Van  Dyke,  Van  Alen,  Van  Veghten, 
Van  Deui'sen,  Schuyler,  Ten  Broek,  and  others.  Not  only  the 
town  by  the  river  benefited  by  this  influx  of  new-comers ;  the 
back  country  of  Middlesex,  which  had  been  a  county  since  1682, 
lost  its  aspect  of  a  solitude.  The  old  Dutch  trail  was  rapidly 
being  transformed  into  the  King's  highway  ;  clearings  multiplied, 
and  what  had  been  clearings  were  now  converted  into  arable 
fields  and  well-tilled  farms.  Immigrants  from  Germany  landing 
in  New  York  traversed  this  road,  seeking  that  Mecca  of  all  pil- 
grims from  the  Rhine,  the  province  of  Pennsylvania.  Finding 
their  route  bordered  by  goodly  lands,  many  of  them  abandoned 
their  proposed  goal,  and  turning  aside  made  their  homes  among 
the  Dutch  and  English  settlers. 

The  country  in  the  vicinity  of  this  highway,  when  nuich  of 
New  Jersey  was  stUl  a  wilderness,  had  the  appearance  of  being 
comparatively  well  cultivated  and  long  occupied.  James  Alex- 
ander, the  father  of  Lord  Stirling,  in  a  letter  written  in  1730, 
says  that  "  In  the  year  1715  there  were  but  four  or  five  houses 
between  Inian's  ferry  and  the  Delaware  river,  but  that  now — 
17.30 — the  country  is  settled  very  thick ;  as  they  go  chiefly  on 
raising  of  wheat  and  the  making  of  flour,  and  as  New  Brunswick 
is  the  nearest  landing,  it  necessarily  makes  that  the  storehouse 
for  all  the  produce  that  they  send  to  market ;  which  has  drawn  a 
considerable  number  of  people  to  settle  there,  insomuch  that 
a  lot  of  ground  in  New  Brmiswick  is  grown  to  be  near  so  great  a 
price  as  so  much    ground  in  the  heart  of  New  York." 

Prof.  Kalm,  the  Swedish  botanist  and  traveller,  when  journey- 
ing in  1748  from  Philadelphia  to  New  York,  expressed  the 
greatest  surprise  at  finding  so  cultivated  a  region,  and  declared 
that  in  all  his  travels  in-  America  he  saw  no  part  of  the  open 
country  so  well  peopled.  At  Trentown,  which  he  reached  by 
sloop,  his  landlord  told  him  that  twenty-two  years  before,  when 
he  first  settled  there,  there  were  hardly  any  houses,  but  the 
increase  since  that  time  had  been  so  great  that  there  were  now 
nearly  one  hundred.  Along  the  road  to  the  Raritan  there  were 
great  distances  of  forests,  but  yet  on  much  of  the  way  he  found 


New  Brunswick  Charterkd  in  1730.  187 

extensive  fields  of  grain,  and  almost  every  farm  had  abundant 
orchards.  He  especially  noticed  the  great  Jersey  barns,  which 
in  many  instances  he  thought  to  be  as  big  as  small  churches,  so 
large,  in  fact,  that,  which  to  the  foreigner  seemed  most  extraor- 
dinary, they  housed  horses,  cattle,  grain,  mows,  and  thresh- 
ing floors.  Their  great  double  doors  enabled  farmers  to  drive 
loaded  teams  "  in  one  side  and  out  the  other."  The  Pro- 
fessor attributed  this  generous  farm  architecture  to  the  Germans 
and  Dutch,  whom  he  reports  as  occupying  most  of  the  country. 
On  the  thirtieth  day  of  December,  1730,  two  weeks  before 
New  York  was  incorporated  as  a  city,  King  George  II.  bestowed 
on  New  Brunswick,  under  the  great  seal  of  the  Crown,  its  first 
city  charter.*  The  inhahitants  agreed  in  consideration  of  the 
privileges  granted  by  this  precious  docixmcnt  to  pay  annually  to 
tlie  kingdom  of  Great  Britain  one  sheaf  of  wheat.  The  opening 
language  of  this  charter  was  as  follows  : 

Whereas,  our  Loving  Subjects  Tliomas  ffarmar,  Jacob  Okey,  James  Hude 
Dolin  Hagerman,  Lawrence  Williamson,  Duncan  Hutchinson,  Derrick  Schuyler, 
William  Okey,  Paul  Miller,  William  Williamson,  Abraham  Bennett,  Cort  Voor- 
hees,  James  Nelson,  John  Balding,  and  many  Others  have  petitioned  for  a  city 
charter,  it  has  been  granted.  Also  for  the  reason  that  the  said  Towne  of  New 
Brunswick,  standing  near  the  head  of  a  fine  Navigable  River,  and  being  the 
Most  Convenient  place  for  shipping  off  the  produce  of  a  large  and  plentiful! 
Country  Lying  on  the  back  thereof  is  a  place  of  very  Considerable  trade  & 
Commerce. 

The  citizens  of  New  Jersey  in  the  olden-time  had  great  confi- 
dence in  the  future  prosperity  of  the  province.  In  laying  out 
their  towns  and  cities  they  established  corporate  limits  gi-eat 
enough  for  that  extensive  population,  the  coming  of  which  they 
so  sui'ely  anticipated.  Thus  Perth  Amboy — already  for  twelve 
years  a  chartered  city^included  a  thousand  acres  east  of  the 
Raritan,  while  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river  its  northerly  line 
extended  from  the  mouth  of  South  river  westerly  nearly  to 
Hightstown,  and  its  southerly  parallel  line  ran  fully  as  far  into 
Monmouth  county  from  the  mouth  of  Cheesequake  ci-eek.  New 
Brunswick,  equally  ambitious,   extended  its  southerly  boundary 

*New  York  City  was  first  chartered  by  Governor  Dongan  in  1676,  but  its 
fathers,  fearing  that  this  governor's  corporation  might  not,  under  pressure,  stand 
a  legal  test,  asked  of  the  King,  and  received  on  the  fifteenth  of  January,  1730- 
1731,   the  royal  charter   by  which   the  city  was  governed  for  a  century. 


4- 


188  The  Story  of  ax  Old  Fakm. 

to  the  Amboy  line,  while  its  northerly  limits  stretched  west- 
erly almost  to  Princeton.  And  so  the  two  great  cities  of  Middle- 
sex adjoined  each  other.  The  following  is  a  list  of  New 
Brunswick's  officers  for  the  first  year : 

Mayor,  Thomas  Farmar:  Recorder,  James  Hude  ;  Aldermen,  Wm.  Cox, 
Jacob  Oakey,  Dally  Hagaman,  William  Cheasman,  Josiah  Davison  and  Lawrence 
"Williamson,  Esqrs. ;  Sheriff  and  Water-baliff,  Evan  Dnimmond ;  Common  Coun- 
cilmen  or  Assistants,  Jolin  Thomson,  Cort  Voorhees,  Minne  Voorhees,  Henry 
Lougfield,  William  Williamson  and  John  Van  Dyck  ;  Chamberlain  or  Treasurer, 
Alexander  Moore;  Coroner,  Thomas  Marshall;  Marshall  or  Serjeant  at  Mace, 
John  Dally ;  Overseers  of  the  Poor,  John  Van  Nuys  and  Daniel  Fitch ;  Con- 
stables, John  Stevens,  David  Lee  and  Michael  Moore. 

It  would  be  pleasant  to  know  what  manner  of  men  were  all 
of  these  political  pioneers — New  Brunswick's  first  city-fathers. 
Of  some  of  them  a  measure  of  information  as  to  their  personality 
gleams  upon  us  through  the  mists  of  time.  Professor  Austin 
Scott,  of  Rutger's  college,  in  a  paper  entitled,  "Beginnings  of  City 
Life  in  New  Jersey," read  before  the  "New  Bnmswick  Historical 
Club  "  on  the  twenty-ninth  of  October,  1886,  paid  a  high  tribute 
to  the  character  and  attainments  of  Thomas  Farmar,  the  city's  first 
mayor.  He  is  said  to  have  lived  on  Staten  Island  and  at  Perth 
Amboy  before  removing  to  New  Brunswick :  as  early  as  1709 
John  Harrison,  who  was  with  the  provincial  army  on  the  north- 
ern frontier,  addressed  a  letter  to  him  at  Amboy.  In  October, 
1711,  he  was  appointed  second  judge  of  the  provincial  supreme 
coiu't,  and  was  its  presiding  judge  from  March,  1728,  to  Novem- 
ber, 1729.  He  ably  represented  his  county  in  the  assembly 
during  the  Morris  administration,  being  a  stanch  supporter  of 
that  governor  in  his  spirited  fight  against  the  aggressive  tyranny 
of  Lord  Cornbury.  Mr.  Farmar  had  several  children  :  one  of 
of  them — Christopher — assumed  the  name  of  Billop,  inheriting 
with  it  from  his  wife's  family  a  large  estate  on  Staten  Island,  to 
which  he  removed.  His  residence — still  standing — is  a  promi- 
nent land-mark  at  BUlops'-point,  at  the  extreme  southerly  end  of 
the  Island.  This  antiquated  dwelling  is  well  worth}'  of  a  visit, 
not  only  because  of  its  quaint  appearance  and  old-time  charac- 
teristics, but  from  its  having  been  the  place  where  Franklin, 
Adams  and  Rutledge,  conferred  with  Lord  Howe  in  1776  in  the 
futile  endeavor  to  establish  some  basis  for  an  honorable  peace. 
Two  of  the  mayor's  daughters  married  Peter  Goelet,  and  his  young- 


New  Brunswick's  First  Citt-Fatheks.  189 

est  and  most  beautiful  daughter,  Sarah,  became  the  wife  of  Doc- 
tor Alexander  Ross,  of  New  Brunswick,  who  was  bom  in  Ireland 
in  1723,  and  died  in  1775,  as  his  monument  in  Christ's  church- 
yard attests.  He  it  was  who  in  the  middle  of  the  last  century- 
erected  on  the  river  bank,  opposite  and  above  the  city,  that  sub- 
stantial residence  which  is  still  known  as  Ross  Hall — a  most 
interesting  specimen  of  colonial  architecture.  At  the  death  of 
Doctor  Ross,  his  student.  Doctor  Charles  A.  Howard,  succeeded 
not  only  to  his  preceptor's  practice  but  to  his  wife  and  house 
as  well. 

Recorder  Hude  was  a  Scotch  Presbyterian  and  a  prominent 
merchant  of  New  Brimswick.  His  ffvther,  Adam  Hude,  came  to 
America  with  John  Johnstone  on  the  iU-fated  fever  ship  "Henry 
and  Francis."  He  settled  in  Woodbridge  township,  building  a 
house  which  was  recently  standing  on  the  Rahway  road  one 
mile  north  of  the  village.  His  son,  the  recorder,  the  Honorable 
Colonel  James  Hude  as  he  was  termed,  during  a  long  and  use- 
ful life,  occupied  almost  ev^ery  important  office  within  the  gift  of 
the  government  and  people.  At  his  death  in  1762  he  was 
a  member  of  the  king's  council  and  mayor  of  the  corporation  of 
New  Brunswick.  The  "New  York  Mercury"  of  the  eighth  of 
November  of  that  year,  in  noticing  his  death,  "  after  a  long  and 
tedious  indisposition,"  mentions  him  as  "  a  gentleman  who,  for 
his  great  probity,  justice,  affability,  moral  and  political  virtues, 
was  imiversally  esteemed  and  beloved  by  those  who  knew  him." 

Derrick,  or  Dirck,  Schuyler,  one  of  the  petitioners  for  the 
charter,  was  a  Dutch  migrator  from  the  upper  Hudson.  He  was 
bom  on  the  twenty -fifth  of  July,  1700,  being  the  son  of  Abra- 
ham, and  the  grandson  of  David,  the  first  notice  of  the  latter  being 
obtained  from  his  marriage  on  the  thirteenth  of  October,  1657, 
to  Catalyna,  daughter  of  Abraham  Isaacse  Verplanck.  He  is 
believed  to  have  been  a  younger  brother  of  the  Philip  Peterse 
who  is  known  in  Schuyler  annals  as  "  the  immigrant."  There 
was  also  living  in  New  Brunswick  at  this  time  Abraham  Schuy- 
ler, a  four  years  younger  brother  of  Derrick,  whose  wife  was 
Katrina,  daughter  of  Barent  Staats. 

Abraham  Bennet,  another  of  the  petitioners,  lived  near  the 
old  Dutch  chui-ch  at  Three  Mile  Rim.  He  was  the  son  of  Adrian 
and  Angenietje  Bennet  and  the  grandson  of  William     Bennet 


190  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

who  emigrated  from  Holland  to  Gowanus  on  Long  Island  early 
in  the  seventeenth  century.  He,  Aldermen  Lawrence  William- 
son (Laurens  WilUamse),  Dolis,  or  Dallius,  Hagaman  and  Con- 
stable Michael  Moore  were  in  Middlesex  county  at  the  da-mi  of 
the  eighteenth  century ;  their  names  are  to  be  found  on  a  sub- 
scription list,  dated  1703,  by  which  £10,168.,6d.  was  obtained  from 
thirty  subscribers  to  aid  in  procuring  a  minister  from  Holland. 
Bennet,  his  parents  and  ^^^fe  Jannetie  ;  Aldermen  Williamson, 
Hagaman  and  Jacob  Oakey  {Jacobus  Oiikee) ;  and  Councilman 
Minne  Voorhees ;  were  all  members  in  1717  of  the  Dutch 
Reformed  church  of  New  Brunswick,  as  the  minutes  of  the  con- 
gregation for  that  year  show.  Minne  Voorhees  was  a  sort  of  a 
lay-domine,  an  opsinderm,  or  helper  of  the  minister.  He  cate- 
chised the  children  and  in  the  absence  of  the  pastor  conducted 
the  chm'oh  services,  which  he  did  exceptionally  well,  being 
blessed  with  an  extraordinary  memory  that  enabled  him  to 
repeat  a  lecture  and  all  the  exercises  without  the  aid  of  notes. 
He  was  the  son  of  Lucas  Stephens,  and  grandson  of  Stephen 
Courten  who  settled  at  Flatlands,  Long  Island,  in  1660,  having 
reached  America  in  April  of  that  year  from  the  jirovince  of 
Drenthe,  Holland,  in  the  ship  Bontekoe  (Spotted  Cow.)  The 
name  Voorhees  is  derived  from  the  Holland  village  of  Hesse, 
where  the  family  originated ;  and  with  the  prefix  Van  means 
"  from  before  Hesse."  Minne  Voorhees  owned  a  mill  and  a 
large  tract  of  land  on  Lawrence's  brook  just  south  of  the  city, 
and  in  1723  is  said  to  have  been  living  on  what  is  now,  or  was 
recently,  known  as  the  ''  college  farm."  Councilman  Cort 
Voorhees,  a  descendant  of  the  same  immigrant-ancestor,  was  also 
a  grinder  of  grists  ;  his  mill  stood  at  the  mouth  of  the  MUe  Run 
at  the  Landing,  about  opposite  the  residence  of  the  late 
Lewis  Carman.  As  is  shown  by  the  Franklin  tax  list  of  1735 
he  owned  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land  and  nine  head  of 
cattle,  on  which  he  paid  a  tax  of  £l,7s.,ld.  Another  Long  Island 
migrator  among  the  city  fathers  was  Alderman  Hagaman.  He 
was  the  son  of  Denyse  and  Liurstia  Hagaman,  of  Flatbush,  and 
grandson  of  Adrian  who  emigrated  from  Holland  in  1651.  Law- 
rence Williamson,  like  many  modern  aldermen,  seems  to  have  been 
a  publican  of  substance.  Professor  Scott  has  an  original  deed 
by  which  in  1742  Williamson  conveyed  to  the  city  as  a  gift  a  lot 


How  THE  Dutch  Obtained  Patronymics.  191 

"near  his  old  pot-house"  on  Burnet  and  Peace  streets — now 
Cominerce  square.  Like  most  of  the  Raritan  Dutch,  he  came 
from  Long  Island  ;  he  returned  there  in  1711,  in  search  of  a 
wife,  being  married  at  Flatlands  on  the  twenty-ninth  of  March 
of  that  year  to  Sarah  Stoothoff. 

Jacob  Oakey,  in  his  cognomen,  is  an  excellent  example  of  that 
peculiar  fashion  among  the  New  Netherland  Dutch  of  evolving 
a  patronymic  from  a  Christian  name.  Tracing  genealogies  from 
Holland  descents  is  vexatious,  because  so  few  of  the  emigrant 
families  possessed  surnames ;  in  very  many  instances  the 
Christian  name  of  the  father  served  as  a  surname  for  children. 
Thus  Peter's  son  Michael  would  be  called  Michael  Fietersen, 
Pieterse,  or  Pictcrs,  and  should  Michael  have  a  son  Jacob,  he  in 
his  turn  would  be  Jacob  llichaelsen,  Michaelse,  or  Michaels. 
It  was  not  until  the  English  immigration  had  become  gen- 
eral that  the  Dutch  felt  the  necessity  of  adopting  surnames. 
These  were  variously  chosen — from  the  Christian  name  of  the 
father,  from  their  occupations,  their  homes  in  the  old  country,  or 
often  some  peculiar  feature  of  the  locality  from  which  they  had 
emigrated.  Accordingly,  in  this  manner  were  developed  such 
namesas  Hendricks,  Hendrickson,  Anderson,  Williams,  Williamson 
and  Johnson.  The  Van  Winkles  derived  their  names  from  ivinJcel, 
"  a  shop,"  the  Van  Horns  from  Hoorn,  a  port  on  the  Zuyder 
Zee  ;  the  Van  Ripens  and  Van  Ripers  from  Ripen,  a  diocese  in 
North  Jutland  ;  the  Rosendales  from  Eosendaalen  ( "  valley  of 
roses "),  a  town  on  the  Belgian  frontier ;  Van  Dyck  means 
"  from  the  dike  "  ;  Van  Zant.  "  from  the  sand  "  (coast) ;  Van 
Boskerck,  "from  the  church  in  the  woods,"  and  so  on,  ad 
infinitum. 

Jacobus  Ouke,  as  he  spelled  his  name,  was  the  son  of  Jacobus 
AucJcerss,  of  Flatlands,  and  the  grandson  of  AuJce  Janse,  a  Long 
Island  carpenter  who  emigrated  from  Amsterdam  in  1651.  The 
records  of  New  Amsterdam  show  that  on  the  tenth  of  March, 
1653,  a  suit  was  instituted  before  the  burgomasters  and  schepens 
by  Hendrick  Egbertsen,  to  recover  from  Hendriek  Gerritsen 
thirty-five  guilders  and  sixteen  stivers  for  building  a  house. 
The  contestants  were  referred  to  carpenters  Auke  Janse  and 
Christian  Barentsen  as  arbitrators.  Alderman  Oakey's  carpenter- 
ancestor  waxed  so  important   in  the  new  country    as  to  feel  the 


192  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

need  of  a  surname,  so  he  assumed  the  name  of  Van  Nuys,  which 
is  the  surname  of  most  of  his  descendants.  The  posterity  of  our 
alderman,  however,  all  became  Oakeys  ;  thus  we  find  two  dis- 
tinct families  of  diiFerent  names  emanating  from  a  common  ances- 
tor. This  is  not  uncommon  in  Dutch  genealogies ;  the  Lane 
and  Van  Pelt  families,  of  Somerset  and  Hudson  counties,  origina- 
ted in  3Iatthys  Janss  Van  Pelt  Lanen,  a  Walloon,  who  emigrated 
from  Liege  in  1663,  and  settled  at  New  Utrecht.  So  with  the 
New  Jersey  families  of  Garretson  and  Van  Waggenen  ;  their 
ancestor  was  Gerritt  Gerritsen,  who  reached  New  Amsterdam 
in  1660  from  Wagcningen,  a  Rhenish  town  in  Gelderland  ;  some 
of  the  second  generation  assumed  his  name  as  a  surname  (now 
Garretson  and  Garrison)  others  took  the  name  of  Van  Waggenen. 
The  two  old  New  York  families  of  Rutger  and  Van  W^art  derive 
their  names  from  two  brothers,  Rutger  and  Teunis,  sons  o{  Jacobus 
Van  Schoenderwoert  who  came  to  Beaverwyck  in  about  the  year 
1640.  The  descendants  of  the  former,  on  removing  to  New  York, 
assumed  the  name  of  Rutgers,  while  those  of  the  latter  abbrevi- 
ated their  ancestor's  surname,  and  have  since  been  known  as 
Van  Wart.  Many  instances  of  divided  ancestral  streams  are  to 
be  found  among  New  Jersey's  families  of  Dutch  and  Scandinav- 
ian extraction. 

It  is  quite  time  that  we  return  to  Johannes  ;  we  may  reasona- 
ably  suppose  that  he  has  finished  his  dinner,  and  before  again 
taking  to  the  saddle  is  looking  about  New  Brunswick,  which  he 
is  visiting  for  the  first  time.  He  finds  it  rather  an  attractive 
little  town,  lying  mostly  under  the  hill,  on  the  river  bank.  At 
that  time  it  had  but  two  prominent  streets,  and  the  houses  were 
generally  constructed  of  plank,  though  the  Dutch  of  Albany 
street  occupied  two-storey  brick  dwellings,  they  having  brought 
bricks  and  building  materials  with  them  when  they  migrated. 
These  latter  houses  presented  their  peaked  gables  to  the  street, 
and  were  approached  through  little  wooden-seated  porches 
on  which  the  stout  burghers  and  their  families  would  gather  in  the 
cool  of  the  summer  evenings.  Kalm  writes  that  the  Dutch  of 
the  city  were  an  exclusive  set,  keeping  much  within  themselves 
and  quite  looking  down  on  their  poorer  neighbors.  We  can 
accept  this  statement  cum  grano  salts,  as  in  more  than  one  place 
in  his  book  of  travels  we  find  the  Swede  especially  severe  on 
America's  Holland  citizens. 


Elias  Boudinot's  Copper  Mine.  193 

Besides  the  Dutch  church  on  Burnet  and  Schureman  streets, 
of  which  at  that  time  the  Reverend  John  Leydt  was  pastor, 
there  were  two  other  houses  of  worship.  The  Presbyterian 
church  stood  on  Burnet  street  below  Lyoll's  brook,  it  having 
been  built  during  the  ministry  of  the  .Reverend  Gilbert  Tennent, 
which  continued  from  1726  to  1740.  At  this  time  the  pulpit 
was  occupied  by  the  Reverend  Thomas  Arthur.  Christ  church, 
of  the  Episcopal  congregation,  had  been  partially  erected  since 
17-43,  though  it  was  thirty  years  before  the  building  of  a  steeple 
finally  completed  the  structure.  Its  first  permanent  rector  was 
the  Reverend  Mr.  Wood,  who  was  installed  in  1747.  New 
Brunswick,  in  addition  to  its  milling  and  shipping  interests, 
rejoiced  in  a  copper  mine  that  at  this  time  gave  promise  of 
developing  into  an  impoi'tant  industry'.  In  the  year  1748  virgin 
ore  was  ploughed  up  in  a  field  belonging  to  Philip  French,  about 
three  hundred  yards  back  from  the  river,  and  just  north  of  the 
houses  of  the  town.  Elias  Boudinot  having  leased  the  land,  a 
company  was  formed,  and  in  1751  a  shaft  was  sunk  sixty  feet 
and  a  large  body  of  ore  found.  For  a  number  of  years 
many  tons  of  pure  copper  vi'ere  annually  shipped  to  England, 
and  the  stockholders  anticipated  much  prosperity  for  their  enter- 
prise. But  eventually,  the  ore  vein  being  exhausted.  New 
Brunswick  awoke  from  its  dream  of  becoming  a  great  mining 
town,  and  settled  back  to  the  prosaic  glories  of  its  mills,  and  the 
much  vaunted  honor  of  being  at  the  head  of  sloop  navigation. 

We  have  loitered  long  enough  in  this  Middlesex  city.  So 
has  Johannes.  And  now  we  find  him  mounting  his  waiting 
horse  ready  to  proceed  on  his  journey  :  on  crossing  by  the  ferry 
scow,  his  route  lies  in  a  southeasterly  direction  along  the  "  King's 
highway ;  "  a  ride  of  less  than  two  miles  brings  our  traveller  on 
the  main  street  of  the  old  village  of  Piscatavvay,  flanked  by 
lofty  trees.  Those  of  us  who  are  familiar  with  the  time-stained 
houses,  old-fashioned  gardens  and  aged  churchyards  of  this 
early  se^^ttlement  know  it  to  be  now  a  far  less  important  place 
than  when  in  the  heyday  of  youth,  a  half  century  and  more 
before  the  date  of  Johannes'  visit.  In  those  good  old  colony 
times  its  men  still  loved  the  king,  and  met  at  Hull's  tavern  to 
drink  his  health  iu  long  draughts  of  fiery  Madeira,  or  in  modi- 
cums of  more  potent  West  India  rum.  His  most  gracious  maj- 
13 


194  The  Story  of  an  Old  Fakm. 

esty's  governor,  council,  and  burgesses  have  more  than  once 
met  in  this  ancient  burgh.  On  such  occasions  these  road- 
ways, which  now  seem  sunk  in  the  torpor  of  ages  of  sleep,  were 
enlivened  by  very  important  gentlemen  wearing  gold-laced 
cocked  hats  and  full-bottomed  wigs,  and  arrayed  in  broad- 
skirted  scarlet  coats,  satin  short-clothes,  silk  hose  and  burnished 
knee  and  shoe  buckles ;  who,  while  exchanging  greetings  and 
pinches  of  snuff,  discussed  the  best  interests  of  the  colony. 
There  were  then  social  aspects  and  picturesque  environments  to 
the  society  of  this  old  neighborhood  that  exist  now  but  in  musty 
traditions,  and  in  occasional  notes  to  be  found  in  the  town  rec- 
ords— historical  fragments  of  antiquity  that,  by  chance,  have 
floated  to  the  shore  from  the  swift  current  of  the  river  of  time. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  in  a  previous  chapter  an  account 
was  given  of  how  John  Martin,  Charles  Gilman,  Hugh  Dun,  and 
Hopewell  Hull,  had  removed  to  New  Jersey  from  Piscataqua, 
New  England,  in  response  to  the  "  Concessions  and  Agree- 
ments"  published  in  the  East  by  the  lords-proprietors,  Berkeley 
and  Carteret.  They  received  a  grant  on  the  eighteenth  of 
December,  1666,  for  the  large  area  of  territory  which  now 
embraces  the  township  of  Piscataway.  Within  twenty  years 
settlers  from  New  England  and  the  old  country  had  augmented 
the  nucleus  of  population  formed  by  the  Piscataway  families  to 
about  four  hundred.  Among  the  persons  to  whom  land  was 
allotted  previous  to  1690  are  to  be  found  the  following  names : 
Nicholas  Bonham,  122  acres ;  Benjamin  Clarke,  275  acres ; 
George  Drake,  424  acres ;  Hugh  Dun,  138  acres ;  Benajah 
Dunham,  103J  acres  ;  Edmund  Dunham,  100  acres  ;  John  Fitz- 
Randolph,  225  acres ;  Rehoboth  Gannett,  224  acres ;  Charles 
Gilman,  340  acres ;  Hopewell  Hull,  284  acres ;  Benjamin  Hull, 
innkeeper,  498  acres ;  John  Lan'gstaff,  300  acres ;  John  Martin, 
834  acres ;  Jeffery  Maning,  195  acres  ;  John  Mollison,  100 
acres ;  Nicholas  Mundaye,  lOlJ  acres ;  Vincent  Rongnion,  154J 
acres;  John  Smalley,  118^  acres;  Edward  Slater,  464  acres. 

The  historian  of  East  Jersey,  the  late  W.  A.  Whitehead, 
avers  that  Benjamin  Hull  was  an  inn-keeper  in  Piscataway  in 
1677,  and  that  the  name  and  business  have  continued  connected 
up  to  the  present  day.  Be  this  as  it  may,  it  is  an  extraordinary 
fact,  and  one  well  worthy  of  record  that,  with  hardly  an  excep- 


Early  Settlers  at  Piscataway.  195 

tion,  each  one  of  those  early  landowners  has  at  the  present  time 
descendants  living  in  the  township.  Those  of  Vincent  Rongnion 
seem  to  have  been  well  contented  with  the  location  chosen  by  their 
Huguenot  forefather ;  they  have  owned  land  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  village  from  that  day  to  this,  and  at  present  persons  of  that 
name — since  converted  into  Kun3'on — are  in  possession  of  over 
eight  hundred  acres,  as  follows :  Meflbrd  Runyon,  240 ;  David 
D.,  185;  Peter  A.,  160;  Noah  D.,  144 ;  Isaac,  100.  Vincent 
Rongnion  was  the  ancestor  of  the  Honorable  Theodore  Runyon, 
New  Jersey's  recent  chancellor.  He  came  from  Poictiers, 
France,  and  must  have  settled  in  New  Jersey  before  1668,  as 
his  marriage  license,  signed  by  Governor  Philip  Carteret,  is 
dated  in  that  year.  His  wife  was  Anna,  daughter  of  John 
Boutcher,  of  Hartford,  in  England. 

John  Molleson,  one  of  the  original  landowners,  was  considered 
a  man  of  sufficient  education  to  be  town-clerk  and  recorder  of 
the  minutes  of  town  meetings.  He  may  have  written  a  "  darkly 
hand,"  but  oil !  what  spelling  !     Here  is  his  first  entry  : 

Piscataway  13  of  Suptumber,  1711.  At  the  town  metin<?  then  choes  William 
olding  and  James  maning  overseers  for  the  puer  and  Isac  Small  and  John  Drak 
Seneor  for  the  inshueing  year  asesers:  which  ofesses  they  agried  execuit  grates. 
The  Raiets  is  to  be  used  by  Discration  of  the  asesers. 

John  Molleson,  Clark. 

At  the  forsaid  meting  it  is  agried  that  the  hiring  place  shall  be  fensed 
suflScient. 

These  town  records  offer  some  curious  and  interesting  con- 
tributions to  our  knowledge  of  the  beginning  of  things  at 
Piscataway.  From  them  we  learn  that  Benjamin  Hull,  the  first 
inn-keeper,  figured  in  the  two  very  different  roles  of  judge  and 
transgressor.  Notwithstanding  his  occupation,  in  December, 
1692,  as  foreman  of  the  grand  jury  he  indicted  several  persons 
for  drunkenness  and  breach  of  Sabbath ;  while  in  June,  1694, 
he,  himself,  was  "presented  by  y'-'  grand  jur„v  for  keeping  and 
allowing  gaming  at  Cards,  and  Bowie  and  pins  at  his  house." 
Edward  Slater,  another  old  settler,  seems  early  to  have  "  come 
to  grief;  "  we  learn  from  the  town  records  that  he  was  impris- 
oned in  1681  for  having  "  uttered  very  pnishouse  and  Squer- 
illouse  words  Rendering  the  Grovemment  of  the  province,  the 
Governor  and  Counsell  Odyous  in  the  Eyes  and  hearts  of  the 
people."     Judging  from  the  above  entry  odd  rides  as  to  the  use 


196  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

of  capital  letters  must  have  prevailed.  Wliy  should  eyes  have 
been  honored  with  a  capital,  while  that  more  important  organ, 
the  heart,  was  forced  to  beat  with  a  small  letter  ?  Slater  did 
not,  apparently,  remain  in  durance  very  long,  as  in  1683  he  was 
again  apprehended  on  the  suspicion  of  being  an  escaped  criminal 
from  England,  and  in  the  same  year  was  presented  by  the  grand 
jury  in  an  indictment  of  nine  counts,  '•'  as  a  common  nuisance 
and  offence." 

Nothwithstanding  the  tribulations  of  Edward  Slater,  by  1685 
he  seems  to  have  been  entirely  restored  to  public  favor.  In  that 
year  he,  with  Hopewell  Hull,  John  Fitz-Randolph,  and  others, 
was  appointed  one  of  a  committee  to  superintend  the  building  of 
a  church  ediiice,  the  selectmen  having  on  the  eighteenth  of 
January,  1685-6,  passed  the  following  resolution : 

At  the  Towne  Meetinge  then  agreed  _vt  there  should  be  a  meetinge  liouse  built 
forthwith,  the  diiiientions  as  followeth  :  Twenty  foot  wide,  thirty  foot  Longe,  and 
Ten  foot  between  joyn  ts. 

The  Piscataway  fathers  appear  to  have  been  lax  in  prosecut- 
ing the  work  of  erecting  their  first  public  building,  for  five  years 
later  the  town-book  recites  that  Edward  Slater,  George  Drake, 
and  Isaac  Smalley,  were  chosen  '*  to  discorse  hopewell  huU  about 
the  finishen  of  the  towne  house,  and  if  hopewell  hvdl  refuse  to 
finish  it,  that  the  above  mentioned  men  have  power  to  hire 
workmen  to  finish  the  saide  house."  This  "  meetinge-house  " 
was  for  the  Baptists,  as  that  denomination  seems  to  have  estab- 
lished the  first  religious  services  in  the  township.  The  Duns, 
Drakes,  Dunhams,  Bonhams,  Fitz-Randolphs  and  Smalleys,  of 
the  original  settlers,  were  of  that  persuasion,  and  some  Irish 
Baptists  from  Tipperary  joined  them  in  1683.  The  first  minister 
was  John  Drake,  who,  dying  in  1739,  was  succeeded  by  Benja- 
min Stelle,  of  French  extraction.  Descendants  ol  this  last 
"divine"  are  numerous  hereabouts,  and  the  name  of  the  first 
railway  station  east  of  New  Brunswick — Stelton — was  derived 
from  this  family.  We  can  gain  some  idea  of  the  character  of 
this  first  "meeting-house"  from  a  letter  -vvritten  by  a  missionary 
of  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign 
Parts  in  1711: 

Piscataqua  makes  a  much  greater  congregation  (than  Amboy),  and  there  are 
some  pious  and  well-disposed   people  among   them ;  some  come  from  good   dis- 


New  Jersey's  First  Seventh-Day  Congregation.    197 

tances  to  this  meeting,  but  there  is  nothing  among  us  like  the  face  of  a  Church 
of  England  :  no  surplice,  no  Bible,  no  Communion  Table,  an  old  broken  house 
in  sufficient  to  keep  us  from  injuries  of  the  weather,  and  where  likewise  the 
Anabaptists  which  swarm  in  this  place  do  sometimes  preach,  and  we  cannot 
hinder  the  house  belonging  to  the  Town. 

The  first  congregation  of  Seventh-Day  Baptists  in  New  Jer- 
sey had  its  origin  in  this  township,  in  the  following  manner :  In 
the  year  1700,  Eflmiind  Dunham,  a  Baptist  exhorter  and  the 
owner  of  one  hundred  and  ten  acres  of  the  town  lands,  felt  called 
upon  to  admonish  Hezekiah  Bonham  for  working  on  Sunday  ; 
whereupon  Bonham  defied  him  to  prove  divine  authority  for 
keeping  holy  the  first  day  of  the  week.  Dunham,  after  investiga- 
tion, failed  to  do  so  to  his  own  satisfaction,  consequently  he  himself 
renounced  the  observance  of  the  first  day.  In  the  year  1705  he 
formed  a  congregation  of  Seventh-Day  Baptists,  and  was 
appointed  its  pastor.  This  was  the  second  church  of  that  denom- 
ination in  America,  the  first  having  beeii  established  in  1065 
at  Newport,  Rhode  Island.  The  Piscataway  Saturday  worship- 
pers sent  their  new  minister  to  that  colony  for  ordination,  wliicii 
he  received  on  the  eighth  of  September,  1705,  at  the  hands  of 
Elder  WiUiam  Gibson,  who  was  holding  a  church  meeting  at 
Westerly. 

Edmund  Dunham  apparently  gathered  within  his  fold  most, 
if  not  aU,  of  the  Dunns  and  Dimhams  in  the  township,  as 
on  the  early  church  books  appear  the  names  of  Edmund  J., 
Jonathan,  Ephraim,  Benejah,  John,  Azerial,  Mary,  Dorothy, 
Phebe,  Dinah  and  Jane  Dunham  ;  Hugh,  Joseph.  Hugh  Jr., 
Micajah,  Samuel  Jr.,  Jonathan,  Elizabeth,  Hester,  Rebecca  and 
Esther  Dunn  The  ministrations  of  this  first  pastor  continued 
until  1734,  when  he  died  at  seventy-three  years  of  age,  being 
succeeded  by  his  son  Jonathan,  who  preached  until  his  death 
from  small-pox  at  the  age  of  eighty-six  years  in  1777.  During 
the  lifetime  of  the  father  services  were  held  in  private  houses. 
In  1736  a  church  was  erected  on  the  road  leading  to  Quibble- 
town — now  New  Market — and  two  miles  south  of  that  village. 
This  building  remained  a  sanctuary  until  1802  when  it  was  con- 
verted into  a  barn,  for  which  purpose  it  is  still  used,  the  timbers 
being  as  sound  as  when  taken  from  the  forest.  The  second 
church  building  occupied  the  same  site,  but  it  gave  way  in  1835 
to  the  congregation's  present  structure  which    is   located   in  the 


198  The  Story  of  an  Old  Faeji. 

village  of  New  Market.  This  church,  in  an  existence  of 
nearly  two  hundred  years,  has  had  but  eleven  ministers,  and  at 
present  is  in  a  flourishing  condition.    ■ 

The  first  services,  according  to  the  rites  of  the  church  of 
England,  were  held  in  Piscataway  in  1704,  Queen  Anne  grant- 
ing a  charter  to  the  wardens  and  congregation  as  "  St.  James' 
Episcopal  Church."  Services  were  irregidar  until  1724,  when  a 
church  edifice  was  completed.  The  pioneer  clergyman  of  this 
parish  was  a  hard-working  missionary  named  Brook,  who 
rode  a  circuit  of  fifty  miles  preaching  at  Elizabethtown, 
Perth  Amboy,  Cheesequakes,  Freehold,  Rocky  Hill  and  Piscat- 
away. He  entered  the  province  in  1702  under  the  auspices  of 
the  "London  Society  for  Propagating  the  Gospel  in  Foreign 
Parts,"  at  a  yearly  salary  of  sixty  pounds.  "  Besides  preach- 
ing," as  Humphries,  the  society's  historian,  says,  "he  used  to 
catechise  and  expound  fourteen  times  a  month,  which  obliged 
him  to  be  on  horseback  every  day,  which  was  expensive  as  well 
as  toilsome.  However,  this  diligence  raised  a  very  zealous 
spirit  in  many  of  the  people."  Mr.  Brooks  died  while  returning 
to  England  in  1707.  His  widow,  who  was  the  sister  of  Christo- 
pher BiUop  of  Staten  Island,  seems  to  have  been  well  content 
with  the  lot  of  a  helpmate  to  a  colonial  pastor,  as  she  afterward 
married  the  Reverend  William  Skinner. 

For  several  years  after  Mr.  Brooks'  death  St.  James  received 
the  occasional  services  of  the  Reverends  Messrs.  Vaughan  and 
Halliday.  TTpon  the  completion  of  the  church  in  1724  Mr.  Skinner 
became  pastor,  in  which  office,  in  connection  with  his  home  duties 
at  Perth  Amboy,  he  continued  for  thirty  years,  officiating  on  every 
third  Sunday,  on  which  occasions,  it  is  said,  he  was  appreciated  by 
large  assemblages.  St.  James'  first  church  building  sheltered  the 
devotions  of  the  parish  for  one  hundred  and  ten  years,  when  it  was 
destroyed  by  the  great  tornado  of  1835.  The  present  structure 
was  built  and  presented  to  the  congregation  by  Joseph  Foulke, 
of  New  York.  It  stands  in  one  of  the  most  ancient  and  interest- 
ing graveyards  in  the  state.  Two  centuries  of  winds  have  sighed 
requiems  through  the  waving  branches  of  the  venerable  trees 
that  brood  over  the  seclusion  of  this  little  "  God's  acre."  For 
we  learn  from  the  town  records  that,  as  far  back  as  the  year 
1690   ten   shillings   were  set    apart     for    "  minding   the  burrial 


BONHAMTOWN.  199 

place,  and  to  set  it  up  with  good  white  oacke  or  chestnut  stakes, 
and  bound  with  good  withes." 

My  readers,  I  can  fancy,  ere  crying  out — "  Enough  of  Piscat- 
away !  You  are  making  too  long  a  story  of  this  township  !" 
Permit  me  to  offer  the  very  personal  excuse  th.at  it  was  the  home 
of  my  ancestors.  The  Dunns  and  Dunhams  are  all  in  the  writer's 
maternal  ancestral  line,  of  whom  at  least  five  generations  lie 
biu'ied  under  the  sods  of  the  churchyard  of  the  ancient  parish  of 
Saint  James.  Well !  your  warning  is  heeded  ;  at  last  this  inter- 
esting settlement  is  left  behind,  and  our  cavalier  rides  on  over 
the  high  levels  of  Middlesex.  Soon  another  old  village  is  in  his 
path,  the  little  hamlet  of  Bonhamtown,  the  point  where  Nicholas 
lionham  located  his  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres.  This  place 
woidd  have  remained  unknown  to  fame  beyond  the  circle  of  its 
immediate  vicinity,  had  it  not  found  itself — twenty-live  years 
later — in  the  track  of  contending  armies  ;  its  name  thus  becom- 
ing historically  embalmed  in  the  reports  of  commanders  of  the 
opposing  forces.  The  trend  of  our  "  solitary  horseman"  is  now 
more  easterly,  and  facing  the  salt  water,  he  canters  over  a  pleas- 
ant country  of  low  hills,  gently  subsiding  into  shallow  valleys, 
diversified  with  woods  and  patches  of  cultivated  lands,  orna- 
mented with  homesteads.  It  was  yet  early  in  the  afternoon 
when  he  came  in  sight  of  Perth  Amboy — its  unrivalled  location 
presenting,  then  as  now,  a  charming  shore  panorama  of  grove- 
cro«aicd  knoUs,  meadows  of  waving  grass,  bay,  rivers  and 
varied  beaches. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Perth  Amhoy  as  a  Provincial  Capital — The  Appearance  the  City 
Presented  in  1752. 

To  one  possessed  of  antiquarian  tastes  there  is  a  singular 
pleasure  in  looking  back  through  the  long  vista  of  years  and 
picturing  in  the  mind  the  appearance  that  a  familiar  place  must 
have  presented  in  those  remote,  and  seemingly  almost  poetic 
days,  known  as  colonial  times.  A  professor  of  comparative 
anatomy  is  enabled  by  securing  a  few  fossil  remains  to  recon- 
struct a  species  of  animal  long  since  extinct.  So  the  delver  in 
days  of  yore,  by  the  proper  placing  of  his  few  historical  facts, 
illumined  by  a  well  controlled  imagination,  and  a  fancy  verging 
perhaps  on  the  romantic  and  picturesque,  essays  to  again  bring 
to  life  a  past  social  condition,  and  create  appearances  and  fashions 
long  out  of  date. 

Thus  would  we  fain  endeavor  to  rehabilitate  in  its  antique 
dress  this  city  of  Perth  Amboy  that  has  dozed  for  two  centuries 
amid  its  groves  of  sycamores  and  oaks,  to  bring  out  by  descrip- 
tion certain  aspects  that  mil  delineate  society  and  types  illustra- 
tive of  pre-Eevolutionary  days  in  this  portion  of  New  Jersey. 
When  in  the  full  tide  of  its  lusty  youth  this  town  liad  virile 
ambitions  and  aspired  to  be  the  metropolis  of  a  new  world.  But 
those  days,  now  long  past,  are  almost  forgotten,  and  for  many 
decades — until  the  comparatively  recent  advent  of  new  railways 
— this  borough  quietly  slept  on  its  pleasant  banks  by  the  wide- 
spreading  waters,  apparently  well  content  to  sit  apart  from  the 
cares  and  vanities  of  its  more  successful  rivals  in  trade  and 
population.  By  drawing  on  Mr. -Whitehead's  chronicles  of  East 
Jersey,  and  by  filling  up  the  outlines  of  the  little  knowledge  we 


Early  New  Jersey  Goveenors.  201 

may  have  of  the  place  and  people  in  those  olden  times,  we  shall 
hope  to  present  to  the  reader  a  fairly  life-like  picture.  An 
endeavor  will  be  made  to  unfold  such  a  scene  as  met  Johannes' 
eyes,  when  in  this  spring:  of  1752  he  rode  over  the  high  rolling 
lands  bordering  the  Raritan  and  entered  ancient  Amboy — for  it 
is  ancient,  having  enjoyed  the  proud  distinction  of  a  city  charter, 
and  all  the  honors  of  a  mayor  and  corporation,  since  the  twenty- 
fourth  of  August,  1718. 

The  dignity  and  importance  of  the  borough  at  that  time  were 
by  no  means  confined  to  the  fact  of  its  possessing  municipal 
rights.  From  its  natal  day  it  had  been  the  seat  of  government, 
and  since  the  proprietors  surrendered  to  Queen  Anne  their  rights 
as  rulers,  royal  governors  had  frequently  made  it  their  place  of 
residence.  The  first  chief  magistrate  under  the  Crown  was 
Lord  Cornbury.  who  also  ruled  New  York,  as  did  several  suc- 
ceeding governors.  He  was  a  cousin  of  the  queen  ;  there  his 
nobility  ended,  for  in  personal  habits  and  character  he  was  of  a 
low  order.  He  persecuted  Presbyterians  and  other  dissenters, 
and  violated  the  agreement  entered  into  between  the  English 
and  Dutch  at  the  time  of  the  capture  of  New  Netherlands, 
whereby  the  latter  were  guaranteed  religious  liberty.  Lewis 
Jlorris,  in  a  severe  letter  to  the  secretary  of  state,  charged  him 
with  all  manner  of  malfeasance  in  his  high  office,  and  closed 
his  communication  in  the  following  words :  "  He  dresses  pub- 
licly in  women's  clothes  every  day,  and  puts  a  stop  to  all  public 
business  while  he  is  pleasing  himself  with  that  peculiar  but 
detestable  magot."  On  attaining  to  the  earldom  of  Clai'eudon 
in  1708,  this  noble  Englishman  fairly  fled  from  the  colonies  to 
avoid  paying  his  creditors,  many  of  whom  were  poor  tradesmen. 

Lord  Lovelace,  his  successor,  arrived  out  in  December  of  the 
same  year,  but  his  government  had  but  well  commenced  when 
he  died  on  the  sixth  of  May,  1709.  Then  came  Robert  Hunter, 
of  whom  we  have  spoken  at  length  in  a  previous  chapter.  This 
popular  governor  resigned  in  1720  in  favor  of  William  Burnet, 
the  son  of  the  famous  bishop,  and  god-son  of  the  king  of  Eng- 
land,— William  of  Orange  having  stood  as  his  sponsor  and  given 
him  his  name.  He  ruled  till  1727,  when  he  was  removed  to 
Massachusetts,  and  was  succeeded  by  John  Montgomerie.  Both 
Governors  Himter  and  Burnet  passed  much  time  in  their  comfort- 


202  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

able  Amboy  homes  on  the  banks  of  the  Raritan,  and  added 
greatly  to  the  importance  and  pleasure  of  the  society  of  East 
Jersey.  The  latter  governor  is  described  as  having  been  a  man 
of  gay  and  condescending  disposition,  the  delight  of  men  of  sense 
and  learning,  and  the  admired  friend  of  the  ladies  to  whom  he 
was  much  devoted.  He  visited  every  family  of  reputation  in 
the  province,  and  letters  to  his  predecessor,  Himter,  say  that 
their  writers  do  not  know  how  the  fathers  and  husbands  may 
like  the  new  ruler  but  they  were  sure  the  wives  and  daughters 
did  so  sufficiently.  John  Montgomerie  was  a  well  known  cour- 
tier who  had  been  a  colonel  in  the  household  troops  and  groom 
of  the  bedchamber  of  the  Prince  of  Wales,  afterwards  George 
II.  There  has  been  preserved  some  account  of  the  per- 
sonal effects  and  equipage  of  this  royal  governor  ;  we  are  thus 
enabled  to  gain  an  inkling  of  the  state  in  which  a  colonial  mag- 
nate lived.  His  many  articles  of  furniture  included  an  eight- 
day  clock  valued  at  forty  dollars  in  our  money,  and  a  "  tine  yel- 
low camlet  bed"  estimated  at  seventy-iive  dollars.  There  was 
silver-ware  in  profusion,  and  the  wines  and  liquors  were  set 
down  at  twenty-tive  hundred  dollars.  A  barge  with  its  acoutre- 
ments,  one  himdred  and  twenty-five  dollars ;  books,  one  thou- 
sand dollars ;  and  eiglit  slaves,  one  of  them  a  negro  musician 
being  valued  at  over  one  thousand  dollars.  In  his  stables  were 
one  saddle  horse,  eight  coach  horses,  two  common  horses,  two 
breeding  mares,  two  colts,  and  a  natural  pacing  mare  ;  a  coach  and 
a  four-wheeled  chaise  ;  a  tine  suit  of  embroidered  horse  furniture, 
a  servant's  saddle,  and  two  sets  of  coach  harness,  brass  mounted; 
a  postillion's  coat  and  cape,  together  with  saddles,  holsters  and 
housings. 

Montgomerie  continued  in  office  till  his  death  in  1731,  when 
the  government  was  undertaken  by  William  Cosby,  who  died  in 
17.36.  For  the  third  time  within  five  years  death  entered  the 
gubernatorial  mansion,  smiting,  this  time,  John  Anderson,  two 
weeks  after  he  had  commenced  ruling  as  president  of  the  council. 
For  the  next  two  years  the  government  devolved  upon  senior 
councillor  John  Hamilton,  who  was  an  old  resident  of  Perth 
Amboy,  and  the  son  of  Andrew  Hamilton,  governor  under  the 
proprietors.  He  was  relieved  from  the  duties  and  honors  of  the 
office  in  1738  by  the  arrival  of  a  commission  appointing  Lewis 


Early  New  Jersey  Governors.  203 

Morris  as  the  first  governor  of  the  province  separate  from  that  of 
New  York.  He  lived  near  Trenton,  and  was  the  son  of  that 
Cajjtain  Richard  Marri.s,  who  in  1670  settled  Morrisaiiia  on  the 
Harlem  river.  His  father  died  in  1672,  leaving  him  a  babe  not 
jet  a  year  old,  of  whom  Mathias  Nicholl,  secretary  of  New  York, 
wrote  of  as  a  "  poor  blossom  of  whom  yet  there  may  be  great 
hope."  The  secretary's  prophecy  proved  true ;  this  "  poor 
blossom  "  grew  to  be  a  man  of  great  force  of  character,  with  vir- 
tues and  attainments  which  elevated  him  to  important  trusts  and 
positions;  the  influence  be  exerted  among  the  people  of  the 
provinces  of  New  York  and  New  Jersey  equalled  that  of  any 
man  of  his  time.  Lewis  Morris  in  1691,  when  but  nineteen 
years  old,  married  a  "  Graham  of  the  Isles  "  of  the  family  of  the 
Earl  of  Montrose,  and  the  daughter  of  James  Graham,  Attorney- 
General  of  New  York. 

Morris  died  in  1746,  and  President  Hamilton  again  came  to 
the  front,  but,  dying  almost  immediately,  was  succeeded  by  the 
next  eldest  councillor,  John  Reading,  who  continued  in  office 
one  year.  The  name  of  this  chief  magistrate  has  been  perpetu- 
ated in  that  of  the  township  of  Readington  in  Hunterdon,  he 
having  owned  lai'ge  tracts  of  land  in  that  county.  He  lived  in 
Amwell,  now  Raritan,  township,  about  two  miles  north  ^FTTem- 
ington,  near  where  is  now  Stover's  mills  ;  a  portion  of  his  planta- 
tion is  at  present  owned  and  occupied  by  Philip  Brown.  Doctor 
Mott,  Hunterdon's  historian,  tell  us  that  he  was  a  true  Jersey- 
man,  being  identified  with  the  interests  of  his  province  and 
county  from  boyhood.  He  lies  buried  in  Amwell  churchyard  on 
that  ancient  thoroughfare,  the  York  road.  Acting-Governor 
Reading's  family  has  further  associations  with  New  Jersey 
nomenclature  from  the  fact  that  his  daughter  mai-ried  John 
Hackett,  an  Irishman  of  ability  and  prominence,  who  gave  his 
name  to  Hackettstown  in  \\^arren  county. 

The  governor  in  office  at  the  time  of  the  visit  of  Johannes  to 
Amboy  was  Jonathan  Belcher.  On  the  eighth  of  August,  1747, 
while  the  early  morning  mists  still  lightly  hung  over  the  broad 
expanse  of  the  Lower  bay,  all  the  people  of  the  town  had  assem- 
bled on  its  banks  to  welcome  that  dignitary,  who  disembarked  from 
a  barge  of  the  man-of-war  Scarborough,  on  which  he  had  crossed 
the  Atlantic.     He  was  escorted  to  the  town  hall  amid  the  accla- 


204  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

mations  of  the  multitude,  where  he  presented  his  commission — 
a  portentous  document  of  parchment  of  three  sheets  about  two 
feet  square,  plentifully  besprinkkd  with  Latin,  and  weighted  by 
a  heavy  pendent  disk  of  stiff  brown  wax,  bearing  the  royal  arms 
of  England.  In  a  gracious  reply  to  the  loyal  addresses  of  the 
council  and  citizens,  he  congratulated  the  people  on  the  beautiful 
location  and  thriving  appearance  of  their  toVn.  Notwithstand- 
ing his  fair  words,  the  governor,  after  making  the  customary 
tour  of  the  province,  established  his  home  in  Elizabethtown, 
where  he  died  in  1757.  Senior-councillor  John  Reading  again 
exercised  the  office  ad  interim.  In  the  following  year  Amboy 
had  restored  to  her  the  glories  of  being  the  home  of  the  king's 
representative.  The  new  governor,  Francis  Bernard,  landed  on 
the  fourteenth  of  Jime  from  H.  M.  S.  Terrible,  and  established 
himself  in  the  old  Johnstone  hoxise  on  the  bluff  between  the 
Long  ferry  and  Sandy  point.  He  soon  became  a  favorite  with 
the  people,  and  it  was  to  their  great  regret  that  he  received 
orders  from  the  home  government  to  retire  from  the  province 
and  assume  command  of  that  of  Massachusetts,  where,  imfor- 
tunately,  he  did  not  attain  to  an  equal  popidarity.  His  suc- 
cessor, Thomas  Boone,  reached  Amboy  by  land  on  the  third  of 
June,  1760,  escorted  to  the  Middlesex  line  by  Captain  Terrill's 
troop  of  horse  from  Elizabethtown,  where  he  was  met  by  Cap- 
tain Parker's  troop  of  Woodbridge.  The  "New  York  Mercury" 
of  this  month  has  a  long  account  of  the  fetes,  entertainments, 
and  illuminations,  incidental  to  his  first  visit  to  the  different 
prominent  towns  of  New  Jersey. 

The  British  ministers  evidently  believed  in  the  rotation  in 
office  of  their  representatives.  Before  the  close  of  the  following 
year  Governor  Boone  was  appointed  to  the  chief  magistracy  of 
South  Carolina.  The  "  New  York  Gazette"  of  the  twenty-sec- 
ond of  October,  1761,  announces  the  arrival  of  "  H.  M.  S. 
Alcide,  64  Guns,"  having  aboard  Josiah  Hardy,  New  Jersey's 
new  governor.  The  same  paper,  in  its  issxie  of  the  fifth  of 
November,  gives  an  account  of  his  landing  at  Elizabethtown- 
point,  where  he  was  received  by  prominent  citizens  and  the  mili- 
tary. Captains  Terrill  and  Parker's  troops  escorted  him  to 
Amboy,  where  they  were  met  by  the  public  dignitaries  and  Cap- 
tain  Johnstone's    militia.     He    relinquislied   the  government  in 


Governor  William  Franklin.  205 

February,  1763,  the  authorities  "  expressing  their  estimation  of 
the  just  regard  he  had.  displayed  for  the  interests  of  New  Jer- 
sey." We  now  reach  the  last  colonial  governor,  William,  the  son 
of  Benjamin  Franklin,  who,  without  solicitation  on  the  part  of 
his  father  and  when  only  thirty  years  of  age,  received  the 
appointment.  He  reached  Amboy  on  the  twenty-fifth  of  Febru- 
ary, 1763, — an  intensely  cold  day — escorted  by  the  Middlesex 
troop  of  horse  and  numbers  of  the  gentry  in  sleighs.  The 
"  New  York  Gazette"  chronicles  that  he  took  possession  of  the 
government  in  the  usual  form,  the  ceremonies  being  conducted 
"  with  as  much  decency  and  good  decorum  as  the  severity  of  the 
season  could  possibly  admit  of."  The  young  governor  is  said  to 
have  hired  one  of  the  best  houses  in  the  town  at  an  annual 
rental  of  sixty  pounds — equalling  one  hundred  and  forty-four 
dollars.  His  salary  was  twelve  hundred  pounds — proclamation 
— or  about  three  thousand  dollars.  In  1774,  he  took  possession 
of  the  mansion  erected  by  the  proprietors,  of  late  weU  known  as 
the  Brighton  house,  and  recently  converted  into  a  home  for  Pres- 
byterian clergymen.  The  history  of  Franklin's  administration  is 
but  a  narration  of  the  events  preceding  and  the  breaking  out  of 
the  Revolution.  In  good  time  we  shall  have  more  to  say  of  this 
royal  governor.  Meanwhile,  we  must  return  to  Johannes,  whom 
we  left  entering  the  city. 

Some  portions  of  Perth  Amboy  are  to  this  day  peculiarly 
attractive  because  of  the  splendid  growth  of  large  trees.  In 
early  times  the  place  is  represented  as  having  been  most  beauti- 
ful in  this  respect.  The  proprietors,  in  their  published  descrip- 
tion, asserted  that  "  Ambo}'  Point  is  a  sweet,  wholesome  and 
delightful  place ;"  and  it  was  further  described  as  being  "  cov- 
ered with  grass  growing  luxuriantly,  the  forest  trees,  as  distrib- 
uted in  groups,  diversifying  the  landscape  with  light  and  shade, 
and  all  nature  wearing  the  fresh  aspect  of  a  new  creation." 
These  characteristics  at  the  time  of  our  visitor's  arrival  had  not 
disappeared.  Great  trees  that  cast  a  vast  area  of  shade  were 
still  a  distinguishing  feature  of  the  ancient  capital,  and  its  most 
popular  pleasure-ground  was  a  fine  bit  of  locust  timber  on  the 
banks  of  the  Raritan,  just  west  of  High  street.  It  rejoiced  in 
the  suggestively  tender  appellation  of  "  Love  grove."  Under 
its  cool  shadows  the  towns-people  gathered  on  summer  afternoons 


206  The  Story  of  an  Oli>  Farm. 

to  enjoy  the  ocean  breezes  that  came  freighted  with  the  balsamic 
odors  of  forest-clad  Monmouth.  Here  in  the  long  twilights  colo- 
nial youths  and  maidens  met  to  enjoy  the  agreeable  prospect 
and  each  other's  society ;  and,  in  this  sylvan  retreat  many  a 
youthful  troth  was  plighted  to  the  pleasant  musical  accompani- 
ments of  the  river's  murmuring  waves. 

Another  favorite  resort  of  the  citizens  was  the  elevation  over- 
looking the  Raritan  near  Sandy  point,  devoted  to  the  fairs  and 
races.  All  ancient  chronicles  of  the  colony  revert  to  this  old 
English  custom  of  "  Fair  days."  The  proprietors  as  early  as 
1683  instructed  their  representatives  that  "  it  is  not  to  be  forgot- 
ten that,  as  soon  as  can  be,  weekly  Markets,  and  Faires  at  fitt 
seasons,  be  appointed  at  Perth  Towne."  Three  years  later 
semi-annual  fairs  were  authorized  by  the  assembly,  to  continue 
three  days  in  May  and  October.  This  custom  prevailed  till  the 
time  of  the  Revolvition.  These  were  days  of  great  revelry  and 
mirth.  Horse  racing  and  all  manner  of  games  were  permitted — 
any  description  of  goods  and  merchandise  could  be  sold  without 
license,  and  on  this  breezy  pleasure-ground  at  such  times  were 
to  be  seen  all  the  peddling,  hawking,  thimble-rigging,  cudgel- 
playing,  bustle  and  prevailing  confusion  that  characterized  such 
festivals  in  the  old  country.  It  was  a  time  of  general  license, 
and,  under  the  law,  no  one  could  be  arrested  during  the  continu- 
ance of  the  fair  except  for  offences  against  the  Crown  and  for 
crimes  committed  on  fair  day. 

To  the  east  of  "Love  grove",  at  the  foot  of  High  street,  was 
the  "  Long  ferry  "  that  George  Willocks  had  devised  to  trustees 
for  the  benefit  of  St.  Peter's  church.  The  franchise  and  trust 
still  continue,  though  it  is  nearly  one  hundred  years  since  the 
last  team  was  ferried  over  in  the  "  scouw"  to  the  Philadelphia 
road  on  the  farther  shore.  Here,  too,  was  the  famous  Long 
ferry  tavern,  a  quaint  structure  of  stone,  with  an  odd  slopin 
roof,  dormer  windows  and  high  Dutch  stoop.  Built  in  1684,  it 
has  but  recently  disappeared,  and  was  considered  the  oldest 
house  in  Amboy.  In  early  times  it  not  only  offered  rest  and 
refreshment  for  waiting  passengers,  but  served  as  a  rallying 
point  for  the  gossip-loving  citizens.  In  warm  weather  it  must 
have  been  an  inviting  inn  in  which  to  take  one's  ease  ;  in  the 
winter  we  can  well  imagine  that    "  mine   host"   Carnes — a    giant 


b 


Perth  Amboy's  Town-Green.  207 

in  stature — kept  thrust  in  the  open  fire,  a  logger  head,  (a  red 
hot  poker,)  ready  on  the  arrival  of  guests  to  be  plunged  into 
cups  of  flip — a  mixture  of  rum,  pumpkin  beer  and  brown  sugar. 
It  was  a  favorite  hot  drink  in  the  colonies  and  it  is  said  was- 
far  from  being  an  unpleasant  cold  weather  tipple. 

When  our  traveller  rode  into  the  rural  city  its  plan  was  much 
the  same  as  that  of  to-dav.  Smith  street,  then  as  now,  was  the 
centre  of  the  retail  trade,  though  occupied  also  by  dwellings. 
At  least  one  of  its  stanch  stone  houses,  then  standing,  has 
endured  the  encroachments  of  time,  though  it  has  been  removed 
from  its  original  site  on  the  west  side  of  the  street  to  a  lot  on 
Broad  street.  It  was  the  home  of  the  Farmar  family,  who  set- 
tled in  Aniboy  early  in  the  last  century.  While  at  the  time  of 
which  we  write  the  location  of  the  streets  was  much  as  now,  the 
aspect  they  presented  differed  materially  from  the  appearance  of 
the  thoroughfares  of  the  prosaic  Amboy  of  to-day.  From  a  tall 
pole  in  the  centre  of  the  town-green,  which  interrupts  High  and 
Market  streets,  floated  the  royal  cross  of  St.  George  ;  while  in 
one  corner  of  the  square  stood  what  would  now  happily  be 
unfamiliar  objects,  the  stocks,  pillory  and  whipping  post — dread 
menaces  to  the  evil-doers  of  that  rude  and  turbulent  period. 

Why  is  it  that  the  founders  of  the  towns  and  villages  of  this 
country  so  rarely  established  public  greens  ?  Those  sunny 
opens  that  are  such  pleasant  features  of  English  boroughs  and 
hamlets,  and  which  must  of  necessity  strengthen  the  local 
attachments  of  a  neighborhood.  The  play-ground  of  childhood 
— the  rendezvous  of  youth — the  verdant  mead  on  which  nuitur- 
ity  and  age  assemble.  There  is  something  in  the  beauty  and 
approjiriateness  of  such  a  common  bit  of  ground,  in  which  all 
have  equal  rights,  that  reaches  much  beyond  the  gratification  of 
the  eye.  It  suggests  a  community  of  interests,  where  man  is 
bound  to  man  by  affections  that  have  been  engendered  by  this 
little  bit  of  sward — a  sentiment  that  seems  quite  opposed  to  the 
selfishness  that  necessarily  attaches  to  individual  holdings.  The 
instinctive  fondness  for  such  a  spot  by  its  joint  owners  must 
grow  into  an  enlarged  feeling,  and  expand  into  that  expression 
of  patriotism  which  can  only  be  known  by  men  when  united  in 
numbers  and  interests.  It  is  a  nursery  of  virtue  and  unselfish- 
ness.    With  rare  judgment  the  successors  and  descendants  of  the 


208  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

early  proprietors  have  preserved  their  town-green — this  attrac- 
tive relic  of  a  by-gone  age  and  of  the  wisdom  of  their  predeces- 
sors. For  over  two  hundred  years  it  may  be  said  to  have  been 
the  theatre  of  all  the  events  connected  with  the  life  of  this  com 
munity,  and  to  learn  all  that  has  transpired  upon  its  emerald 
floor  would  be  to  turn  over  every  page  of  Ainboy's  history.  For 
two  hundred  years  it  has  defied  the  demon  of  improvement — 
may  it  so  do  for  all  time. 

The  county  court-house  and  jail,  occupying  one  building,  our 
traveller  found  a  prominent  feature  of  this  public  square.  It 
stood  on  the  northeast  corner  of  High  street,  and  from  1718, 
to  1765  when  it  was  destroyed  by  fire,  it  continued  to  be  the 
focus  of  all  the  important  events  of  the  colony,  and  much  of  its 
pomp,  parade  and  ceremony.  Here  not  only  the  courts  were 
held,  but  the  be-wigged  and  be-ruiHed  members  of  the  general 
assembly  sat  in  solemn  conclave,  and  enacted  those  severe  laws 
that  were  then  considered  necessary  to  preserve  the  fieace  of 
the  province  and  the  honor  of  the  king.  Permit  me  to  quote 
one  deemed  meet  for  the  times  by  those  ancient  legislators : 

That  all  women  of  whatever  age,  rank,  profession,  or  degree,  whether  virgins, 
maids,  or  widows,  who  shall  after  this  act  impose  upon,  seduce,  and  betray  into 
matrimony  any  of  his  Majesty's  subjects  by  virtue  of  scents,  cosmetics,  washes, 
paints,  artificial  teeth,  false  hair,  or  high-heeled  shoes,  shall  incur  the  penalty  of 
the  law  now  in  force  against  witchcraft  and  like  misdemeanors. 

To  this  Jersey  '■^  Hotel  de  VilJe,"  and  the  one  that  succeeded 
it,  came  with  successive  processions  and  cavalcades  aU  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  English  ministry  from  the  days  of  the  virtuous 
Queen  Anne  to  those  of  the  third  Hanoverian  king ;  each  telling 
the  same  story  of  the  love  borne  by  the  Crown  for  its  faithful 
American  subjects.  Such  stories  were  always  received  with 
loud  shouts  of  fealty  from  the  loyal  throats  of  the  populace 
massed  on  the  square.  The  time  arrived,  however,  when  differ- 
ent messages  came  from  the  monarch  beyond  the  sea,  and  public 
tranquillity  was  disturbed  by  the  growls  and  threats  of  the 
British  lion.  Even  then,  though  the  spirit  of  liberty  hovered 
around  the  ancient  capital,  and  the  Jersey  people  in  general 
were  electric  with  patriotic  impulse  and  endeavor,  many  of 
Amboy's  citizens  refused  to  abandon  their  allegiance.  A  large 
element  of  its  population,  especially  among  the  richer  class,  were 


Perth  Ambot  Residents  in  1752.  209 

dominated  in  their  sympathies  by  the  many  years'  influence  of 
royal  power.  At  the  close  of  the  war  but  a  very  small  propor- 
tion of  those  who  had  formed  the  colonial  aristocracy  remained 
residents  of  Amboy. 

The  structure  that  in  1767  took  the  place  of  the  court-house 
can  be  seen  now,  though  no  longer  a  public  building.  Its  pre- 
cise fa9ade,  lofty  roof  and  antiquated  belfry  testify  of  by-gone 
days.  Let  us  hope  that  no  vandal  hand  shall  be  permitted  to 
destroy  this  temple  of  the  past.  May  present  and  future  genera- 
tions guard  this  venerable  structure  that,  honored  by  time,  has 
been  the  silent  witness  of  many  scenes  connected  with  that  great 
struggle  for  justice  and  humanity,  which  terminated  in  1783  so 
happily  for  the  American  people. 

On  the  southwest  corner  of  Market  street  and  the  square,  in 
1752,  lived  Thomas  Bartow,  who  it  will  be  remembered,  as 
secretary  of  the  province,  recorded  the  deed  that  George  Leslie 
gave  to  Johannes.  The  house  stood  in  the  midst  of  an  attractive 
garden  filled  with  the  choicest  fruit  of  that  time,  and  Dunlap, 
the  art  historian,  who  while  still  a  very  small  boy  was  Bartow's 
friend  and  daily  companion,  describes  his  person,  dwelling  and 
garden  as  being  equally  neat.  Ho  mentions  him  as  being,  some 
years  later,  a  small,  thin  old  man  with  straight  gray  hair,  pale 
face,  plain  dark-colored  clothes  and  stockings  to  suit.  His  well 
polished  square-toed  shoes  were  ornamented  with  little  silver 
buckles,  and  his  white  cambric  stock,  neatly  plaited,  was  fas- 
tened behind  with  a  silver  clasp. 

It  is  interesting  to  picture  in  one's  mind  the  houses  of  this 
provincial  capital,  and  the  worthies  who  occupied  them  when 
Johannes  for  the  first  time  rode  over  its  highways.  On 
High  street,  in  the  rear  of  where  is  now  the  Merrit  mansion, 
■was  "  Edinborough  Castle,"  the  home  of  Andrew  Johnstone,  a 
son  of  that  Doctor  Jolm  Johnstone  who  had  been  joint  owner  of 
the  Peapack  patent  with  George  Willocks.  He  was  an  impor- 
tant man  in  the  colony,  holding  during  his  life  various  offices, 
and  dying  in  1762  as  treasurer  of  the  eastern  division  of  the 
province,  and  one  of  his  majesty's  council.  His  obituary  notice 
in  the  "  New  York  Mercury  "  of  the  fifth  of  July,  1762,  reads  that 
he  was  "  A  gentlemen  of  so  fair  and   worthy   a   character,  that 

truly  to  attempt   to  draw  it   would   be  throwing   awav   words." 
14 


210  The  Stoby  of  an  Old  Fahm. 

The  homestead  of  his  father,  Doctor  Johnstone,  was  on  the  bauks 
of  the  Raritan,  and  later,  in  Governor  Boone's  time,  was  con- 
verted into  the  gubernatorial  residence  ;  it  was  a  spacious  brick 
dwelling  with  extensive  gardens  and  a  fine  orchard.  A  near-by 
residence  on  the  river-side  was  that  of  John  Watson,  the  first 
painter  mentioned  in  American  annals  of  art.  He  came  from 
Scotland  in  1715,  and  made  Amboy  his  home  until  his  death  at 
the  age  eighty-three,  in  the  year  1768.  Mr.  Dunlap,  in  his 
"  History  of  the  Art  of  Design,"  gives  an  extended  notice  of  this 
early  limner.      He  writes  : 

After  the  painter's  first  visit  to  Aruerica  he  retnrneil  to  Europe,  and  brought 
thence  to  his  adopted  country  many  pictures  which,  with  those  of  his  own  com- 
position, formed  no  inconsiderable  collection  in  point  of  numbers,  but  of  their 
value  we  are  ignorant.  It  is,  however,  a  fact  that  the  first  painter  and  the  first 
collection  of  paintings  of  which  we  have  any  knowledge  were  planted  at  Perth 
Amboy. 

Mr.  Whitehead,  in  speaking  of  this  artist's  dwelling,  says  :    . 

There  were  two  houses,  standing  near  each  other,  both  belonging  to  Mr. 
Watson,  one  of  them  being  appropriated  to  these  paintings,  which  it  is  said 
covered  the  walls;  but  before  the  Revolution  this  house  had  decayed  and  been 
demolished.  The  other,  occupied  by  the  painter  himself,  and  which  disappeared 
during  the  struggle,  was  of  wood,  having  its  window  shutters  covered  with  heads 
of  heroes,  and  of  kings  'with  awe-inspiring  crowns  ' — owing  their  existence  to 
the  taste  and  talents  of  the  painter. 

His  portrait  represents  him  as  being  a  man  of  full  face  and 
prominent  featiu-es,  wearing  a  hu^ge  curled  wig  which  hung  to 
his  shoulders. 

The  houses  of  the  colonial  gentry  were  generally  sprinkled 
along  the  bluff,  where  the  most  favored  locations  were  early 
sought  and  secured.  In  most  instances  they  were  simple  in 
construction  and  unambitious  in  character,  but  here  and  there 
was  one  of  architectural  merit,  showing  cm  the  part  of  its  builder 
an  appreciation  of  a  design  where  outline  and  surroundings 
should  bear  some  relation  to  each  other.  A  pleasing  example  of 
this  latter  class  has  been  preserved  in  a  substantial  stone 
homestead,  which  can  be  seen  resting  on  the  sloping  bank  of 
the  sound,  east  of  Water,  and  near  Market,  street.  Its  low 
eaves,  solid  simplicity  and  old-fashioned  presence  speak  of  a 
previous  century,  but  its  happy  expressions  of  rural  dignity  do 
not  seem  at  all  out  of  place  in  this  age  of  flimsy  construction,  and 
grotesque  strivings  after  the  extraordinary  in  domestic  architec- 


Colonial  Architecture.  211 

ture.  It  is  believed  to  have  been  the  dwelling  of  Samuel  Nevill, 
before  whom,  as  judge  of  the  supreme  court,  George  Leslie 
acknowledged  his  signature  to  the  deed  for  the  "  Old  Farm."  It 
was  in  this  year — 1752 — that  Judge  Nevill  published,  under  the 
auspices  of  the  colonial  assembly,  the  first  volume  of  his  edition 
of  the  laws  of  the  province,  and  it  is  believed  the  book  was 
^vritten  in  this  house. 

Not  far  off  on  the  same  street  is  a  residential  monument  to 
family  cohesiveness,  the  well-known  Parker  homestead.  Seven 
generations  of  this  family  have  lived  within  the  hoary  walls  of 
this  colonial  mansion.  One  must  be  callous,  indeed,  to  the  charm 
of  early  associations  who  fails  to  appreciate  the  peculiar  satisfac- 
tion which  comes  to  those  who  feel  that  their  home  atmosphere 
has  been  consecrated  by  the  lives  and  experiences  of  a  continu- 
ous line  of  ancestry  for  so  many  years ;  an  ancestry  whose 
influence  has  been  transmitted  through  successive  generations, 
bearing  to  their  posterity  the  testimony  of  virtuous,  useful 
and  honorable  lives.  The  more  modern  frame  portion  of  this 
building  was  erected  just  previous  to  the  Revolution,  but  the 
stone  structure  standing  in  the  rear  dates  away  back  to  the  year 
1720.  At  the  time  of  Johannes'  visit  it  was  inhabited  by  James 
Parker,  his  wife  being  the  only  daughter  of  the  Reverend 
William  Skinner  of  St.  Peter's  church.  Mr.  Whitehead 
describes  him  as  a  man  of  tall  stature  and  large  frame,  possess- 
ing a  mind  of  more  than  ordinary  strength  and  vigor.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  king's  council,  and  tilled  many  local  offices  of  the 
community,  including  that  of  mayor,  which  in  those  picturesf£ue 
days  was  a  position  of  much  more  honor  and  importance  than 
it  is  in  this  practical  age. 

The  old  parsonage,  that  had  been  devised  by  George  Wil- 
locks  to  the  congregation  of  St.  Peter's,  occupied  a  portion  of 
the  block  bounded  by  Market,  Water  and  Gully  (Gordon) 
streets.  Its  first  storey  was  of  stone,  with  a  wooden  two-storey 
superstructure,  and  a  roof  converging  to  a  square  centre.  The 
latter  was  probably  its  most  attractive  feature,  as  usually  the 
quaint  roofs  of  colonial  houses,  with  their  simple  but  effective 
outlines,  added  much  to  the  agreeableness  and  dignity  of  their 
proportions.  The  date  of  the  erection  of  this  house  is  unknown, 
but  it  must  have  been  some  time  previous  to  1729,  the  year   of 


212  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

Willocks'  death.  It  was  taken  down  in  1844,  but  long  before 
had  lost  its  upper  storey.  But  if  I  keep  on  speaking  of  the 
more  important  buildings  of  this  provincial  metropolis,  you  wiU 
think  that  in  1752  it  was  a  place  of  fine  residences.  Not  so  ! 
these  dwellings  of  the  quality-folk  were  Amboy's  architectural 
exceptions — not  typical  examples.  Its  houses,  of  which  at  that 
time  there  were  about  one  hundred  and  fifty,  were,  as  a  rule, 
poor  enough  ;  a  visitor  of  a  few  years  later,  while  recognizing 
the  beauty  of  the  location,  writes,  that  "notwithstanding  being 
the  capital  of  the  province,  Perth  Amboy  has  only  the  appear- 
ance of  a  mean  village." 

So  with  our  traveller ;  as  he  made  his  way  through  the 
streets,  he  found  many  of  their  flanking  buildings  slovenly  in 
appearance,  showing  them  to  have  been  hastily  put  together. 
Their  rough-hewn  Hat-boarded  frames  lacked  the  dignity  of  the 
log  dwellings  seen  in  the  clearings  during  the  morning  journey  ; 
these  latter,  with  their  feet  buried  in  herbage,  seemed  less  incon- 
gruous, and  more  in  harmony  with  surrounding  nature.  Many 
of  these  Amboy  houses  were  unpainted  and  already  showed  sign's 
of  the  rustiness  of  age,  but,  bleached  and  patched  by  sun 
and  shower,  their  crazy,  weathei'-stained  sides  were  less  crude 
and  staring  than  were  the  variegated  colors  of  some  of  the  newer 
houses,  whose  fronting  gables  and  thick  board  shutters  were 
painted  white,  while  their  remaining  sides  were  covered  with 
dingy  red.  Architectural  taste  was,  of  course,  entirely  wanting, 
and  in  most  instances  a  single  storey  sufficed  for  the  needs  of  the 
occupants. 

Of  churches  there  were  two.  In  a  previous  chapter  we  have 
referred  at  length  to  the  ancient  altars  and  interesting  memories 
of  St.  Peter's,  whose  spire  rises  near  where  the  broad  river 
rushes  into  the  bay.  Amboy's  second  denomination,  owing  to 
its  large  Scotch  and  English  immigration,  was,  naturally,  Presby- 
terian. Of  _the  erection  of  its  first  church-building  no  record 
has  been  preserved,  though  the  minutes  of  the  Board  of  Proprie- 
tors show  that  in  1731  permission  was  given  the  congregation  to 
"  build  a  meeting-house  on  the  southeast  comer  of  the  Burial- 
Place  on  Back  (State)  street."  "  Before  the  Revolution  this 
church  had  disappeared  ;  in  the  present  edifice,  that  fronts  the 
square,  services  were  first  heldin  1803.    The  Reverend  John  Cross 


Theology  in  the  Last  Centdut.  213 

of  Basking  Ridge  is  said  to  have  first  supplied  the  Presbyterian 
pulpit,  and  among  that  denomination's  historical  flotsam  rescued 
from  the  ocean  of  time  is  the  fact  that  in  1735  Gilbert  Tennent 
preached  at  Amboy  on  the  comforting  and  encouraging  topic  of 
the  "  Necessity  of  Religious  Violence  to  Durable  Happiness." 

A  text  of  severe  sentiment,  you  will  say  ! — but  at  this  time  the 
spiritual  shepherds  were  wont  to  feed  their  flocks  with  food 
aboimding  in  strength  rather  than  sweetness.  The  angel  of 
mercj'  hovered  aloft,  while  the  avenging  one  stood  in  the  dwel- 
ling, at  the  road  side,  in  the  pew,  ever  ready  vmder  the  tutelage 
of  the  pastors  to  wield  the  flaming  sword  of  justice.  The  stern 
Calvinistic  tenet  that  election  and  perdition  were  predestined  by 
the  divine  plan  irrespective  of  human  merit  was  taught  and 
believed,  and  the  believing  lacei-ated  many  a  tender  heart. 

The  religious  atmosphere  of  the  middle  of  the  last  century  was 
dark  with  the  heavy  clouds  of  doctrine  and  theology.  Polemical 
controversy  was  rife  in  the  churches.  Foreordination,  predes- 
tination, election,  and  eternal  damnation  went  hand  in  hand  with 
free  agency  ;  the  effort  to  reconcile  these  conflicting  and  appar- 
ently opposing  dogmas,  provoked  labored  sermons  from  the  pul- 
pit, and  prolonged  arguments  and  discussions  in  farm-house,  field 
and  shop.  Ministers  waxed  severely  eloquent  in  their  terrible 
warnings  to  the  unregenerate  ;  while  with  equally  solemn  ear- 
nestness from  such  texts  as  "  I  could  wish  myself  accursed  from 
Christ  for  my  brethren,  my  kinsmen,"  they  preached  to  the 
pious  and  devoted  ones  of  their  congregations,  ''  the  doctrine  of 
disinterested  benevolence ;"  a  doctrine  that  proclaimed  the 
necessity  of  entire  self-abnegation,  and  a  willingness  to  accept  for 
one's  self  eternal  condemnation,  if  such  could  redound  to  the  great- 
est good  of  the  greatest  number,  and  God's  ends  be  better  accom- 
plished. 

The  interpreters  of  the  Scriptures  held  before  their  people  as 
tests  of  abiding  faith  the  necessity  of  eliuiinating  from  their 
religion  every  element  of  selfishness,  in  order  that  they  might 
have  minds  and  affections  so  disposed  as  to  be  able  to  accept  with 
complacency  the  possibility  that  it  might  be  God's  sovereign 
pleasure  to  damn  them  eternally.  Such  views  of  life  and  the 
future-state  evolved  a  gloomy  piety.  Agonies  of  doubt  beset  the 
most  faithful,  when  intent  on  severe  internal  examination  in  the 


214  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

endeavor  to  discover  evidences  that  they  were  not  under  the 
ban  of  God's  wrath.  Such  earnest  souls,  after  lives  of  the  most 
conscientious  well-doing,  often  died  stUl  uncertain  of  the  attain- 
ment of  eternal  happiness.  Jonathan  Edwards,  who  died  in 
Princeton  in  1758,  was  capable  in  his  sermons  of  producing  so 
great  pain  to  the  quick  sensibilities  of  his  hearers  that  during 
his  discourses  the  house  would  be  filled  with  weeping  and  wail- 
ing auditors  ;  on  one  occasion  another  minister  present  is  said  to 
have  cried  out  in  his  agony,  "Oh  !  Mr.  Edwards  !  is  God  not  a 
God  of  mercy  "?"  This  celebrated  preacher  succeeded  the  elder 
Burr,  who  died  in  September,  1757,  in  the  presidency  of  Prince- 
ton college,  but  he  did  not  take  his  seat  until  in  February  of  the 
following  year.  Mr.  Edwards  held  the  position  scarcely  a 
month,  dying  while  imdergoing  inoculation  for  the  smallpox. 
He  has  been  called  the  turning  point  in  the  spiritual  existence 
of  the  congregations  of  the  last  century.  It  is  asserted  that  New 
England  and  New  Jersey  in  the  age  following  him,  under  the 
guidance  of  such  disciples  as  his  son,  D wight,  Bellamy,  Hop- 
kins, Brainerd  and  Tennent,  gave  more  thought  to  religious  phi- 
losophy and  systematic  theology  than  the  same  amount  of  popu- 
lation in  any  other  part  of  the  world. 


CHAPTER     XVI. 

Social  Asjieds  of  Perth   Amhoy   in    1752 — The   Gentry — Slav- 
ery— Tra  veiling. 

There  was  much  of  interest  to  Johannes  in  this  provincial 
capital  besides  the  churches,  and  the  public  and  private  buildings. 
The  bustle,  animation,  and  variety  of  its  thoroughfares  presented 
an  appearance  quite  foreign  to  their  present  aspect ;  for  there 
was  a  picturesqueness  in  colonial  times  that  must  have  added 
much  to  the  light  and  shade  and  general  effect  of  ordinary 
scenes.  In  those  early  days  popidation  occupied  only  the  fringe 
or  border  of  the  great  wastes  and  solitudes  ;  we  have  seen  that 
New  Jersey's  cultivated  lands  were  largely  confined  to  a  narrow 
strip  extending  from  the  Hudson  to  the  Delaware.  Belts  of 
wilderness  stretched  across  New  York  and  into  New  Eng-land : 
indeed,  the  whole  country  east  of  the  Mississippi  was  covered 
with  vast  forests,  with  but  occasional  signs  of  civilization  and 
cultivation  along  the  borders  of  the  sea,  and  in  the  valleys  of  the 
larger  rivers.  At  the  centres  of  population — one  of  which 
Amboy  at  that  time  fairly  could  claim  to  be — the  people,  congre- 
gating as  they  did  from  many  quarters  of  the  globe,  formed  to 
ejich  other  strong  contrasts,  and  the  local  color  of  civilization 
must  to  the  chance  visitor  have  made  an  interesting  picture. 

The  Indians  were  still  in  goodly  numbers  about  New  Jersey 
towns,  and  they  appeared  much  more  like  the  children  of  the 
forest  of  our  imagination  than  do  those  now  to  be  seen  on  the  res- 
ervations of  the  far  west,  whose  distinguishing  badge  of  semi- 
civilization  is  often  a  government  blanket,  and  a  battered  silk 
hat  adorned  with  bedraggled  feathers.  These  old-time  red- 
men  were  much  less  imbued  with  or  affected  by  the  habits  of 
Europeans.     They  came  into  the  towns  with  skins,  and  also  sup- 


216  The  Story  of  an  Old  Fakm. 

plied  the  people  with  baskets  and  wooden  dishes  and  spoons. 
The  redemptioners — men,  women  and  children  who  for  a  time 
owed  personal  servitude  to  individual  masters  —  must  have 
heightened  the  general  effect ;  and  the  trappers  and  hunters, 
fresh  from  the  woods,  with  their  rifles,  powder  horns,  moccasins, 
and  linsey  shirts  fringed  with  deer  skin,  contributed  their  bit  of 
color  and  form  to  the  kaleidoscopic  appearance  of  the  streets. 
Among  the  exjjatriated  Irish,  Dutch,  Germans  and  English 
inhabiting  the  vicinity,  there  must  have  been  many  curious  and 
picturesque  specimens  of  the  genus  homo.  Necessarily  many  of 
these  later  were  worthless  characters,  and  the  pUlory,  stocks 
and  whipping  post  on  the  public  square  doubtless  had  a  marked 
influence  in  preserving  the  peace  and  proprieties  of  this  rough 
age.  Opposed  to  this  latter  type  was  the  less  conspicuous  but 
more  useful  clement  of  society,  the  sturdy  yeomanry — the  stout- 
hearted middle  class ;  men  who  themselves,  or  whose  fathers 
before  them,  often  had  left  the  old  country  for  political  and 
religious  motives  rather  than  a  mere  desire  for  adventure  and 
trade.  "  God  sifted  a  whole  nation,"  said  stern,  old  Governor 
Stoughton  of  New  England,  "  that  he  might  send  choice  grain 
over  in  this  wilderness." 

Those  of  my  readers  whose  ancestral  trees  root  in  Rhenish 
soil,  will  be  pleased  to  know  that  the  published  account  of  travels 
in  America  in  the  last  centiu-y  all  corroborate  each  others' 
assertions  in  speaking  of  the  Teuton  portion  of  this  latter  class — 
the  bone  and  sinew  of  the  provinces.  They  bear  universal  tes- 
timony that  popidation  in  the  middle  colonies  was  powerfully 
promoted  by  its  German  element ;  a  people  who  in  their  own 
country  had  been  disciplined  in  habits  of  industry,  sobriety, 
frugality,  and  patience,  and  were  consequently  peculiarly  fitted 
for  the  many  laborious  occupations  of  a  new  land.  Among  the 
yeomen,  husbandmen,  and  mechanics  they  were  regarded  as  the 
most  economical  as  well  as  the  most  industrious  of  the  popula- 
tion, and  the  least  attached  to  the  use  of  rum  and  malt  liquor. 
They  were  slow  in  contracting  debts  and  were  always  endeav- 
oring to  augment  their  means  of  subsistence. 

But  it  was  the  gentr}',  richly  dressed  in  all  the  magnificence 
of  the  times,  that  presented  in  customs,  manners,  and  apparel, 
the  strongest  contrast  to  the  other  actors  on  this  stage  of  "  auld 


The  Gentry  in  Old  Colony  Days.  217 

lang  syne."  In  colonial  times  there  were  in  the  provinces 
society  distinctions  now  unknown.  Both  in  town  and  country  the 
gentry  were  as  distinctive  from  the  people  at  large  as  were  the 
upper  classes  in  England.  Extensive  land-owners,  persons  with 
important  connections  abroad,  members  of  the  king's  council  and 
the  house  of  burgesses,  and  those  near  the  government,  were  held 
in  high  consideration  and  ranked  as  the  great  men  of  their 
respective  counties.  Their  personal  dignity  was  sustained  by 
theii"  di'ess,  manners,  modes  of  life,  and  the  civU  and  military 
offices  distributed  among  them.  Amboy,  being  at  this  time  the 
capital,  was  eminently  aristocratic,  and  presented  social  aspects 
and  phases  that  would  now  be  considered  both  brilliant  and 
picturesque. 

New  England  is  peculiarly  rich  in  descriptive  colonial  litera- 
tui'e ;  perhaps  it  woidd  be  difficult  to  add  to  its  fund  of  informa- 
tion on  this  subject.  Our  poverty  in  this  regard  offers  a  field 
full  of  local  color  for  the  historian  of  old  New  Jersey  society. 
Early  church  and  county  records,  the  archives  of  the  historical 
societies  and  of  the  Board  of  Proprietors  of  East  New  Jersey, 
and  the  family  manuscripts  distributed  throughout  the  state,  are 
mines  from  which  many  rich  historic  social  nuggets  could  be 
imearthed  by  the  patient  delver ;  and  a  most  interesting  work 
compiled.  In  the  absence  of  such  a  volume,  that  we  may  learn 
something  more  of  the  Amboy  of  the  middle  of  the  last  century, 
let  us  summon  a  member  of  his  majesty's  council  from  his  bed  of 
moidd  in  St.  Peter's  churchyard.  Perhaps  he  may  be  able  to 
tell  us  of  social  events  and  observances  in  old  colony  days. 

Here  he  comes !  making  his  stately  old-fashioned  way  along 
Smith  street.  He  cuts  a  strange  figure,  in  this  work-a-day  world 
of  ours,  with  his  broad-skirted  scarlet  coat — white  silk  waistcoat 
embroidered  with  flowers — black  satin  breeches,  and  paste  knee 
and  shoe  buckles.  As  he  tickles  his  nose  with  snuft"  from  a  gold 
box,  his  be-wigged  head  shakes  despondingly  under  its  odd 
three-cornered  covering.  He  looks  disappointed — he  is  disap- 
pointed !  When  this  king's  councillor  stepped  out  of  his  grave 
into  the  busy  nineteenth  century,  with  its  wonderful  achieve- 
ments in  science  and  progress,  he  expected  to  find  Perth  Amboy 
a  great  city.  To  him  and  his  fellows  of  the  olden  time  it  had 
seemed  designed  by  nature  for  an  important  commercial  metrop- 


218  The  Story  of  an  Old  Fakm. 

oils.  Hopes  had  been  entertained  that,  owing  to  its  nearness  to 
the  sea  and  its  unrivalled  harbor,  commerce  would  centre  here, 
and  that  for  all  time  New  Jersey's  capital  would  be  of  great 
political  and  commercial  consequence.  Alas,  vain  hopes! — he 
finds  it  a  city  but  in  name. 

The  councillor  in  all  his  magnificence  seems  oddly  out  of  place 
among  the  ugly,  modern,  brick  shops  of  this  business  street.  We 
will  seat  him  in  a  high-backed  chair  in  a  broad  hallway  of  one  of 
the  old  houses  of  his  own  time — now  he  appears  in  a  more  appro- 
priate setting.  You  need  not  offer  him  a  glass  of  whiskey  !  he 
is  not  acquainted  with  the  beverage.  Kum  punch  I  yes !  he 
will  take  that ; — I  doubt  not  but  that  he  and  his  co-councillors 
have  swallowed  many  a  jorum  of  such  toddy  while  wrestling 
with  knotty  questions  fttfecting  the  good  of  the  province.  Now 
that  our  colonial  friend  has  washed  the  dust  of  nearly  a  century 
and  a  half  from  his  ancient  throat,  let  us  hear  what  he  has  to 
say.  Evidently,  when  in  the  pristine  glory  of  existence,  he  was 
a  gallant  man  for  his  first  topic  is  the  ladies ;  how  they 
appeared — like  birds  of  paradise,  if  he  is  to  be  believed  ;  with 
stuffed  satin  petticoats,  taffetas  and  brocades,  tall  hats,  lofty 
coiffures,  long  feathers,  powder  and  patches.  Their  gowns  were 
buoyed  out  one  or  two  feet  on  either  side  of  the  hips,  bvit  not  in 
front  or  behind,  consequently — as  he  tells  us  with  a  chuckle — a 
lady  of  fashion  when  in  full  dress,  in  order  to  gain  admittance  to 
her  own  door,  was  forced  to  present  her  flanks  first,  and  thus 
sidle  in  like  a  crab. 

Our  "  resurrected  one  "  describes  the  flutter  in  Amboy  society 
caused  by  the  arrival  of  the  first  theatre  company  to  the  colonies 
and  its  presenting  plays  in  the  town-haU  on  the  public  green  ; 
he  says  that  the  ladies  in  order  to  secure  seats  were  obliged  to 
send  their  black  servants  early  in  the  afternoon  to  occupy  them 
until  the  time  of  the  performance.  This  theatrical  company  was 
under  the  management  of  the  Haflams,  who  first  opened  with  it 
in  America  in  1752.  Dunlap,  who  was  born  in  Amboy,  asserts 
that  he  has  heard  old  ladies  speak  in  raptures  of  the  beauty  and 
grace  of  Mrs.  Douglas — the  leading  lady  of  the  company — and 
the  pathos  of  her  personation  of  the  character  of  Jane  Shore. 
Our  New  Jersey  ancestors  took  more  kindly  to  the  stage  than 
did   their  brethren    of   Massachusetts.      The    assembly  of   that 


The  Reminiscences  oe  a  King's  Councillor.        219 

province  in  1750  prohibited  theatrical  representations  because — 
as  the  bill  recited — "  they  tend  greatly  to  increase  immorality, 
impiety,  and  a  contempt  of  religion."  This  action  of  the  legisla- 
ture was  occasioned  by  a  tragedy  having  been  acted  at  the 
British  Coffee-house  in  Boston  by  two  English  officers,  assisted 
by  some  young  men  of  the  town. 

A  graphic  portrayal  is  given  by  the  councillor  of  the  appear- 
ance of  the  gentlemen  and  ladies  on  Sunday  mornings,  as  they 
assembled  on  the  bluff  to  worship  at  St.  Peter's  :  the  dignified 
walk  of  the  men,  with  crimson  and  gilt  garments,  silk  stockings, 
cocked  hats  and  tall  gold-headed  canes  ;  and  the  young  lads — in 
dress,  brilliant  but  ludicrous  reproductions  of  their  elders. 
The  '■^  grand  darned''  with  high  heels  and  stiff  stays  came 
ballooning  along,  their  voluminous  skirts  swaying  and  fluttering 
in  the  fresh  sea  breeze.  With  what  ceremony  did  they  greet 
each  other !  As  the  men  raised  high  in  air  their  gold-laced 
hats,  and  bowed  low  their  curled  heads,  the  ladies,  stopping 
short  in  their  promenade,  placed  one  foot  twelve  inches  behind 
the  other  and  dropped  a  formal,  stately  and  prolonged  curtsey. 

It  is  very  agreeable  listening  to  his  tales  of  the  ostentation 
and  parade  at  New  Jersey's  capital  in  the  hey-day  of  its  youth : 
how  one  "  Moneybaird,"  conveyed  to  Lord  Neil  Campbell's  son 
John,  all  his  Amboy  interests,  in  consideration  of  Campbell's 
sending  a  footman  to  hold  his  stirrup  and  wait  on  him  during  the 
meetings  of  the  assembly  ;  how  the  mayor,  while  acting  offici- 
ally, had  a  mace-bearer  who  carried  before  him  this  ancient 
insignia  of  corporation  rank  ;  how  the  judges,  while  sitting  on 
the  bench,  wore  judicial  wigs  and  resplendant  robes  of  office, 
and  how  it  was  obligatory  for  counsellors-at-law,  when  pleading 
before  the  bar  of  the  supreme  court,  to  be  arrayed  in  gowns  and 
bands  as  worn  by  barristers  in  England.*     He  has  much  to  say 

*  On  the  eleventh  of  May,  1791,  the  leading  lawyers  of  the  State,  among  them 
Joseph  Bloomfield,  Richard  Howell,  Elisha  Boudinot,  James  Linn,  Richard 
Stockton,  Frederick  Frelinghuysen  and  Andrew  Kirkpatrick,  petitioned  the  jus- 
tices of  the  supreme  court  sliowing :  "  That  the  wearing  of  Bands  and  Bar- 
gowns  is  found  to  be  very  troublesome  and  inconvenient,  and  is  also  deemed  by 
your  petitioners  altogether  useless.  Your  petitioners  therefore  pray  that  the 
rule  of  this  court  made  for  tluit  purpose  may  be  vacated." 

"  Whereupon  the  Court  taking  the  said  petition  into  consideration,  are  pleased 
to  grant  the  prayer  of  the  petitioners,  and  do  order  that  the  Rule  of  the  Court, 
which  requires  tlie  wearing  of  Bands  and  Bar-gowns  be  vacated." 


220  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

of  the  flourish  and  ceremonies  attendant  upon  court  days ;  of 
the  judges  on  circuit  being  met  outside  of  the  town  by  the  sheriff, 
justices  of  the  peace,  and  other  gentlemen,  on  horse-back,  who 
escorted  them  in  lionor  to  their  lodgings.  At  the  opening  and 
closing  of  court,  in  going  to  and  from  the  court-house,  the  judges 
were  preceded  by  the  sheriff  and  the  constables  carrying  their 
staves  of  office,  and  all  evil-doers  trembled  in  the  presence  of  the 
august  procession. 

And  now  he  entertains  us  with  descriptions  of  the  grand  balls 
given  at  the  town-hall  in  honor  of  royal  governors  ;  where  the 
dancing  was  not  confined  to  the  youthfid  belles  and  beaux,  but 
all  ages  of  the  gentle-folk  participated ;  stepping  the  decorous 
minuet  or  going  down  the  middle  in  the  but  little  less  dignified 
contre-dance.  Altogether,  in  the  last  centmy  this  home  of  our 
narrator  must  often  have  been  a  gala  Amboy.  He  coidd  give  us 
more  interesting  information,  if  he  would,  as  to  its  historic  charms 
and  associations,  and  the  manners  and  customs  of  its  people.  But 
the  old  gentleman  is  running  down  ;  his  voice  is  beginning  to 
cackle.  We  will  relegate  him  to  that  mysterious  shade  from 
whence  he  came.     Exit,  the  king's  councillor  ! 

There  was  the  dark  side  to  this  old-time  picture — the  negroes. 
The  evil  of  slavery  took  deep  root  in  colonial  New  Jersey. 
The  reason  is  readily  understood  when  we  remember  that  in  the 
early  days  of  the  province  the  slave  trade  was  encouraged  by 
the  English  people,  fostered  by  the  home  government  and 
enforced  by  the  action  of  the  British  ministry.  In  1702  Queen 
Anne  instructed  the  governor  of  New  York  and  New  Jersey  "to 
give  due  encoui-agement  to  merchants,  and  in  particular  to  the 
Royal  African  Company."  Up  to  the  time  of  the  Revolution 
Great  Britain  directed  her  colonial  governors  to  combat  the 
attempts  made  by  the  colonists  to  limit  the  slave  trade ;  and 
under  pain  of  removal  to  decline  assent  to  any  restrictive  laws. 
Only  one  year  before  the  American  congress — in  1776 — prohib- 
ited the  slave  trade,  the  Earl  of  Dartmouth  addressed  the  fol- 
lowing words  to  a  colonial  agent  : 

AVe  cannot  allow  the  colonies  to  check  or  discourage,  in  any  degree,  a  traffic  so 
benefibial  to  the  nation. 

During  a  debate  in  the  house  of  commons  on  the  question  of 
the     suppression    of     this    trade,     a   wise    legislator    produced 


Colonial  Slave  Trade.  221 

a  labored  argument  against  its  abolition,  on  the  ground  of 
injuries  that  would  residt  to  the  market  for  the  refuse-fish  of  the 
English  fisheries,  which  were  purchased  in  large  quantities  by- 
West  India  planters  for  their  slaves.  This  astute  debater  was 
Brook  Watson,  who  was  called  an  American  adventurer,  and  who 
not  only  became  a  member  of  parliament  but  afterwards  lord- 
mayor  of  London.  We  are  able  to  relate  one  incident  in  the  life 
of  Watson,  where  he  was  of  advantage  to  the  world  at  large.  It 
was  to  all  our  good  fortunes  that  when  a  small  boy  he  fell  over- 
board in  the  harbor  of  Havana  and  just  escaped  being  devoured 
by  a  shark.  This  gave  to  the  brush  of  the  great  American  art- 
ist, Copley,  the  subject  for  his  well-known  painting,  "The  Res- 
cue of  a  Boy  from  the  Jaws  of  a  Shark." 

The  extent  of  the  importation  of  slaves  in  the  pro-sdnce  of  New 
Jersey  is  miknown,  but  it  is  estimated  that  before  the  Revolution 
between  three  and  four  hundred  thousand  negroes  were  intro- 
duced into  the  American  colonies.  Tha  Abbe  Raynal  supposes 
that  the  number  of  blacks  taken  from  Africa  by  Europeans 
before  1776  to  have  equalled  nine  millions.  Hiine,  the  German 
historian  of  the  slave  trade,  considers  these  figures  too  small ;  Mr. 
Bancroft  affirms  that  the  English  importations  in  all  the  conti- 
nental colonies  and  in  the  Spanish,  French  and  English  West 
Indies  to  have  been  nearly  three  million  souls,  to  say  nothing  of 
two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  thrown  into  the  sea.  He  esti- 
mates that  the  profits  of  English  merchants  in  this  traffic,  previ- 
ous to  1776,  were  not  far  from  four  hundred  million  dollars. 

This  historian  draws  in  strong  outline  a  sad  pictm-e  of  the 
miseries  endured  by  the  blacks  while  on  the  voyage  from  Africa. 
Small  ships  that  could  penetrate  the  shallow  rivers  and  bayous  of 
the  coast  were  used,  and  often  five  hundred  negroes  were  stowed 
in  vessels  of  not  over  two  hundred  tons  burden.  They  were 
generally  chained  in  pairs  by  the  ankles ;  and  below  decks, 
when  sleeping,  each  was  allowed  a  space  of  but  six  feet  by  six- 
teen inches.  For  exercise  they  were  made  to  dance  and  caper 
on  deck  to  the  tune  of  a  whip.  The  Africans  were  chiefly 
gathered  from  various  points  in  the  far  interior  of  the  dark  con- 
tinent, in  order  that  the  freight  of  a  single  ship  might  be  composed 
people  of  different  languages  and  nations.  When  they  reached 
the  sea-coast  at  unfavorable  seasons  of  the  year,   diseases  were 


222     '  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

engendered  which  culminated  on  the  voyage ;  this,  together 
with  the  narrow  space  afforded  their  manacled  bodies,  the  bad 
air,  foul  stenches  and  limited  food  and  water,  caused  a  death 
rate  often  equalling  fifty  and  never  falling  below  twelve  per- 
cent of  the  shipment.  Sailing-masters  on  approaching  a  slaver 
at  sea  made  it  the  rule,  when  possible,  to  keep  to  the  windward 
in  order  to  avoid  the  horrible  odors  that  belched  from  the  open 
ports  and  hatches  of  ships  laden  with  human  cargoes.  The 
ingenuity  of  man,  eager  to  torture  his  fellow-beings,  could  hardly 
have  planned  a  more  complete  hell  than  a  crowded  slave  ship  on 
a  protracted  voyage.  The  horrors  of  such  a  journey  are  best 
exemplified  by  the  fact  that  no  journal  of  a  trip  from  Africa  to 
the  United  States  is  extant,  though  it  is  well  known,  that  slave 
ships  repeatedly  entered  every  port  south  of  Rhode  Island. 

Strange  as  it  may  seem,  the  men  who  sailed  these  ships 
appeared  to  be  ignorant  of  the  fact  that  they  were  doing  the 
devil's  work.  Neither  the  captains  of  slavers,  nor  the  persons 
comprising  the  companies  who  employed  them,  seemed  to  have 
considered  that  they  were  practising  on  their  fellow-men  revolt- 
ing cruelty,  and  hideous  wrong.  This  was  so,  at  least,  in  the 
earlier  days  of  the  traffic.  Sir  John  Hawkins  commanded  the 
first  English  expedition  to  Africa  for"  slaves.  His  squadron  com- 
prised four  vessels,  and  to  their  captains  he  issued  the  following 
sailing  orders  :  "  Serve  God  daily  ;  love  one  another  ;  preserve 
your  victuals ;  beware  of  fire ;  and  keep  good  company."  So 
successfid  was  he  in  this  and  subsequent  voyages  that  Queen 
Elizabeth  rewarded  him  by  granting  him  permission  to  wear  on 
his  crest  "  a  denii  Moor,  bound  and  captive."  Doctor  Hale,  in 
the  third  volume  of  that  treasury  of  historical  writing,  the  "Nar- 
rative and  Critical  History  of  America "  —  edited  by  Justin 
"VVinsor — says  that  "  Hawkins  sailed  on  the  ship  Jesus  with  faith 
as  serene  as  if  he  had  sailed  on  a  crusade."  At  one  time,  while 
on  the  first  voyage,  this  navigator's  ships  were  so  long  be-calmed 
as  to  nearly  cause  starvation.  But,  as  this  pious  slaver  recounts  : 
"Almighty  God,  who  never  sufFereth  his  elect  to  perish,  sent  us 
the  ordinary  breeze."  While  Hawkins'  party  was  gathering 
together  human  cargoes  on  the  Guinea  coast,  the  crews  were 
set  upon  by  the  natives  with  murderous  intent.  But  again,  as 
he  narrates,  "  God,  who  worketh  all  things  for  the  best,  would 
not  have  it  so,  and  by  Him  we  escaped  without  danger." 


The  New  England  Slave  Trade.  223 

In  contemplating  the  slave  trade  as  connected  with  our  own 
coiuitry  we  must  not  fall  into  the  error  of  thinking  that  the 
infamy  of  the  traffic  attached  only  to  the  people  of  the  south, 
where  the  greater  number  of  slaves  were  marketed.  It  was  the 
weU-to-do  deacons  and  church  members  of  New  England  who 
controlled  the  business  :  men  who  deemed  it  a  sin  to  pick  flow- 
ers on  the  Sabbath  ;  who  thought  it  wrong  to  stroll  along  the 
banks  of  a  stream,  or  wander  in  the  woods  on  that  day  ;  men 
who  would  dispatch  the  tithing  man  to  arrest  the  stranger  who 
was  hurrying  through  their  town  on  Sunday  on  an  errand  of 
mercy.  The  history  of  that  time  reveals  Peter  Faneuil,  on  the 
one  hand  pUing  up  profits  from  his  immense  slave  trade,  while, 
on  the  other  occupied  in  private  and  public  charities,  and  in 
the  erection  of  the  cradle  of  liberty  in  Boston.  In  the  last  cen- 
tury the  coasts  of  Mozambique  and  Guinea  were  white  with  the 
sails  of  Massachusetts  and  Khode  Island  slavers.  These  vessels 
on  the  outward  voyage  were  loaded  with  New  England  rum, 
which  was  traded  to  African  chiefs  for  prisoners  taken  in  their 
tribal  wars.  These  blacks,  together  with  such  others  as  the 
ship-captains  had  been  able  to  steal,  were  then  carried  to  one  of 
the  West  India  islands,  or  to  a  southern  American  port,  and 
there  exchanged  for  molasses.  This  cargo  was  brought  to  New 
England  and  converted  into  rum  for  a  further  shipment  to 
Africa ;  thus  a  three-fold  profit  was  secured  on  each  voyage. 
In  the  year  1 750  Newport  carried  on  a  most  extensive  business 
of  this  character ;  three  hundred  distilleries  were  in  operation, 
and  the  tonnage  of  the  vessels  lying  at  the  town's  wharves 
exceeded  that  of  the  city  of  New  York.  Mrs.  Stowe  in  her  tale, 
"  A  Minister's  Wooing,"  has  portrayed  in  the  most  interesting, 
manner  the  awakening  of  the  New  England  conscience  as  to  the 
sinfulness  of  buying  and  selling  human  souls. 

As  at  the  time  of  Johannes'  visit  Perth  Amboy  was  New  Jer- 
sey's chief  port  of  entry,  the  blacks  were  to  be  seen  there  in 
goodly  numbers :  many  of  them  were  freshly  imported,  bearing 
their  tribal  marks,  and  exhibiting  their  native  characteristics,  as 
if  still  inhabiting  the  wilds  of  Guinea.  It  was  thought  desirable, 
when  possible,  to  have  the  slaves  brought  into  the  colonies  from  the 
West  Indies  rather  than  direct  from  Africa,  as  after  remaining  for 
a  time  at  Barbadoes  or  one  of  the  other  islands  they  were  muck 


224  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

better  able  to  endure  the  severities  of  the  American  climate.  In 
1757  the  British  West  Indies  contained  a  total  population  of  a 
little  less  than  three  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  soids,  of  which 
two  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  were  slaves.  Mr.  Whitehead 
says  that  barracks  stood  on  the  corner  of  Smith  and  Water 
streets,  in  Aniboy,  from  where  the  negroes,  on  landing,  were  dis- 
tributed in  the  province.  They  were  eagerly  sought  for  by  the 
settlers  and  were  in  the  service  of  all  families  able  to  pay  from 
forty  to  one  hmidred  pounds  for  a  man  or  woman,  according  to 
age.  A  child  of  two  or  three  years  sold  for  from  eight  to  fourteen 
pounds.  As  showing  the  value  of  slaves  in  the  last  century,  Mr. 
Snell,  in  his  Somerset  historical  compilations,  publishes  an  inven- 
tory of  the  personal  effects  of  Theimis  Post,  one  of  the  "  helpers  " 
of  the  North  Branch  Reformed  church,  who  died  in  1764  in 
Branchburgh  to^vnship,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Lamington  river. 
The  following  chattels  are  mentioned  :  "  One  negro  named  Ham, 
valued  at  £70  ;  one  negro  named  Isaac,  valued  at  £30 ;  one 
negro  named  Sam,  valued  at  £70  ;  one  negro  girl  named  Betty, 
valued  at  £10;  one  negro  named  Jane,  valued  at  £60;  one 
negro  wench  named  Sawr,  valued  at  £30."  The  last  name  is 
short  for  Saertje,  the  Dutch  diminutive  for  Sarah. 

As  the  character  of  these  imported,  or  more  properly  speak- 
ing, stolen  negroes,  were  necessarily  savage,  and  but  little  imder- 
stood  by  the  Jersey  people,  they  were  naturally  much  feared, 
and  the  most  severe  laws  were  enacted  by  the  colony  to  insure 
their  control  and  subjection.  One  of  the  official  acts  that  con- 
stables were  the  most  often  called  upon  to  perform  was  that  of 
whipping  slaves  for  minor  offences.  Any  negro  found  five  miles 
from  home  it  was  the  duty  of  these  officers  to  arrest,  and  to  flog 
with  a  whip,  into  the  thongs  of  which  fine  wire  was  plaited  that 
the  severity  of  the  punishment  might  be  increased.  For  this 
service  the  owners  of  the  derelict  blacks  were  obliged  to  pay 
the  constables  five  shillings,  which  materially  augumented  the 
income  of  those  officials,  and  added  largely  to  the  value  and 
importance  of  the  position. 

The  blacks,  on  arrival,  were  physically  powerfid  and  good 
workers,  but  without  much  power  of  reasoning  or  of  controlling 
their  undisciplined  imaginations.  Though  barbarians,  their 
affections  were  strong,  and  the  marked  progress  made  by  negroes 


Cruel  Punishment  op  New  Jersey  Slaves.         225 

in  America  may  be  said  to  be  largely  due  to  that  fact.  They 
soon  outgrew  their  savagery,  and,  affiliating  in  their  sympathies 
with  their  work  and  the  lives  of  their  masters,  in  a  very  few 
years  became  an  attached  portion  of  the  domestic  life  of  the  Jer- 
sey people.  In  Somerset  county,  especially,  the  slaves  soon  fell 
imder  the  sway  of  kindly  influences,  and  became  almost  poi-tions 
of  their  owucrs'  families.  They  were  comfortably  clad ;  when 
sick,  well  cared  for;  and  even  to  this  day  old  residents  tell 
pleasant  tales  of  the  affection  existing  between  our  forefathers 
and  the  old-time  family  and  farm  servants. 

But  before  the  whites  had  in  part  advanced  and  civilized  the 
blacks,  and  leai'ned  from  experience  the  weakness  and  strength 
of  their  bondsmen's  characters,  much  cruelty  was  inflicted 
through  fears  of  risings  and  rebellions.  The  "  New  York 
Gazette  "  of  the  twenty-iifth  of  March,  1734,  gives  an  account  of 
a  tlireatened  rising  early  in  that  year  in  the  vicinity  of  where  is 
now  Somerville,  in  consequence  of  which  several  negroes,  two  at 
least,  were  hung.  Punishments  were  extremely  severe  ;  murder 
and  assaidt  often  insured  the  culprits  being  burned  alive,  and 
for  even  petty  thefts  and  misdemeanors  they  were  hung  with 
short  shrift.  On  the  twenty -third  of,  September,  1694,  John 
Johnstone — he  of  the  Peapack  patent — while  sitting  as  presid- 
ing justice  of  the  Monmouth  court  of  sessions,  sentenced  a  negro 
convicted  of  murder  in  the  following  language : 

Coesur,  thou  art  found  guilty  by  thy  country  of  those  horrid  crimes  that  are 
laid  to  thy  charge;  therefore,  the  court  doth  judge  that  thou,  the  said  Ca-sar,  shall 
return  to  the  place  from  whence  thou  camest,  and  from  tlience  to  the  place  of 
execution,  when  tliy  right  hand  shall  be  cut  off  and  burned  before  thine  eyes. 
Then  thou  shalt  be  hanged  up' by  the  neck  till  thou  art  dead,  dead,  dead  ;  then 
thy  body  shall  be  cut  down  and  burned  to  ashes  in  a  tire,  and  so  the  Lord  have 
mercy  on  thy  soul,  Ca;sar. 

In  those  days  of  severe  punishments  the  penalty  followed 
closely  after  conviction.  On  the  tenth  of  January,  1729,  a  slave 
named  Prince  was  tried  at  Perth  Amboy  for  murdering  one 
William  Cook,  and  being  found  guilty  was  sentenced  to  be 
burned  alive  "  on  ye  twelfth  of  this  Inst."  He  was  executed  on 
the  day  appointed.  In  the  year  1738  a  negro  belonging  to 
Robert  Hooper  was  burned  at  the  stake  at  Rocky  Hill  for  hav- 
ing killed  a  child  of  his  overseer.  On  the  fifth  of  July,  1750,  in 
a  ravine  just  north  of  Perth  Amboy,  two  negroes  were  bm-ned  at 
15 


226  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

the  stake  ;  one  for  murdering  his  mistress,  Mrs.  Obadiah  Ayers, 
who  had  mildly  eensm'ed  him  for  misconduct ;  and  the  other  for 
being  an  accessory  to  the  fact.  Mrs.  Ayres  was  seated  at  her 
own  window  when  she  was  shot  by  the  first  negro,  with  a  gun 
procured  for  him  by  the  second.  In  these  more  lenient  days 
the  accessory  would  have  escaped  with  a  lighter  pimishment ; 
he  was  a  mere  lad,  and,  as  was  shown  at  the  trial,  had  been  coerced 
by  fear  into  aiding  the  elder  and  more  vicious  negro.  At  the 
execution  all  the  slaves  of  the  neighborhood  were  obliged  to  be 
present,  that  the  scene  might  serve  as  an  exemplary  warning  and 
a  terrible  example. 

Numerous  instances  might  be  given  of  the  severitj'  with  which 
black  offenders  were  punished.  There  is  on  record  a  chronicle 
of  the  hanging  of  a  negro  in  1750  for  theft,  the  execution  taking 
place  at  the  junction  of  the  Woodbridge  and  New  Brunswick 
roads,  a  little  way  out  of  Amboy.  We  have  another  accoimt  of 
an  auto-de-fe,  in  which  Sheriff  Abraham  Van  Doren  is  pictured 
on  his  horse,  riding  with  drawn  sword  between  the  spectators  and 
a  fire,  in  which  was  burning  a  negro  murderer.  This  was  at 
Hillsboi'ough  (Millstone)  in  1752,  the  sufferer  having  been  con- 
victed there  of  killing  his  master,  Jacob  Van  Nest,  who  lived 
near  Milltown,  in  Branchburgh  township.  This  black  wretch 
was  large  and  athletic,  and  for  a  long  time  had  been  considered 
dangerous.  In  a  fit  of  passion  he  struck  his  master  a  murdei'ous 
blow  with  an  axe  as  he  dismounted  from  his  horse  at  his  stable 
door  ;  the  negro's  anger  was  occasioned  by  the  discovery  that 
his  master  had  helped  himself  to  some  tobacco  from  the  slave's  box. 
This  distressing  occurrence  does  not  seem  to  have  prejudiced  the 
family  against  the  owning  of  slaves,  as  it  will  be  seen  by  the  fol- 
lowing copy  of  a  bill  of  sale  that  the  murdered  man's  son  Peter 
purchased  two,  a  few  years  later  :  "  July  10,  1768,  John  Van 
Nest,  of  Bridgewater  [now  Branchburgh]  sold  to  Peter  Van  Nest, 
A  certain  Neger  Winch  named  Mary  and  a  neger  bo}'  named  Jack 
for  the  sum  of  £66,  York  currency." 

In  1791,  burning  seems  to  have  been  abandoned  as  a  punish- 
ment for  negroes,  one  being  hanged  for  murder  in  that  year  in 
front  of  the  old  court-house  at  Newark.  As  was  the  custom  the 
condemned  was  taken  to  the  First  Presbyterian  church,  where 
his  funeral  sermon  was  preached  by  Doctor   Uzal   Ogden.     Mr. 


I 


New  Jersey  Slavery  Statistics.  227 

Whitehead  narrates  that  the  church  was  crowded,  and  that  the 
good  domine,  in  alhiding  to  the  repentance  of  the  negro,  thought- 
lessly finished  his  discourse  by  impressively  expressing  a  hope 
that  the  latter  end  of  his  numerous  hearers  might  be  like  the 
criminal's. 

In  the  province  of  New  Jersey  slavery  especiaUy  flourished 
because  of  its  large  Dutch  and  German  population  ;  and  the 
greatest  number  of  slaves  were  to  be  found  in  the  counties 
where  those  races  predominated.  New  Jersey's  inhabitants,  all- 
told,  in  1726  numbered  32,442,  the  negroes  counting  2,581.  The 
same  year  Somerset  possessed  2,271  souls,  white  and  black,  the 
latter  numbering  379.  This  county  was  in  that  year  exceeded 
in  negro  population  only  by  Monmouth  and  Bergen.  In  the  year 
1738,  out  of  a  total  popidation  of  47,369,  the  province  possessed 
3,981  slaves.  Somerset  county  in  the  previous  year  had  a  popu- 
lation of  about  4,500,  of  whom  732  were  slaves.  The  census  for 
the  year  1790  places  the  entire  New  Jersey  population  at 
169,954,  of  whom  11,423  were  slaves.  Ten  years  later — 1800 
— the  total  population  had  increased  to  211,149,  the  slaves  num- 
bering 12,422.  This  was  a  greater  number  of  bonds-people 
than  was  possessed  by  any  other  state  north  of  Maryland  except- 
ing New  York,  which  had  20,613.  Delaware  had  but  6,153, 
Pennsylvania  1,706,  Connecticut  951,  New  Hampshire  8,  and 
Maine,  Massachusetts  and  Vermont  none  at  all.  In  this  3'ear,  1800, 
the  slaves  of  Somerset  numbered  1,863,  out  of  a  total  popidation  of 
12,813  ;  this  was  more  tlian  that  possessed  by  any  other  countv  in 
the  state  excepting  Bergen.  Morris,  the  adjoining  comity  to 
Somerset,  at  that  time  having  a  popxilation  of  nearly  18,000, 
owned  but  775  slaves.  In  1810  slavery  had  entirely  disappeared 
in  Maine,  New  Hampshire,  Vermont  and  Massachusetts.  Rhode 
Island's  holdings  were  108,  Connecticut's,  300,  Pennsylvania's,  795, 
Delaware's,  4,177,  New  Jersey's,  10,851,  New  York's,  15,017.  In 
this  year — 1810 — Somerset's  slave  population  was  1,968,  still  far 
m  advance  of  all  other  counties  excepting  Bergen,  and  only  two 
himdred  behind  that  Dutch  community.  Between  the  years  1804 
and  1 820  a  series  of  laws  were  enacted  tending  toward  a  gradual 
abolition.  They  provided  that  every  child  born  of  a  slave 
within  tlie  state  of  New  Jersey  after  the  fourth  of  July,  in  the 
year  1804,  should  be  nominally  free,  but  should  remain  the  ser- 


228  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

vant  of  the  owner  of  the  mother  until  the  age  of  twenty-five  if 
a  male,  and  twenty-one  if  a  female.  So  beneficial  were  the 
results  of  the  operation  of  these  laws  that  we  find  by  the  census 
of  the  year  1830  Somerset's  full  slaves  were  reduced  to  seventy- 
eight  in  number. 

At  Amboy  Johannes  had  the  choice  of  two  leading  taverns  ; 
one  of  them  kept  by  John  Gluck,  the  other  by  Obadiah  Ayres. 
There  was  no  choice  as  to  expense,  as  the  justices  of  the  peace, 
at  the  October  quarter  sessions  of  1748,  had  established  the  fol- 
lowing uniform  and  moderate  rate  of  charges  for  all  the  taverns 
of  the  county:  "  Hot  meal  of  meat,  etc.,  10"?;  Cold  meal  do,  7?; 
Lodging  per  night  4'';  Ruin  by  the  quartern  4'';  Brandy  do, 
6^;  Wine  by  the  quartern  2^8'^;  Strong  beer  do,  5'?;  Cyder  do, 
4'?;  Metheglin  do,  l'',6'';  Lunch  do,  l'',2''.  Provision  for  Horses: 
Oats  by  the  quart  IJ'';  English  hay  per  night  ll',0'?;  ditto  for 
24  hours  1",6'';  Salt  or  fresh  hay  per  night  8'?;  ditto  for  24  hours 
1^,0^."  These  inns  were  rival  hostelries,  each  being  the  head- 
quarters of  opposition  lines  of  boats  and  stages  to  New  York  and 
Philadelphia.  Daniel  O'Brien,  in  October,  1750,  had  established 
the  first  line  by  this  route.  His  sloop  left  New  York  every  Wed- 
nesday ;  the  passengers  were  supposed  to  spend  Thursday  night 
at  John  Gluck's  in  Amboy,  a  stage-wagon  leaving  on  Friday 
morning  for  Bordentown,  where  another  sloop  proceeded  to  Phil- 
adelphia. His  advertisement  promised  to  carry  passengers 
through  in  forty-eight  hours  less  time  than  did  the  stage  which 
travelled  the  old  road  from  New  Brunswick  to  Trenton.  The 
time  actually  consumed  was  from  five  to  eight  days.  O'Brien 
could  be  ''  spoke  with  at  the  house  of  Scotch  Johnny  in  New 
York  on  Mondays."  The  success  of  the  above  line  was  so  great 
as  to  induce  some  Philadelphians  in  1751  to  establish  an  opposi- 
tion. Their  sloop  started  from  the  Quaker  City  at  the  "Crooked 
BiUet  Wharf"  every  week  for  Burlington,  ''  from  where" — as 
their  advertisement  read — "  at  the  sign  of  the  Blue  Anchor,  a 
stage-wagon  with  a  good  awning  will  run  to  the  house  of  Oba- 
diah Ayres  at  Perth  Amboy,  where  good  entertainment  is  to  be 
had  for  man  and  beast."  The  advertisement  goes  on  to  lay 
much  stress  on  the  fact  that  the  sloop  of  this  line,  sailing  between 
Amboy  and  New  York,  had  a  fine  cabin  fitted  up  with  a  tea 
table. 


Stage  Routes  Across  the  State,  229 

The  stage  route  referred  to  as  passing  over  the  old  road,  had 
been  established  in  1742  by  William  Atlee  and  Joseph  Yeats. 
They  sold  out  in  1744  to  one  Wilson,  who  ran  his  stage-wagon 
twice  weekly,  leaving  the  Delaware  at  Trenton  on  Monday  and 
Thursday,  and  New  Brunswick  on  Tuesday  and  Friday.  Pro- 
fessor Kalm,  before  quoted,  when  on  his  way  to  New  York  from 
Pennsylvania  in  1 748,  attributed  the  great  prosperity  of  Tren- 
ton to  the  number  of  travellers  that  journeyed  that  way  from 
Philadelphia.  He  remarked  on  the  many  stage  and  freight 
wagons  starting  from  Trenton  ;  and  writes  that  its  inhabitants 
largely  subsist  by  the  carriage  of  people  and  all  sorts  of  goods 
across  to  New  Brunswick. 

Wilson's  charge  for  carrying  a  single  passenger  in  his  stage- 
wagon  from  the  Delaware  to  the  Raritan  was  two  shillings  and 
six  pence,  with  an  extra  payment  for  luggage.  The  fare  by 
sloop  from  Philadelphia  to  Trenton  was  one  shilling  and  six 
pence,  in  addition  each  passenger  being  obliged  to  pay  extra 
for  luggage,  and  provide  for  himself  food  and  drink.  This  last 
was  important,  as,  though  the  distance  was  not  great,  adverse 
winds  often  prolonged  the  voj'age  into  many  tedious  hours. 
From  New  Brunswick,  passengers  had  a  choice  of  three  routes 
to  New  York :  by  sloop ;  by  way  of  stage-wagon  to  Elizabeth- 
town-point,  thence  by  sloop  ;  and  by  way  of  stage-wagon  to 
Amboy,  crossing  by  Willocks  ferry  to  Stateu  Island,  crossing  to 
Long  Island  at  the  Narrows,  and  thence  to  Flatbush  and  the 
Brooklyn  ferry.  The  inhabitants  of  the  Raritan  valley  and  of 
the  vicinit3^  of  Flatbush  were  at  this  time  in  close  alliance. 
Late  in  the  seventeenth  and  early  in  the  eighteenth  centuries 
the  Dutch  had  taken  up  all  of  the  agricidtural  lands  on  the  west 
end  of  Long  Island ;  consequently  many  of  the  second  genera- 
tion of  this  Holland  stock  were  forced  to  seek  tillable  acres  in 
East  Jersey.  Thus  the  ancestry  of  such  well  known  Somerset 
and  Middlesex  families  as  the  Van  der  Veers,  Van  Nostrands, 
Van  Dykes,  Hagamans,  Cornells,  Beekmans,  Polhemuses,  Sut- 
pheus,  Suydams,  and  others,  were  all  migrators  from  the  Flat- 
bush neighborhood. 

At  this  time  there  was  no  weU-established  cross-country  road 
between  Trenton  and  Amboy,  though  John  Dalley  had  in  1745 
surveyed  the  line  of  a  higliway,  and  set   up  marks  every  two 


230  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

miles  as  a  guide  througli  the  woods.  In  1756  another  stage 
route  was  established  between  the  Quaker  City  and  New  York. 
It  was  called  the  "  Swift,  Sure  Coach  Line,"  and  travelled  the 
old  York  road,  crossing  the  Delaware  river  at  Lambertville ; 
thence  to  Flemington,  Somerville,  Bound  Brook,  Plainfield,  and 
along  the  base  of  the  mountain  through  Springheld  to  Elizabeth- 
town-point,  where  a  packet  sloop  completed  the  journey.  It 
was  along  this  route  that,  about  1846,  the  first  telegraph  line 
between  New  York  and  Philadelphia  was  built.  This  round- 
about way  was  chosen  because  of  the  refusal  of  the  New  Jersey 
Railroad  officials  to  allow  the  telegraph  company  to  set  up  its 
poles  along  their  line  of  railway.  The  short-sighted  and  witless 
reason  was  given  that  "  the  telegraph  would  interfere  with 
travel,  through  enabling  persons  to  transact  business  by  its 
means,  instead  of  using  the  railroad."  In  no  better  way,  per- 
haps, could  be  shown  the  great  growth  of  the  telegraph,  railway 
and  express  interests  of  this  country,  than  to  narrate  the  fact 
that  the  first  telegram  from  Philadelphia  to  New  York  was 
delivered  at  Somerville,  the  line  being  completed  only  that  dis- 
tance. The  message  was  then  carried  to  the  metropolis  by  the 
Elizabethtown  and  Somerville  Railroad  in  a  carpet-bag ;  which 
carpet-bag,  or  rather  its  contents,  represented  the  entire  daily 
business  of  the  Hope  Express  company,  which  afterward  grew 
into  an  important  corporation  and  was  eventually  consolidated 
with  the  Adams  company. 

Picture  to  yourself  a  traveller  of  1752  occupying  six  days — 
one  hundred  and  forty-four  hoiu's — in  traversing  the  distance 
between  New  York  and  Philadelphia.  Imagine  for  a  moment 
the  discomforts  and  actual  pains  of  such  a  journey  during  the 
winter  months.  Huddled  on  a  crowded  sloop  for  from  twelve  to 
forty-eight  hours,  fighting  icy  head  tides,  beating  against  winds, 
chill,  drear  and  contrary,  eating  cold  snacks  supplied  by  your- 
self— even  "  a  fine  cabin  fitted  up  with  a  tea  table  "  could  hardly 
have  palliated  the  miseries  of  such  a  voyage.  In  October,  1723, 
Benjamin  Franklin,  when  making  his  first  visit  to  Philadelphia, 
was  thirty  hours  on  his  passage  from  New  York  to  Amboy.  His 
sloop  was  nearly  lost  in  a  squall,  and  one  of  the  passengers  fall- 
ing overboard  narrowly  escaped  being  drowned.  Over  fifty 
years  later  a  traveller  tells  of  being  twenty  hours  in  sailing  six- 


Stage-Wagons  of  the  Olden  Time.  231 

teen  miles  on  the  Delaware  in  a  sloop,  while  on  a  journey  from 
New  York  to  Philadephia.  The  same  traveller  was  nearly  ship- 
wrecked in  New  York  bay,  and  lost  some  of  his  baggage  at 
Amboy.  On  reaching  Amboy  passengers  were  lodged  in  uncom- 
fortable taverns ;  they  slept  on  straw-tilled  ticks,  usually  with 
two  or  three  bed-fellows,  and  with  but  little  choice  as  to  com- 
pany. The  passage  overland  to  the  Delaware  was  none  the  less 
disagreeable.  The  stages  were  ordinary  Jersey  wagons  without 
springs,  with  white  canvass  covers  stretched  over  hoops,  those  at 
the  front  and  rear  being  very  high,  which  gave  somewhat  of  a 
picturesque  appearance  to  the  rude  vehicle.  The  wheels 
revolved  on  primitive  boxes,  kept  greased  by  a  frequent  applica- 
tion of  tar  that  was  carried  in  a  bucket  suspended  under  the 
wagon  body.  Clumsy  linchpins  were  supposed  to  secure  the 
wheels,  but  they  had  a  fasiiion,  with  but  slight  provocation,  of 
hopping  out,  and  letting  the  axle  down  with  a  thud  in  the  mud, 
sending  the  passengers  sprawling  on  the  straw-covered  floor  of 
the  stage. 

The  roads  wei'e  in  a  wretched  condition  with  alternating 
stumps  and  holes.  The  rivers  and  streams  had  to  be  forded, 
and  after  heavy  rains  long  delays  were  incurred  while  await- 
ing the  subsiding  of  the  waters.  The  men  travellers  were 
expected  to  partly  work  their  passages  by  walking  up  the 
steep  rises,  and  by  putting  their  shoulders  to  the  wheel  when  the 
steaming  horses  were  stalled  in  a  slough.  But  this  outside  work 
was  not  much  worse  than  being  jolted  on  the  hard  seats  within, 
while  the  Imnbering  vehicle  lurched  and  strained  over  the  uneven 
roads,  or  staggered  across  corduroyed  swamps,  giving  the  pas- 
sengers very  much  the  feeling  of  having  had  their  backbones 
driven  up  into  their  skulls.  It  was  many  years  before  there 
were  any  decent  roads  in  New  Jersey.  Between  1765  and 
1768  numerous  unsuccessful  efforts  were  made  to  float  a  lottery 
for  raising  money  to  improve  the  highways  across  the  province. 
Governor  Franklin,  in  an  address  to  the  assembly  in  1768,  thus 
refers  to  their  condition  :  "  Even  those  which  lie  between  the 
two  principal  trading  cities  in  North  America  are  seldom  pass- 
able without  danger  or  difficulty." 

When  one  remembers  that  the  railroad  now  accomplishes  in 
one  day  the  work  of  several  weeks  of  the  last  century,  no  better 


232  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

illustration  can  be  given  of  the  advance  made  by  science  in  all 
that  adds  to  the  comfort  and  enjoyment  of  mankind,  and  to  the 
diffusion  of  general  intelligence.  Beyond  almost  ail  the  other 
•  improvements  of  this  great  age  stands  its  progress  made  in  loco- 
motion. As  Johannes  smoked  his  pipe  in  the  taproom  of  Ayres' 
tavern  on  the  evening  of  his  arrival  at  Amboy,  and  listened  to 
the  traveller's  tales  of  hardships  by  land  and  water,  how  incredu- 
lous he  would  have  been  had  be  been  told  that  his  posterity  would 
fly  between  New  York  and  Philadelphia  in  a  less  number  of 
minutes  than  it  took  hours  for  Ayres'  customers  to  traverse  that 
distance  ;  that  in  1889  America  would  be  bound  and  interlaced 
with  over  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  miles  of  iron  and  steel 
roads  constructed  at  an  average  cost  of  over  sixty  thousand  dol- 
lars per  mile,  and  on  which  carriages  would  roll  without  visible 
means  of  locomotion,  attaining  a  velocity  at  times  of  a  mile  in  forty- 
five  seconds.  Still  more  absurd  would  behave  considered  the  state- 
ment that  in  A.  D.  1889,  no  more  time  would  be  consumed  in 
crossing  the  then  unexplored  continent,  from  the  Atlantic  to  the 
Pacific — 3,322  miles — than  was  in  his  day  occupied  in  passing 
over  the  comparatively  short  distance  lying  between  the  Hudson 
and  the  Delaware  ;  that  in  the  place  of  clumsy  sloops  and  spring- 
less  wagons,  there  would  be  luxurious  coaches  and  mammoth 
steamboats ;  that  passengers,  instead  of  suffering  extraordinary 
fatigues,  would  stroU  about  elegantly  appointed  saloons,  recline 
on  softly  cushioned  chairs,  or  sleep  on  comfortable  couches, 
while  being  whirled  at  from  twenty -five  to  sixty  miles  an  hour 
over  thousands  of  miles  of  thickly  populated  country. 

We  will  leave  Johannes  to  make  his  way  back  alone  to  Bed- 
minster.  In  the  next  chapter  he  will  claim  our  attention  while 
in  conflict  with  rugged  nature ;  while  combating  and  subduing 
his  timbered  hillsides,  and  reducing  them  to  productive  acres. 


c^( 


CHAPTER   xvrr. 

Clearing    the    Bedminster    Land — Life    on   the.    "  Old    Farm " 
from  1752  to  1763. 

Intelligent  industry  wiU  overcome  many  difficulties.  This 
faculty  stood  our  ancestor  in  good  part  when  he  set  about  clear- 
ing the  Bedminster  farm,  and  to  a  great  extent  its  possession 
can  be  ascribed  to  his  nationality.  The  Germans  in  the  prov- 
ince, generally,  being  a  quiet  industrious  folk  made  themselves 
most  valuable  citizens.  They  were  plodding,  intent  on  their 
own  business,  attentive  to  the  duties  of  religion,  but  were  inter- 
ested, perhaps,  too  little  in  politics.  McMaster  writes  that 
wherever  a  Grerman  farmer  lived  were  to  be  found  industry, 
order  and  thrift.  Their  buildings,  fences,  thoroughly-tilled  fields 
and  nurtured  orchards  were  in  marked  contrast  to  the  lands  and 
improvements  of  their  more  careless  English  and  Scotch  neigh- 
bors. Other  writers  on  the  condition  of  the  American  colonies 
in  the  last  century  speak  of  the  simple  and  primitive  manners 
and  frugal,  industrious  habits  of  the  Germans,  which,  together 
with  theii-  contented  spirits  and  honest  dealings,  made  them 
valued  acquisitions  to  the  communities  and  most  suitable  infu- 
sions among  the  inhabitants  of  the  provinces. 

Well !  Johannes  and  his  sons  are  now  fairly  at  work  on  the 
"  Old  Fai'm,"  and  we  must  proceed  with  the  telling  of  its  story. 
He,  like  other  early  settlers,  is  occupied  in  making  history  ;  not 
in  the  sense  of  the  brilliant  achievements  of  heroes ;  his  a 
more  humble  mission — to  subdue  a  wilderness  and  civilize  a 
community,  to  make  smooth  the  way  of  future  generations,  and 
to  secure  for  his  posterity  a  comfortable  and  complete  homestead. 
It  took  time  to  transform  his  heavily-wooded  lands  into  arable 
fields ;  meanwhile  many  privations  had  to  be  endured,  and  that 
labor  which  conquers  all  things  vigorously  and  assiduously 
prosecuted. 


234  The  Story  of  an  Old  Faem. 

In  clearing  New  Jersey  lands  in  colonial  times  the  settler 
began  by  felling  the  smaller  trees  and  cutting  off  the  stronger 
branches  of  the  greater  ones.  Next,  the  oaks,  hickories  and 
other  large  trees  were  attacked.  Well  girdled  by  the  axe, 
these  were  left  to  stand  until  the  following  year,  by  which  time, 
having  been  robbed  of  their  sap,  they  were  dead  and  ready  for 
the  burning.  Encircling  fires  at  the  base  of  their  trunks  were 
ignited ;  the  trees  fell,  and  by  midsummer  the  sun  began  to 
operate  on  land  that,  being  formed  almost  entirely  of  rotten  vege- 
tation, was  rank  with  productiveness.  Instead  of  rooting  up  the 
trees,  many  of  the  farmers  after  burning  the  stumps  let  them 
stand  and  decay.  It  gave  the  newly-cleared  land  a  very  ugly 
appearance,  but  in  four  or  five  years  the  stumps  would  have  so 
rotted  that  they  could  be  beaten  to  pieces  and  ploughed  under. 
By  July  of  the  second  year  the  ground  was  ready  for  a  crop, 
which  was  generally  buckwheat.  When  harvested  in  the 
autumn  the  land  was  ploughed,  and  sown  with  rye.  Often, 
owing  to  the  richness  of  the  soil  from  the  long  drinking  of  the 
juices  of  decaying  vegetation,  the  first  year's  crop  all  grew  to 
straw,  and  it  was  not  uncommon  for  several  seasons  to  go  by 
before  the  ground  had  been  sufficiently  toned  by  cultivation  to 
produce  good  yields  of  wheat. 

Agriculture  was  but  imperfectly  understood  by  the  new  set- 
tlers, and  no  knowledge  seems  to  have  been  had  of  the  value  of 
the  rotation  of  crops.  Instances  are  given  where  new  lands 
produced  rye  for  ten  years,  and  then  for  ten  successive  harvests 
yielded  wheat.  The  virgin  soil,  having  been  fertilized  by  nature 
for  centuries,  was  for  several  decades  prolific,  but  in  time  became 
exhausted,  and  the  crops  correspondingly  poor.  Farmers  who 
had  wasted  the  early  strength  of  their  fields  were  slow  in  appre- 
ciating the  value  of  a  plentiful  use  of  lime  and  manure,  and  it 
was  not  until  after  the  Revolution  that  impoverished  lands  began 
to  be  properly  nourished  and  crops  again  to  be  abundant.  It  is 
said  that  the  first  Somerset  farmer,  who  gave  heart  to  exiiausted 
land  by  the  use  of  lime  as  a  fertilizer,  was  Doctor  John  Reeve,  who 
sent  all  the  way  to  a  quarry  on  the  Delaware  for  the  stone.  In 
addition  to  profitably  working  a  large  farm  near  Rocky  HiU,  he 
was  a  physician  in  good  practice.  Old  residents  of  the  county 
remember  him  as  a  tall  man  of  a   majestic  presence,  and  as    a 


Faumixg  Implements  of  the  Last  Centurv.         235 

graceful  and  fearless  rider.  His  professional  journej's  were 
always  made  in  the  saddle,  and  as  nearly  as  possible  in  an  air 
line  ;  scorning  such  ordinary  means  of  communication  as  high- 
ways and  byways  he  rode  bravely  across  the  country,  taking  the 
fences  as  if  following  a  pack  of  hounds  at  full  cry.  Although 
Bedminster  township  had  abundant  limestone  within  its  borders, 
none  was  burned  till  1794,  and  it  was  1830  before  Peapack  lime 
came  into  general  use.  In  the  last  century  natural  meadows  sup- 
plied all  the  grass  and  grain  for  live-stock ;  it  was  in  the  year 
1800  that  Jacques  Voorhees  introduced  clover-seed  into  Somer- 
set county  ;  the  growing  of  grass  on  uplands  inaugurated  a  new 
era  in  farming  and  great  benefits  resulted  to  husbandmen  and 
the  country. 

To  one  accustomed  to  the  improved  appliances  that  aid  and 
abet  the  agriculturist  of  this  age,  the  tools  and  implements  that 
Johannes  had  at  his  command  would  seem  illy  contrived  for  till- 
ing the  soil.  The  ploughs  throughout  the  country  at  this  time 
were  rude  and  ineffective  and  mostly  home-made.  They  were 
clumsily  constructed  of  wood,  the  mould-board  being  ftishioned 
from  a  block  which  had  a  winding  grain  appi-oximating  to  the 
curve  required.  Thomas  Jefferson  is  said  to  have  first  suggested 
the  proper  shape  and  proportion  of  this  part  of  a  plough.  It  was 
1776  before  a  wrought-iron  ploughshare,  some  bolts,  and  a  clevis 
were  introduced,  and  the  mould-boards  after  that  time  were 
often  plated  with  strips  of  iron  made  from  hammered  horseshoes. 
Our  state  has  the  honor  of  being  the  first  to  have  used  cast-iron 
ploughs,  they  being  the  invention  of  a  New  Jersey  farmer  named 
Newbold.  Their  introduction  was  not  general  until  the  year 
1797,  the  people  being  prejudiced  against  their  use,  and  it  is 
said  that  they  claimed  cast-iron  poisoned  the  soil  and  ruined  the 
crop.  Our  forefather  sowed  his  seed  by  hand,  and  when  harvest 
time  came,  no  craiUer  with  glittering  knife  swung  his  graceful 
way  through  the  golden  grain,  marking  the  field  with  lines  of 
even  swath.  Rye,  wheat  and  buckwheat  were  cut  with  a 
sickle,  but  oats,  like  grass,  fell  under  the  scythe.  The  sickles 
used  were  long  and  narrow,  their  sharp  edges  having  close 
teeth  on  the  inner  side.  This  manner  of  harvesting  con- 
tinued until  after  the  Revolution,  when  farmers  were  delighted 
by  the  appearance  of  the  cradle,  which   improvement   created  as 


236  The  Stoey  of  an  Old  Farm. 

much  interest  as  has,  in  modern  times,  the  introduction  of  the 
reaper. 

Diiring  the  first  years  of  life  on  the  farm  there  was  much  to 
do  besides  clearing  and  tillage.  Gun  and  worm  fences  were 
built — the  great  barns  and  mows  were  erected,  and  their  long, 
sloping  roofs  thatched  with  the  big  rye  straw  grown  on  the 
strong,  new  ground  ;  orchards  were  set  out,  and  below  the  hUl 
the  water  power  was  improved,  and  the  meadow  facing  Peapack 
brook  pierced  with  tan  vats.  A  little  above,  the  mill  was 
planted ;  on  its  oaken  floor  a  huge  wooden-cogged  wheel  slowly 
revolved,  crushing  the  black  and  red  oak  bark.  An  early 
undertaking  was  that  of  making  the  old  garden  to  the  east  of  the 
house — a  combined  kitchen  and  flower  garden,  as  was  the 
fashion  of  the  time  ;  in  it  was  planted  the  still  blooming  bed  of 
German  lilies.  Horticulture  was  then  in  its  infancy,  or  more 
properly  speaking,  as  the  word  is  now  used,  unknown.  Old- 
fashioned  gardens  contained  in  the  way  of  flowers  but  little  else 
than  hollyhocks,  snow-balls,  roses,  lilacs,  pinks,  tulips,  sun-flow- 
ers, morning-glories  and  a  few  other  primitive  blossoms.  As  for 
fruit,  no  grapes  were  to  be  had  excepting  the  poor  native  fox 
variety  ;  and  the  improved  kinds  of  peaches,  pears,  plums  and 
melons,  had  not  yet  been  introduced.  Of  pears  as  weU  as  of 
apples  there  were  plenty,  but  no  knowledge  being  had  of  nursing 
and  grafting,  they  did  not  attain  anything  approaching  their 
present  perfection  and  deliciousness.  So  with  the  small  berries, 
they  were  in  great  abundance,  though  imcultivated,  growing 
wild  in  the  fields  and  woods. 

The  vegetables  of  that  period  were  few  in  variety  and  poor  in 
quality.  Potatoes  were  a  staple,  as  were  in  their  season  cab- 
bages, beans  and  Indian  corn ;  but  tomatoes,  cauliflower,  Mercer 
potatoes,  okra,  lettuce,  sweet  corn,  egg-plant  and  rhubarb  had 
not  yet  been  heard  of.  It  will  thus  be  seen  that  "  living  "  at  the 
"  Old  Stone  House  "  in  the  olden  days  was  much  simpler  than 
those  of  us  found  it  who  were  so  fortunate  as  to  gather  about  its 
weU-spread  board  in  the  generation  just  passed.  Johannes'  table 
was  well  supplied  with  ham,  bacon  and  smoked  meats.  Tradi- 
tions smack  their  lips  over  the  deliciousness  of  the  tender  juicy 
hams,  that  hung  in  rows  from  the  ceiling  timbers  in  the  cool 
cellar.    Their  rich  and  nuttv  flavor  was  gained  from  being  cured 


Colonial  Farm  Diet.  237 

in  the  fragrant  smoke  of  burning  hickory  and  oak,  together  with 
the  fact  of  their  having  been  carved  from  young  pigs  that  had 
roamed  the  forest,  fattening  on  acorns,  hickory  nuts  and  aromatic 
herbage.  Occasionally  fresh  meat  was  had,  as  it  was  the  cus- 
tom of  farmers  when  they  slaughtered  a  "  critter  "  to  distribute 
joints  and  pieces  among  their  neighbors  for  miles  around,  relying 
for  pay  upon  a  return  courtesy.  The  family  had  not  yet  out- 
grown its  love  for  sauerkraut,  as  is  shown  by  the  writer's  having 
the  antique  mortar — cut  out  of  a  solid  block  of  wood — and  pestle, 
which  were  used  in  the  preparation  of  this  compound,  so  dear  to 
the  German  palate.  A  dish  that  garnished  every  meal  was 
"  kohl-salat,"  or  cabbage  salad.  The  Dutch  called  it  "  kohl- 
slaa,"  and  from  these  two  old  country  terms  have  come  the 
degenerate  word  "  coldslaw.'"  Our  yoeman's  table,  while  ignor- 
ant of  modem  prepared  dishes  disguised  with  strange  sauces, 
was  abundently  beset  with  solid  substantial  food  :  poultry,  eggs, 
cheese  and  such  farm  diet  there  was,  of  course  ;  hot  breads  were 
in  vogue ;  short  cakes,  made  with  buttermilk  and  baked  on  a 
griddle,  were  in  daily  demand,  and  pies,  doughnuts  and  olekokes, 
were  features  even  of  the  morning  meal.  Soupaan — well  salted 
Indian  mush,  eaten  with  milk  and  molasses — was  the  standard 
Sunday  supper,  though  occasionally  a  raised  biscuit,  called 
ewelbah,  or  twice  baked,  took  the  place  of  mush  ;  this  bisciut 
was  made  in  large  quantities,  bushels  at  a  time,  and  then  di-ied 
in  the  oven  until  as  hard  as  a  rock  ;  in  a  bowl  of  rich  milk  it 
made  a  toothsome  dish, — to  the  truth  of  which  more  than  one 
of  Mariah  Katrina's  descendants  can  bear  witness. 

As  for  beverages,  a  great  favorite  at  that  time  was  madeira, 
though  except  on  festive  occasions  it  was  rarely  found  save  on 
the  tables  of  the  rich.  Farmers  were  content  with  hard  cider, 
beer  and  Jamaica  rum.  The  latter  was  almost  the  entire  tipple 
of  the  poor  throughout  the  colonies,  except  in  the  East,  where 
immense  quantities  of  molasses  were  annually  converted  into  New 
England  rum.  A  hot  drink  common  at  that  time  was  soured 
beer  simmered  over  the  fire  with  crusts  of  brown  bread,  and 
sweetened  with  molasses.  Another  decoction,  or  concoction,  of 
which  the  Germans  of  New  Jersey  were  fond,  was  the  extraor- 
dinary combination  of  chocolate  and  links  of  sausages,  boiled  in 
a  kettle,  served  in  a  bowl,  and  eaten  together  with  a  spoon  ;    a 


238  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

feast  of  which  I  am  sure  but  few  of  my  readers  would  care  to 
partake.  It  is  said  that  when  tea  was  first  introduced  in  New 
Jersey  its  manner  of  use  was  for  some  time  unknown.  The 
people  in  their  ignorance  boiled  it  well,  throwing  away  the 
liquor ;  the  herb  was  then  dished,  buttered,  and  eaten  as  greens. 

For  sweetening  purposes  molasses  and  maple  sugar  were  com- 
monly used,  as  at  that  time  brown  or  "store  sugar"  was  yet  con- 
sidered a  luxury.  The  story  is  current  that  the  introduction  of 
white  sugar  in  the  Moelich  family  was  by  Johannes'  daughter, 
Veronica  Gerdrutta,  some  years  later,  on  the  occasion  of  a  social 
tea-drinking.  It  was  then  both  a  curiosity  and  a  treat  among 
farmers,  and  especially  to  the  Germans,  who  were  a  very 
economical  folk.  Fanny's  husband,  old  Jacob  Kline,  not  having 
been  informed  of  the  surprise  in  store  for  the  guests,  on 
sitting  down  at  the  table  used  the  sugar  as  salt,  suppos- 
ing it  to  be  such.  This  so  annoyed  his  wife  that  she  cried 
out  somewhat  angrily  in  German,  "  0  you  dumb  Irishman,  you 
never  will  know  anything  !"  In  calling  her  husband  an  Irish- 
man, the  good  wife  poured  upon  his  head  the  full  vials  of  her 
contemptuous  vocabulaiy.  Among  the  colonists  of  Pennsylvania 
and  New  Jersey  there  were  representatives  of  many  nationali- 
ties, with  widely  dissimilar  natures,  but  fortunately  the  unifying 
conditions  were  sufficient  to  ultimatel}'  blend  their  discordant 
elements.  Yet,  for  a  number  of  years  the  Irish  and  Germans 
were  mutually  repugnant,  and  each  held  the  other  in 
very  low  estimation  ;  consequently  "  Irish  "  and  "  Dutch  " 
were  bandied  between  the  thrifty  Germans  and  the  sons  of  the 
Emerald  Isle  as  epithets  of  contempt.  In  a  letter  from  the  elder 
Muhlenberg  to  the  fathers  of  Zion  church  in  1772,  the  Patriarch 
complains  that  his  conduct  in  a  certain  financial  transaction  had 
been  misconstrued,  and  goes  on  to  say :  "  You  must  have 
peculiar  thoughts  of  me,  as  if  I  tried  to  cheat  you  out  of  some- 
thing or  desired  to  play  Irish  tricks  on  you." 

Building  barns,  making  gardens,  and  raising  crops,  are  fair- 
weather  work.  There  was  much  that  could  be  done  on  the  "  Old 
Farm  "  in  tempest  as  well  as  in  sunshine.  On  stormy  days  and 
during  the  long  winter  evenings,  Johannes  and  his  sons  were 
occupied  with  labor  that  would  now  be  done  at  wheelwright  shops, 
factories  and  forges  ;  but  shops  of  all  kinds  were  then  few,  and  at 


QuiLTiNGS,  Frolics,  and  Donation-Visits.  239 

remote  distances.  Our  forefathers  cobbled  their  own  shoes, 
repaired  their  own  harness,  and  at  extemporized  carpenter  and 
blacksmith  shops  made  much  of  the  household  furniture  and 
many  of  the  farm  and  kitchen  utensils.  The  Baroness  Riedesel, 
the  companion  in  misfortune  of  her  husband,  the  Hessian  Gen- 
eral who  was  captured  with  Burgoyne,  made  and  published 
many  notes  on  the  American  army  ;  among  them,  one  as  follows  : 
"  Their  generals  who  accompanied  us  were  some  of  them  shoe- 
makers, and  on  the  days  we  halted  made  boots  for  our  officers 
or  even  mended  the  shoes  of  our  men."  The  Baroness  was  in 
error :  they  were  not  shoemakers,  but  the  custom  of  colonial 
times  was  for  the  men  to  know  all  about  the  working  of  leather, 
they  being  able  to  make  their  own  harness,  saddles  and  shoes, 
just  as  it  was  for  the  women  to  spin  and  weave ;  doubtless  these 
American  officers  in  sore  need  of  money  were  glad  to  exchange 
this  knowledge  and  service  for  German  and  English  coin. 

There  were  few  or  no  luxuries  in  the  olden  time  that  would  be 
recognized  as  such  now  ;  the  industries  of  the  families  were  of  the 
most  complete  character,  as  within  each  homestead  was  pro- 
duced, to  a  large  extent,  the  necessities  of  its  members.  In 
farming  communities,  upon  the  women  of  the  household  devolved 
not  only  the  duties  of  cooking,  washing,  milking,  and  dairy  work, 
as  at  present ;  in  addition,  they  made  their  own  garments  and 
many  of  those  of  the  men  ;  they  spun  their  own  yarn,  wove  the 
family  linen  and  woollen  goods,  smoked  and  cured  meats,  dipped 
tallow  candles,  brewed  beer,  and  made  soap.  Their  pleasures 
were  limited,  being  confined  principally  to  quilting  frolics,  apple 
paring  bees,  and  husking  and  killing  frolics.  The  latter  were 
when  the  men  met  at  each  other's  liouses  to  do  the  autumn  hog- 
killing,  the  women  coming  in  the  late  afternoon  to  join  them  at 
supper,  and  have  a  dance  in  the  evening.  The  "  wood  frolic  " 
was  also  an  institution  which  brought  together  most  of  the 
people  of  the  congregations  annually  at  the  parsonages.  While 
the  men  occupied  themselves  during  the  day  hauling  the  minis- 
ter's yearly  supply  of  wood,  the  wives  and  daughters  came  in  the 
late  afternoon  and  prepared  a  bountifid  supper,  to  which  the 
tired  wood-haulers  doubtless  brought  excellent  appetites.  The 
spinning-visit  and  the  donation-visit  were  both  made  occasions 
for  festivities.     At  the  former  it  was  the  women  who  spent  th& 


240  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

the  day  in  work,  the  men  coming  at  supper-time  to  contribute  to 
the  pleasures  of  the  evening. 

Fielding  writes  that  "  bare  walls  make  gadding  housewives." 
Coidd  he  have  visited  the  "living-room"  of  the  "Old  Stone 
House "  he  would  not  have  expressed  this  sentiment  without 
noting  an  exception.  It  had  bare  walls,  it  is  true,  but  Mariah 
Katrina  was  no  gadding  housewife: 

She  was  a  woman  of  a  stirring  life, 
Whose  heart  was  in  her  house ;  two  wlieels  she  had, 
Of  antique  form; — this  large  for  spinning  wool, — 
That  small  for  flax  ;  and  if  one  wheel  had  rest. 
It  was  because  the  other  was  at  work. 

In  many  of  the  customs  and  courtesies  of  life  she  was  doubt- 
less rude  and  unpolished.  A  helpmate  to  her  husband,  she  did 
not  disdain  to  aid  him  in  the  field.  While  occupied  with  house- 
hold duties  her  dress,  and  that  of  her  daughters,  was  coarse 
homespun  ;  and  often  in  the  summer,  to  make  her  many  busy 
steps  in  the  farm-kitchen  the  lighter,  she  discarded  shoes.  But 
for  all  that,  her  posterity  have  no  cause  for  being  ashamed  of 
this  industrious  German  matron  ;  she  was  the  mother  of  vigorous 
children,  who  developed  into  men  and  women  useful  and  beloved. 
They,  in  their  turn,  transmitted  to  their  descendants  capacities 
for  leading  worthy  and  profitable  lives. 

The  "living-room,"  or  farm-kitchen,  was  Mariah  Katrina's 
kingdom,  as  it  has  been  for  all  the  housewives  of  the  "  Old 
Stone  House"  from  that  time  down.  It  served  for  many  pur- 
poses, and  it  was  there  that  all  the  home  life  centred.  With 
the  exception  of  what  was  baked  in  the  Dutch  oven  in  the  outer- 
kitchen,  the  cooking  was  done  before  or  in  the  cavernous  fire- 
place, around  which  were  hung  warming-pans,  flat-irons,  skil- 
lets, teapots  and  other  necessaries,  while  from  the  "  chimbley's" 
capacious  throat  depended  cranes,  hooks,  pots,  trammels  and 
smokejacks.  This  was  even  before  the  time,  in  farmers'  families, 
of  tin  roasting-jacks ;  turkeys  used  to  be  suspended  by  twine 
before  the  fire,  and  kept  revolving,  while  the  basting  gravy 
dripped  to  a  pan  below.  The  domestic  conveniences  of  that  age 
did  not  include  closets  ;  household  articles  were  distributed  about 
the  walls  of  this  farm-kitchen,  hung  on  cop-stocks — wooden 
pegs,  driven  into  the  beams  of  the  low-studded   ceiling.     On  the 


A  View  of  the  Farm-Kitchen.  241 

dresser  were  rows  of  polished  pewter  platters  and  vessels,  stand- 
ing cheek  by  jowl  with  well-scoured  wooden  trenchers,  while 
laid  away  on  the  shelves  of  the  great  walnut  press  were  piles  of 
the  family's  coarse  linen.  In  the  corner  stood  two  small  wooden 
mortars,  in  which  were  pounded  and  powdered  the  mustard  and 
coffee  ;  and  on  a  convenient  shelf  were  placed  the  lights  for  this 
world  and  the  next, — a  round  iron  tinder-box  with  its  attendant 
flint  and  steel,  and  the  huge  family  Bible,  its  pages  black  with 
quaint  German  characters.  Pewter  and  copper  were  the  mat- 
erials from  which  many  of  the  drinking  vessels  and  utensils  were 
made,  china  and  glass  being  in  but  little  use.  The  precious 
metals  were  not  common,  except  among  the  very  rich,  although 
all  well-to-do  farmers  carried  a  silver  watch  and  snuff-box,  the 
latter  being  in  frequent  requisition.  Tobacco  was  smoked  in 
pipes,  of  which  Johannes  had  brought  a  good  supply  fi'om  the 
old  country  ;  segars  were  unknown  in  the  "  Old  Stone  House," 
indeed,  throughout  the  colony  in  that  century  they  were  rarely 
seen  outside  of  the  large  cities. 

Much  of  the  space  of  the  chambers  in  this  Bedminster  dwelling 
was  occupied  by  mammoth  "  four-posters,"  stuffed  with  thick 
feather-beds  that  were  covered  by  many-colored  quilts  and 
counterpanes  of  calico,  durant  and  calamanco — whatever  the  last 
two  may  have  been.  Testers  of  cloth  and  curtains  of  chintz 
hung  from  above,  while  vallances  of  dimity  reached  to  the  floor. 
Much  of  the  bedroom  furniture  was  heavy,  cumbersome  and 
home-made,  red  cedar  being  the  favorite  wood,  as  it  was  consid- 
ered vermin  proof  and  indestructible.  The  upper  rooms,  like  the 
one  below,  then  as  now,  were  destitute  of  closets.  People  are 
not  apt  to  feel  the  need  of  what  they  have  never  possessed  ; 
otherwise  we  might  suppose  that  Mariah  Katrina  and  her 
daughters  were  much  inconvenienced  for  the  want  of  closet 
room.  If  you  are  curious  to  know  in  what  kind  of  garments 
they  were  accustomed  to  array  themselves,  we  may,  in  fancy, 
mount  the  oaken  staircase  to  the  garret,  and  there  behold  the 
treasures  of  clothing,  of  which  women  in  the  olden  time  had  a 
great  profusion  Hanging  on  pegs  driven  in  the  wall,  and 
depending  from  lines  stretched  from  the  eaves,  were  shortgowns, 
overgowns,  outer  garments  and  petticoats.  The  number  of  the 
last  would  now  seem  excessive,  but  colonial  women  thought  at 
16 


242  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

least  fifteen  necessary,  while  the  Germans  and  Dutch  often  had 
twice  that  number.  They  were  generally  of  tow,  flannel  and 
linsey-woolsey,  and  the  young  women  of  a  household  spent  much 
of  their  girlhood  in  laying  in  a  stock  of  petticoats  for  matronly 
uses.  The  shortgowns  were  of  kersey,  calamanco  and  homespun, 
but  the  frocks  and  outer  garments  were  made  of  gay  fabrics,  the 
names  of  some  of  which  are  now  obsolete  ;  beside  satins,  silks  and 
velvets,  there  were  in  use  taffety,  beaver,  French  tabby,  milinet, 
moreen,  groset,  Holland  linen,  bombazine,  and  ''  boughten 
calico." 

The  men  of  that  time,  even  in  farming  communities,  were  not 
insensible  to  the  picturesqueness  of  variety  and  color  in  their 
garb.  For  daily  wear,  buckskin,  leather,  homespun  and  worsted 
fabrics  were  common,  but  on  Sundays  and  on  gala  occasions 
prosperous  yeomen  were  often  clad  in  white,  blue  and  crimson 
broadcloth  coats,  with  short-clothes  of  plush,  stockinet,  yellow 
nankin,  and  even  velvet. 

In  the  living-room,  or  farm-kitclien,  the  meals  were  eaten, 
friends  were  entertained,  and  the  spinning  done  ;  while  just 
beyond  the  door,  in  the  cellar  on  the  same  level,  stood  the  clumsy 
loom,  upon  which  the  women  banged  away  at  odd  times  in  mak- 
ing linen  cloths  and  woollen  goods  for  the  family  clothing.  Flax 
was  to  Johannes  a  most  important  crop ;  its  treatment  was 
largely  within  the  province  of  the  women  of  his  household,  from 
the  pulling  in  the  fields  to  the  making,  dressing,  hatcheling,  and 
spinning.  This  was  before  the  days  of  cotton,  and  flax  had 
many  uses ;  in  addition  to  being  prepared  for  the  loom,  mats  and 
cushions  were  made  from  the  coarse  "  hock-tow,"  and  the  rope, 
or  finer  tow,  was  twisted  by  the  hands  into  long  strands  of  yarn, 
from  which  were  manufactured  the  farm  cords  and  ropes.  Deli- 
cate girls  would  seem  to  have  had  no  place  in  the  social  economy 
of  colonial  farm  families.  They  must  needs  have  had  strong 
arms  and  stout  hips  to  have  been  able  to  lug  the  big  iron  kettles, 
or  to  have  hung  them  on  the  great  swinging  crane  of  the  yawn- 
ing fireplace.  Strength  was  also  necessary  to  handle  the  large 
sticks  of  hickory  that  kept  the  pot  a-boiling,  or  the  vast  oven 
heated  to  just  the  point  necessary  for  properly  browning  the 
batches  of  rye  and  wheaten  loaves,  the  big  pans  of  beans,  and 
the  cakes,  puddings,  and  thick  pies.       Washing-day  must  have 


Washing-Day  at  the  Old  Stone  House.  243 

been  a  sore  affliction  to  the  women-folk  of  the  "  Old  Farm." 
When  Monday  came  a  roaring  fire  was  built  alongside  the  wash- 
house — on  the  bank  of  the  brook — over  which  was  suspended  an 
iron  pot  in  which  the  clothes  were  boiled.  Washing  machines 
and  wringers  were  not — and  even  their  predecessors,  the  corru- 
gated washboard  and  washtub,  were  unknown.  The  stream  fur- 
nished a  generous  tub,  and  stout  arms  did  the  wringing.  When 
the  dirt  and  grime  had  been  loosened  by  boiling  the  coarse 
clothing  was  put  in  the  pounding  barrel,  and  well  thumped 
with  a  wooden  pounder  until  the  dirt  was  supposed  to  be  elimi- 
nated. A  rude  washing  machine — but  it  is  said  to  have  done 
effective  service,  though  the  fine  fabrics  of  our  day  would  find 
such  rough  handling  rather  severe ;  not  only  the  dirt,  but  the 
texture  would  be  eliminated. 

The  years  roll  on !  All  this  time  the  three  hundred  and 
sixty-seven  acres  of  wild  lands  are  gradually  developing  into  a 
fine  farm.  Changes,  too,  are  taking  place  in  the  family  in  which 
we  are  so  much  interested.  Aaron,  the  first  born,  has  brought 
home  a  wife — Charlotte  Miller.  Who  were  her  parents  our 
investigations  do  not  show,  nor  are  we  any  the  wiser  as  to  the 
date  of  the  marriage  ;  it  was  probably  about  the  year  1757, 
as  their  first  child,  John — the  future  Revolutionary  soldier — was 
born  on  the  thirty-first  of  July,  1758.  If  cm-  surmise  is  correct, 
this  would  make  the  mother  twenty-three  years  old  at  the 
time  of  her  marriage,  as  she  was  born  on  the  fourteenth  of  May, 
1734.  To  man  Heaven  gives  its  best  gift  in  a  good  wife  ;  and 
so  was  Aaron  blessed  in  Charlotte.  Though  we  are  ignorant  of 
her  parentage,  she  was  evidently  the  daughter  of  a  good  mother, 
for  of  such  are  the  best  wives  made.  For  over  forty  years  she 
added  to  the  comfort  and  happiness  of  her  husband  and  children, 
and  lived  in  the  "  Old  Stone  House "  the  life  of  Solomon's 
virtuous  woman,  for  "  the  heart  of  her  husband  safely  trusted  in 
her,  and  she  did  him  good,  and  not  evil,  all  her  days." 

There  has  not  been  preserved  to  us  an  account  of  Aaron's 
marriage.  It  is  to  be  regretted  ; — -as  in  the  olden  time  there 
were  many  quaint  customs  and  observances  attendant  upon 
weddings.  They  were  not  confined  to  the  ceremony  ;  the  occa- 
sion of  bringing  the  wife  home — called  the  infare — was  one  of 
great  festivity,  often  prolonged  for  several  days,  the  kinsfolk  and 


244  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

neighbors  being  bidden  from  far  and  near.  The  laws  regarding 
marriages  were  then  exceedingly  strict.  It  was  necessary 
for  the  contracting  parties  to  have  the  bans  published  three 
times,  or  else  procure  from  the  governor  of  the  province  a  license, 
which  would  not  be  granted  unless  the  bridegroom  appeared  in 
person  before  the  chief  magistrate,  accompanied  by  two  promi- 
nent citizens.  These  latter  were  obliged  to  testify  that  they 
knew  of  no  lawful  obstacles  to  the  marriage ;  and  to  give  a  bond 
that  they  would  be  answerable  for  any  damages  that  might  arise 
because  of  any  previous  promise  of  marriage  having  been  made, 
or  for  any  complaints  against  the  contracting  parties  by  their 
relatives,  guardians,  or  masters.  All  of  the  above  preliminaries 
having  been  complied  with,  the  governor  delivered  the  license 
upon  the  receipt  of  twenty-five  shillings  currency,  which  fees 
materially  added  to  the  amoimt  of  his  annual  income. 

There  were  other  peculiar  marriage  laws  in  the  province. 
One  relating  to  widows  was  particularly  diverting.  This  was 
before  the  day  of  acts  protecting  the  rights  of  a  married  woman. 
She  could  hold  no  pi-operty  individually,  and  on  the  death  of  her 
husband  had  not  legal  ownership  of  her  own  wearing-apparel 
unless  bequeathed  to  her  ;  otherwise  the  clothes  on  her  back 
belonged  to  the  estate  of  her  husband.  If  that  estate  proved 
insolvent,  and  the  widow  remarried,  care  had  to  be  taken  that 
the  perplexities  of  her  first  husband's  affairs  did  not  attach  to 
those  of  the  second.  To  do  this  it  was  necessary  for  her  to  be 
married  in  nothing  but  her  shift,  the  giving  up  of  her  clothes  to 
the  creditors  of  her  deceased  husband  releasing  her  from  further 
claims.  After  the  ceremony  she  was  at  once  arrayed  in  clothing 
presented  by  the  new  husband.  Professor  Kalm,  the  Swedish 
traveller,  quotes  the  following  account  as  having  been  read  in 
1749  in  the  "  Pennsylvania  Grazette ;"  the  circumstances  having 
occurred  in  New  Jersey  : 

A  woman  went  with  no  other  dress  than  her  shift  out  of  the  house  of  her 
deceased  husband  to  that  of  her  bridegroom,  wlio  met  her  half  way  with  fine 
new  clothes,  and  said  before  all  who  were  present  that  he  lent  them  to  his  bride  ; 
and  put  them  on  with  his  own  hands.  It  seems  he  said  that  he  lent  the  clothes 
lest  if  he  said  he  gave  them  the  creditors  of  the  first  husband  should  come  and 
take  them  from  her,  pretending  that  she  was  looked  upon  as  the  relict  of  her 
first  husband,  before  she  was  married  to  the  second. 

Yes !  the  procession  of  the  generations  has  commenced.     The 


The  Household  in  1760.  245 

"  Old  Stone  House  "  is  now  a  home  in  the  truest  sense,  for  its 
rooms  have  echoed  to  the  cry  of  a  baby  ;  within  its  walls  for  the 
first  time  a  mother  has  looked  with  eyes  of  love  into  those  of  her 
infant — the  sweetest,  tenderest,  happiest  look  that  can  come  from 
a  woman.  Johannes  and  Mariah  now  mount  to  a  higher  plane 
in  the  family  circle.  Clothed  in  the  honor  and  dignity  of  their 
advancing  years,  they  sit  on  either  side  of  the  fireplace  with 
grandchildren  at  their  knees.  For  the  first  little  one  did  not 
remain  king  ;  others  foUowed  to  claim  their  share  of  the  house- 
hold affections — Catharine,  bom  the  fifteenth  of  Jidy,  1761,  and 
Daniel,  the  writer's  grandfather,  born  on  the  twenty-eighth  of 
October,  1763.  The  house  can  now  be  said  to  be  fiuTiished ;  for 
it  is  Southey,  I  think,  who  declares  that  none  can  be  called  com- 
pletely so  until  there  is  a  kitten  on  the  hearth,  and  a  child  of  at 
least  three  years  playing  about  its  chambers. 

It  is  now  many  years  since  Johannes,  his  wife,  and  their  little 
flock  passed  through  the  Bach-gate  of  the  ancient  city  of  Ben- 
dorf,  and  tui-ned  their  steps  westward.  He  was  stiU  a  young 
man  then,  but  now  his  hair  and  that  of  his  dame  is  thin  and  rap- 
idly frosting.  As  he  looks  back  there  can  be  no  call  for  regret 
at  his  having  come  to  America.  Surveying  his  comfortable 
homestead  and  contented  household,  he  must  appreciate  how 
signally  he  has  been  prospered.  Successfid  in  his  avocations, 
honored  by  his  brethren  of  the  church,  and  loved  by  his  children, 
for  what  more  could  he  have  asked  1  Death  has  not  crossed  his 
threshold  ;  his  family  is  intact  though  not  all  together.  Aaron, 
his  prop  and  stay,  is  to  succeed  him  on  the  farm  and  in  the  tan- 
nery ;  Fanny,  married  to  prosperous  Jacob  Kline,  is  already  the 
happy  mother  of  several  children.  Another  of  the  brood  being 
old  enough  to  fly,  has  taken  wing  and  left  the  family  nest ;  for 
Andrew,  the  second  son,  having  found  a  wife,  has  made  his  way 
into  Sussex  county.  The  two  other  boys  and  the  daughter 
Maria,  though  men  and  women  grown,  are  still  at  home,  con- 
tributing their  share  to  the  family  toil  and  joy. 

The  weather-vane  faces  the  direction  of  the  wind ! — so  the 
faithful  German  heart  ever  veers  toward  fatherland.  As  our 
immigrant-ancestor,  with  his  gray-haired  wife,  slowly  floats  down 
the  river  of  life  toward  the  open  sea  of  eternity,  his  barque 
freighted  with   pious   hopes,«he  still  remembers   the  village   of 


246  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

gray  antiquity  on  the  banks  of  the  far-distant  Rhine.  Though 
he  has  sworn  honest  fealty  to  another  government,  after  having 
been  forced  into  expatriation  by  the  unjust  laws  of  his  own,  he 
has  not  forgotten  that  east  of  the  Alantic  ocean  there  lies  a  fair 
country,  to  which  the  invisible  links  of  affection  still  chain  his 
memory.  Through  all  the  years  of  his  American  life  he  has  con- 
tinued in  correspondence  with  relatives  and  friends  in  Germany. 
Among  the  letters  preserved  is  one  from  his  wife's  brother,  the 
burgomaster  of  Hochstenbach,  written  in  1760,  with  which  I 
■will  close  this  chapter.  It  tells  the  same  story,  as  have  the 
others,  of  the  miseries  of  continental  warfare.  It  seems  a  stately, 
formal  letter  to  have  been  written  to  a  sister  who  was  over 
three  thousand  miles  away,  and  from  whom  the  writer  had  been 
separated  for  a  quarter  of  a  century. 

Hochstenbach,  20  April,  1760. 

Much  beloved  brother-in-law  and  dear  sister  :  Your  honored  letter  of 
September  28th,  1759,  we  have  duly  received  on  the  9th  of  January,  1760,  and 
noticed  to  our  great  joy  that  you  and  your  good  children  are  in  good  health,  on 
behalf  of  which  we  heartily  congratulate  you. 

As  regards  ourselves  we  have,  so  far.  Thanks  to  our  Lord,  also  been  enjoying 
good  health.  Our  country  has  been  marched  over  for  several  years  by  French 
Troops,  exacting  from  us,  even  last  year  yet,  strong  forages  to  be  delivered  in 
Bendorf  and  Glabach,  and  in  the  winter  and  last  spring  in  Limburg,  so  that  the 
poorer  class  of  subjects  keep  scarcely  enough  for  his  own  use  ;  May  the  Almighty 
soon  give  us  peace  again. 

From  Bendorf  I  have  to  report  that  cousin  Joh.  Geo.  Kirberger  died  a  few 
years  ago,  leaving  six  children  behind.  Cousin  Hager  and  his  lady  and  their 
children  are  well.  In  the  mean  time  we  wish  you  our  Lord's  Mercy,  and  that  he 
may  bless  you  all.     With  our  best  salutations,  I  remain 

Your  sincere  brother  and  brother-in-law, 

H.  Kirberger. 


CHAPTER     XVIIl. 

The  Death  of  Johannes  and  Mariah  in  1763 — Changes  in  the 
Township — The  Dutch  Congregations  of  the  Baritan  Valley 
— The  Building  of  Bedminster  Church. 

And  now  Johannes'  days  are  on  the  wane.  Their  meridian 
has  long  since  passed,  and  the  short  afternoon  having  merged 
into  the  sober  evening  of  life,  he  is  reaping  the  comforts  and 
consolations  resulting  from  the  active  and  useful  employments  of 
youth  and  middle  age.  Like  a  traveller  who  at  the  close  of  day 
has  reached  a  high  hill  whose  summit  is  bathed  in  the  hues  of 
the  setting  sun,  he  is  able  to  look  back  with  satisfaction  over 
the  pleasant  country  that  has  been  traversed.  Our  pilgrim  has 
attained  that  quiet  dreamy  hour  of  life,  ''  between  the  lights," 
when  his  ripened  years  bring  the  tranquil  enjoyments  of  repose 
and  retrospection.  Relieved  from  labor  by  the  children  who 
have  learned  habits  of  industry  by  his  example,  they  now  repay 
him  for  many  days  of  anxious  and  devoted  care. 

Sooner  or  later  all  things  must  pass  away.  The  undaunted 
one — the  messenger  of  death — inevitably  draws  near.  Johannes 
must  leave  his  lands,  his  well-built  house,  his  orchards  and  his 
woods,  and  take  up  his  abode  beyond  that  mysterious  shade — 
that  dim  spectral  mist  which  curtains  time  from  eternity.  There 
came  a  day,  when  the  year  17(33  was  hastening  to  its  close,  on 
which  Johannes'  hour  was  come.  The  mellow  October  weeks 
had  gone — the  Indian  summer  passed — the  golden-rod  still  stood 
thickly  along  the  fences,  but  the  many-colored  asters  which 
alone  remained  in  the  old  garden  were  sprinkling  their  petals 
over  its  lonely  beds.  It  was  on  the  sixteenth  day  of  that  gloom- 
iest month  of  all  the  year,  when  the  chill  November  rains  were 
robbing  the  earth  of  its  frilits  and  verdure  and  ^beating  from   the 


248  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

branches  of  the  trees  their  russet  leaves,  that  our  German 
ancestor  folded  his  hands,  and  was  at  rest.  Calm  was  his  exit, 
for  his  end  was  peace.  He  was  mourned  in  the  "Old  Stone 
House,"  but  he  found  a  companion  awaiting  him  beyond  the 
pearly  gates,  for  his  faithful  old  wife  Mariah  had  died  on  the 
seventeenth  day  of  October — old  no  longer,  for  we  may  believe 
with  Mohamet  that  old  women  never  reach  heaven — they  all 
grow  yoimg  on  the  journey. 

Let  us  preserve  the  memory  of  these  honest  German  people. 
In  their  dreamless  sleep  for  over  a  century,  they  have  lain  side 
by  side  under  the  long  grass  of  tlie  Lutheran  burying-ground  at 
Pluckamin.  Generations  that  followed  in  their  footsteps  have 
like  them  disappeared  from  the  earth.  But  we,  who  yet  linger 
amid  scenes  that  were  familiar  to  their  eyes,  may  consider  with 
gratitude  and  affection  of  our  indebtedness  to  these  simple  Rhine 
folk  and  their  fellow-pioneers.  Their  hands  grew  hard  in  mak- 
ing smooth  rugged  paths  on  which  we  now  walk  with  ease.  Let 
their  names  be  revered  by  their  kindred  and  their  honest  hard- 
working lives  noted  and  recorded.  "  They  rest  from  their  labors, 
and  their  works  do  follow  them."  These  simple-minded  men 
and  women — the  forefathers  and  foremothers  of  Bedminster — 
found  this  township  a  wilderness.  By  their  vii-tue  and  their 
intelligent  industry  they  left  it  planted  with  chui'ches,  schools 
and  homesteads,  and  guarded  by  laws,  social  and  legal,  in  which 
were  laid  the  foundations  of  the  happiness  of  future  generations. 

Johannes  is  dead,  and  his  first-born  reigns  iii  his  stead.  The 
father  left  behind  him  the  name  of  a  good  man.  He  also  left  to 
succeed  him  a  good  son,  well  able  to  take  up  the  work  where  it 
had  been  laid  down,  and  quite  equal  to  perform  all  the  duties  of 
life  with  the  same  honesty  of  purpose  and  simple  earnestness  of 
endeavor  as  had  characterized  the  daily  walk  of  the  parent.  With 
the  progression  of  the  story  of  the  "Old  Farm"  there  will  be  much 
to  tell  of  the  busy  and  useful  life  passed  by  Aaron  on  these  ances- 
tral acres  and  in  the  community,  before  he  ceased  to  labor,  and 
at  the  rounded  age  of  eighty-one,  made  way  in  his  turn  for  the 
worthy  son  who  succeeded  him.  As  we  shall  have  occasion  to 
show,  he  was  in  every  respect  a  man  of  affairs,  and  from  the 
mass  of  his  papers  in  my  possession  it  is  evident  that  for  the 
forty-five  years  he  survived  Johannes  in  the  "Old  Stone  House  " 


I 


Changes  in  Bedminster.  249 

he  played  a  no  unimportant  part  in  the  drama  of  Bedminster 
life. 

Seed-time  and  harvest  come  and  go !  Springtime  and  autumn 
slip  by  !  meanwhile  the  country  roundabout  has  undergone 
great  changes.  Latent  forces  that  have  been  lying  buried  for 
seons  of  time  in  these  Bedminster  hills  and  valleys,  ready  to  res- 
pond to  man's  endeavor  and  desire,  are  now  in  active  operation. 
The  warm,  palpitating  sunlight  heretofore  arrested  one  hundred 
feet  from  the  ground  by  the  foliage  of  the  rounded  tree-tops,  now 
bathes  with  its  genial  heat  broad  open  spaces,  here  and  there 
throughout  the  township,  where  children  play  in  gardens  and 
orchards,  and  the  lusty  corn  tosses  its  yellow  tresses  over  well- 
tilled  fields.  The  rude  dwellings  of  the  early  inhabitants  have 
undergone  prosperous  transformations,  and  during  the  eleven 
years  that  the  "Old  Stone  House"  has  been  standing,  many 
industries  have  sprung  into  active  existence.  Across  the  brook 
a  grist  and  saw  mill  are  in  operation,  and  homesteads  begin  to 
mosaic  the  hills  that  roll  away  toward  Peapack.  In  the  direction  of 
Lamington,  farms  are  multiplying;  and  on  the  Axtell  tract, 
below  where  are  now  the  Lesser  and  Larger  Cross  Roads,  human 
thrift  has  been  busy,  until  patches  of  open  and  woodland  alter- 
nate, and  sunlight  and  shadow  checker  all  that  portion  of  the 
township. 

Immediately  adjoining  the  "  Old  Farm"  on  the  south. 
Jacobus  Van  Doren  purchased  of  William  Axtell,  about  the 
year  1760,  two  hundred  and  eighty-three  acres  of  land,  and 
erected  a  house  where  is  now  the  residence  of  Cornelius  M. 
Wyckoff.  This  land  he  sold  in  1815  to  Captain  Joseph  Nevius, 
who,  some  years  later,  conveyed  that  portion  lying  east  of  the 
Peapack  road  to  Cornelius  M.  Wyckoff,  whose  son — of  the  same 
name — is  now  in  possession.  The  original  house  was  taken 
down  in  1820  to  make  room  for  the  present  Wyckoff  dwelling. 
Jacobus  Van  Doren  was  the  grandson  of  Jacobus  Van  Doom, 
who  migrated  from  Long  Island  to  Monmouth  county  about  the 
year  1698.  He  was  also  the  nephew  of  that  Abraham  Van 
Doren,  who  it  is  said  was  sheriff'  of  Somerset  county  for  twenty 
years,  and  whom  we  found  in  1752  superintending  the  burning 
at  Millstone  of  the  negro  slave  murderer  of  Jacob  Van  Neste. 
Jacobus  was  the  eldest  of  the  seventeen  childi-en  of  Christian 


250  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

Van  Doren  and  Alche  Schenck,  who  settled  on  the  Amwell  road 
in  Middlebush  about  1723.  In  Domine  Leydt's  time  Christian 
was  an  elder  in  the  First  Reformed  Dutch  church  at  New  Bruns- 
wick, and  Ralph  Voorhees  tells  us  in  "  Our  Home"  that  it  was 
his  custom  on  Sunday  mornings  to  ride  to  church,  accompanied 
by  his  wife  and  ten  children,  all  well  mounted  on  separate  horses. 
Methinks  this  cavalcade  would  serve  a  painter  as  an  excellent 
subject  for  a  colonial  picture ;  and  that  this  peaceful  Sabbath- 
day  march  of  good-man  Van  Doren,  with  his  household  troop 
drawing  rein  in  front  of  the  old  Dutch  church,  would  present  a 
scene  quite  equalling  in  interest  those  of  the  cavalry  that  often 
seem  just  ready  to  step  out  of  a  canvas  of  De  Taille,  or  De 
Neuville. 

The  memory  of  Mrs.  Christian  (Alche)  Van  Doren  is  revered 
as  that  of  one  of  Somerset's  mothers  in  Israel.  She  was  the 
life-long  friend  of  Jufvromv  Hardenbergh — of  whom  much  more 
hereafter — and,  though  living  six  miles  distant,  was  a  constant 
attendant  at  church  until  her  ninety-fifth  year.  When  this 
remarkable  old  lady  died  she  left  three  hundred  and  fifty-two 
living  descendants,  among  whom  were  two  hundred  great-grand- 
children and  six  great-great-grandchildren.  The  size  of  families 
in  those  early  days  would  seem  to  have  been  commensurate  with 
the  needs  of  population.  Of  her  children,  all  but  one  lived  to  an 
old  age,  and  raised  families ;  and  one  of  her  grandchildren,  fol- 
lowing his  grandparent's  example,  had  seventeen  children.  The 
most  of  her  twelve  boys  were  called  after  the  patriarchs,  proph- 
ets and  apostles,  nor  would  she  ever  permit  their  names  to  be 
shortened  ;  there  were  no  Jakes,  Abes,  Ikes,  Petes  or  Jacks  in 
her  household.  Mrs.  Van  Doren  had  the  happiness  of  seeing 
all  of  her  sons  prominent  in  the  Dutch  church.  Jacobus  was 
active  in  sustaining  the  Bedminster  church  ;  in  an  old  salary 
subscription  list,  in  my  hands,  his  name  frequently  appears  as 
well  as  that  of  his  cousin  Aaron  who,  together  with  the  latter's 
brother  John,  settled  about  this  time  in  Peapack,  establishing  an 
industry,  known  to  this  day  as  Van  Doren's  mills.  Lewis  A. 
Van  Doren,  their  present  owner,  is  the  grandson  of  John.  His 
father,  William  A.  Van  Doren,  in  about  1832  introduced  and  oper- 
ated the  first  threshing  machine  in  Bedminster.  It  was  a  primitive 
affair  requiring  eight  horses  attached  to  a  lever-power  to  do  the 


Some  of  thk  Eakly  Churches.        251 

work  accomplished  now  by  two.  Notwithstanding  its  clumsiness 
it  was  considered  a  great  improvement  over  former  methods,  as 
by  it  in  one  week  as  much  grain  was  threshed  as  until  then 
four  men  had  been  able  to  hammer  and  tread  in  two  months 
with    swingle-clubs    and  six  horses. 

Joseph  Nevius,  to  whom  Jacobus  Van  Doren  sold  his  land  in 
1815,  was  a  descendant  of  Johannes  Nevius,  who  came  to  New 
Amsterdam  from  Solen  in  Westphalia  early  in  the  seventeenth 
century.  His  grandson  Petrus  was  living  at  Flatbush  in  1738, 
and  later  removed  to  Somerset  county,  and  through  him  are  the 
Raritan  valley  Neviuses  descended.  Joseph,  before  settling  in 
Bedniinstcr,  had  been  the  popular  host  of  the  Blackhorse 
tavern  at  Mendham  in  Morris  county.  His  eldest  daughter, 
Ann,  married  John  Melick,  grandson  of  Aaron,  and  lived  for 
many  years  in  the  "  Old  Stone  House,"  dying  at  the  age  of 
seventy-six  on  the  seventh  of  October,  1876.  She  was  a  woman 
of  strong  character  and  many  virtues ;  throughout  her  life  she 
held  a  position  in  the  community  of  more  than  usual  influence, 
and  enjoyed  the  respect  and  affection  of  all  with  whom  she  came 
in  contact.  Often  called  upon  in  time  of  need  for  counsel  or 
help,  her  noble  nature  was  ever  as  ready  to  condemn  the  wrong 
as  to  uphold  the  good  and  the  true,  and  the  memory  of  "  Aunt 
Ann"  is  cherished,  not  only  by  her  kindred,  but  by  all  with  whom 
she  was  intimate,  and  especially  by  the  poor,  who  were  always 
her  care. 

Previous  to  the  year  1763,  without  doubt,  the  most  important 
addition  to  this  Bedminster  neigliborhood  was  the  organization  of 
the  congregation  of  the  Reformed  Dutch  church  and  the  erection 
of  its  first  church  building.  If  not  a  majority,  certainly  a  great 
number  of  the  settlers  of  the  township  were  of  this  religious  per- 
suasion, and  were  connected  with  one  of  the  Dutch  congrega- 
tions of  the  Raritan  valley.  When  the  Presbyterians  had 
erected  their  house  of  worship  at  Lamington,  and  the  Lutherans 
had  organized  Zion  and  St.  Paul's  churches  at  New  Germantown 
and  Pluckamin,  many  as  a  matter  of  convenience  joined  those 
congregations,  but  most  of  the  people  still  made  their  way  south- 
ward each  Sunday.  The  nearest  houses  of  worship  were  the 
"  Raritan  Church"  at  Van  Veghten's  bridge  and  the  "  Church  of 
North  liranch"  at  the  village   of  Readington.     The   first   edifice 


252  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

of  the  latter  congregation  was  a  log  structure  with  a  frame  addi- 
tion, erected  about  1717,  that  stood  near  the  forks  of  the  river,  on 
the  brow  of  the  hill  just  east  of  the  junction  of  the  Readington 
and  North  Branch  village  highways.  In  1738  a  new  building 
was  erected  near  the  site  of  the  present  edifice  at  Readington. 
The  Raritan  church — now  the  "First  Reformed  Church  at  Somer- 
ville" — was  erected, probably  in  1721, on  land  donated  by  Michael 
Van  Veghten,  on  the  bluff  facing  the  Raritan  river  about  one 
quarter  of  a  mile  below  the  present  bridge  near  Finderne  rail- 
way station.  Doctor  Messier  records  that  this  congregation  was 
in  existence  long  before  it  had  a  church  building,  its  meetings 
probably  being  held  in  some  private  house  or  barn.  The  first 
consistory  entry  is  of  the  year  1699  when  John  Tuyneson  was 
installed  elder  and  Pieter  Van  Neste,  deacon  by  the  Reverend 
Guillaume  Bertholf. 

The  name  of  this  minister  often  appears  among  the  early 
records  of  the  Dutch  churches  of  Somerset,  and  he  seems 
to  have  been  an  itinerant  domine,  having  on  his  conscience 
the  spiritual  welfare  of  all  the  people  of  Holland  descent 
in  a  wide  area  of  country.  He  was  sent  to  the  Netherlands  in 
1693  by  the  congregations  of  Hackensack  and  Aquackanonck 
that  he  might  be  ordained  by  the  classis  of  Amsterdam.  Mr. 
Bertholf  returned  in  the  following  year,  the  first  qualified  mini- 
ster of  the  Dutch  Reformed  persuasion  in  the  province,  and  for 
fifteen  years  was  the  only  pastor  for  all  the  coimtry  lying 
between  Tappan  in  New  York  and  the  upper  Raritan  in  New 
Jersey,  including  Tarrytown,  Staten  Island,  Pompton,  and  Sec- 
ond River  or  Belleville.  Until  his  death  in  1724  he  labored 
unremittingly  to  spread  the  field  of  usefidness  of  the  Dutch 
church,  and  it  is  said  that  his  mild  and  placid  eloquence  and 
gentle  but  deeply-religious  nature  diffused  a  holy  savor  of  piety 
throughout  all  the  communities  that  were  so  happy  as  to  fall 
under  his  kindly  influences.  The  two  churches  of  Raritan  and 
"  North  Branch"  in  the  beginning  of  the  last  century  were  "  col- 
legiate" with  the  one  at  Three  Mile  Run ;  which  before  1717 
divided  and  erected  churches  at  Six  Mile  Run  and  at  New 
Brunswick. 

Church  buildings  were  primitive  affairs  in  those  days. 
The   one    at   Six   Mile    Run    was   but    a    mere   shell,    with  the 


I 


Theodorus  Jacobus  Frelinghutsen.  253 

earth  for  a  floor.  Its  worshippers  were  ignorant  of  pews  and 
aisles,  the  only  seats  being  those  brought  with  them  each  Sun- 
day from  home.  These  four  congregations  were  without  regular 
preaching  ;  occasionally  they  would  be  visited  by  Mr.  Berth olf, 
or  by  some  missionary  deputed  by  him,  when  commmiion,  bap- 
tism and  other  religious  rites  would  be  administered.  It  is  fair 
to  presume  that  services  of  some  kind  alternated  in  the  different 
churches  conducted  by  the  congregation's  lay  preachers  or  "  fore 
readers."  The  title  of  the  official,  who  served  the  Dutch  con- 
gregations in  this  capacity,  was  voorleeser.  His  duty  it  was  in 
the  absence  of  the  minister  to  read  prayers  and  sermons,  cate- 
chise the  childi'en,  and  to  generally  maintain  public  worship  and 
nourish  the  seeds  of  piety. 

The  four  congregations,  about  the  year  1717,  joined  in 
applying  to  the  home  church  in  Holland,  for  a  permanent 
pastor.  Two  years  later  Theodorus  Jacobus  Frelinghuysen 
was  sent  out  to  them  by  the  ship  King  George,  Captain 
Goelet.  He  preached  his  first  sermon  in  Somerset  couuty 
on  fhe  thirty-first  of  January,  1720.  We  learn  from  Sprague's 
"  Annals  of  the  American  Pulpit"  that  he  was  the  son  of 
Johannes  Henricus  Frelinghuysen,  pastor  of  the  Dutch  church 
at  Lingen  in  East  Friesland,  now  a  portion  of  the  kingdom  of 
Hanover,  where  he  was  born  about  the  year  1691.  He  married 
Eva,  the  daughter  of  Albert  Terhune,  a  wealthy  farmer  of  Flat- 
bush,  Long  Island,  and  had  seven  children.  His  five  sons  all 
entered  the  ministry  of  the  Reformed  Dutch  church,  and  his  two 
daughters  married  ministers  in  the  same  conununion.  Singular 
to  relate  not  one  of  the  domine's  sons  was  living  ten  years  after 
their  father's  death.  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  did  a  great  work  in 
thoroughly  establishing  the  Dutch  church  in  Somerset.  He  is 
said  to  have  been  a  ripe  scholar  in  Latin,  Greek  and  his  own 
language,  and  Doctor  Messier  ranks  him  among  the  Blairs,  Ten- 
nents,  Mathers  and  other  eminent  clergymen  of  his  age.  White- 
field,  Jonathan  Edwards  and  Gilbert  Tennent  have  left  on  rec- 
ord their  appreciation  of  the  labors  and  miceasing  diligence  of 
this  Dutch  Calvinistic  minister,  whereby  the  "  wilderness  was 
converted  into  the  garden  of  the  Lord."  Domine  Frelinghuysen 
lived  at  Three  Mile  Run,  just  west  of  New  Brunswick,  on  a  farm 
of   two    hundred  acres,   lately  owned    by   E.   Vantine  Bronson. 


254  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

Here  he  died  about  the  year  1747,  and  was  buried  in  the  old 
Six  Mile  Run  graveyard,  now  Elm  Ridge  cemetery.  Before  his 
death  his  duties,  which  extended  over  three  hundred  square 
miles  of  territory,  had  been  increased  by  the  organization  in 
1727  of  the  congregation  "  op  de  Millstone"  now  known  as 
Harlingen  church.  After  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  death,  the  con- 
gregations of  New  Brunswick  and  Six  Mile  Run  withdrew  from 
the  others  of  the  Raritan  valley,  and  extended  a  call  to  the  Rev- 
erend John  Leydt.  The  remaining  churches  invited  Theodorus 
Jacobus  Frelinghuysen's  second  son,  John,  to  become  their  pastor. 
He  was  born  in  1727,  and  preached  his  first  sermon  in  the  Rari- 
tan church  in  the  summer  of  1750  from  the  text,  "  Instead  of 
thy  fathers  shall  be  thy  children."  He  had  just  returned  from 
Holland,  where  he  had  been  to  obtain  from  the  classis  of  Amster- 
dam license  to  preach.  He  brought  with  him  from  the  old  coun- 
try a  wife — Dinah  Van  Bergh — a  woman  of  such  virtue  and 
piety  that  during  her  long  life  of  fifty-six  years  in  Somerset,  it  is 
said  few  ministers  exercised  more  influence  for  good  in  that  com- 
munity than  did — as  she  was  afterwards  known — the  "  Jufvrouw 
Hardenbergh."  A  copy  of  John  Frelinghuysen's  call  from  the 
three  consistories  is  preserved  among  the  archives  of  the  Somer- 
ville  church  ;  after  stipulating  that  he  should  preach  the  word  of 
God  in  the  Dutch  language,  faithfully  exercise  discipline  upon 
offending  church  members,  and  generally  perform  the  duties  of 
a  servant  of  Christ,  "  after  the  manner  of  our  Reformed  Low 
Dutch  church,  established  at  the  Synod  of  Dordrecht,  1618, 
1619,"  it  goes  on  to  say  : 

Now  in  order  to  be  a  little  uKire  definite,  vour  Reverence  will  be  required  to 
preach,  alternating,  in  each  of  the  afore-mentioned  churches,  and,  when  in 
health,  twice  on  each  Lord's  Day,  except  in  winter,  and  then  only  once,  as  the 
custom  here  is,  and  also  upon  the  so-called  Feast  Days,  as  is  customary  in  the 
Keformed  Low  Dutch  churches.  Also,  your  Reverence  will  be  required  to  take 
charge  of  the  catechizing  of  the  youth,  of  the  visitation  of  families  and  of  the 
sick,  as  time  and  opportunity  permit. 

To  assure  your  Reverence  that  this  is  our  sincere  desire,  we  promise  you,  in  the 
name  of  our  churches,  besides  all  love  and  esteem  which  belongs  to  a  faithful 
servant  of  Christ,  to  provide,  tirst,  for  a  yearly  salary  of  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  pounds,  current  money  at  eight  shillings  an  ounce;  the  half  of  which,  col- 
lected by  the  elders  and  deacons,  shall  be  paid  each  half  year ;  and  a  suitable 
dwelling,  with  thirty  acres  of  land. 

The  house  referred  to  in  the  call  was  erected  in  1751,  and  can. 


A  Divinity  Student's  Wooing.  255 

still  be  seen  as  a  portion  of  the  residence  of  the  late  Joshua 
Doughty,  on  Somerset  street  in  Somerville.  It  is  constructed  of 
bricks  that  the  domine  brought  with  him  from  Holland  in  the  same 
vessel  with  his  wife.  John  Frelinghuysen's  pastorate  lasted 
but  three  years.  While  visiting  relatives  on  Long  Island  he  was 
taken  alarmingly  ill,  and  there  died  in  September,  1854.  Mrs. 
Frelinghuysen,  who  had  accompanied  him,  returned  home  with 
the  body  of  her  husband  in  a  boat  so  contracted  and  inconvenient 
that,  as  her  biographer  recounts,  she  was  compelled,  with  a  very 
great  shock  to  her  sensibilities,  to  step  upon  the  coffin  in  passing 
to  the  shore.  The  chirdren  of  this  marriage  were  a  son  and  a 
daughter.  The  former — Frederick — grew  up  to  be  eloquent  at 
the  bar,  wise  in  the  councils  of  the  nation,  and  valiant  in  Revo- 
lutionary fields.  Of  all  the  five  sons  of  Theodoris  Jacobus,  John 
was  the  only  one  who  left  descendants,  and  now  for  over  one 
hundred  and  thirty  years  each  successive  generation  of  Freling- 
huysens  has  presented  one  or  more  illustrious  sons  to  the  state 
and  country. 

At  the  time  of  this  minister's  death  he  had  with  him 
in  his  house  of  Holland  bricks  three  young  men  as  students. 
Among  them  was  Jacob  Rutsen  Hardenbergh,  then  but  sixteen 
years  old,  who  was  preparing  for  the  ministry.  He  was  born  at 
Rosendale,  New  York,  being  the  great-grandson  of  Johannes 
Hardenbergh,  who  emigrated  from  Germany  soon  after  1650. 
His  son,  in  connection  with  Robert  Livingston,  received  a  patent 
for  all  of  Sullivan  and  a  portion  of  Delaware  county  in  New 
York.  On  this  "  Hardenbergh  patent,"  this  young  divinity 
student  was  bom,  his  father,  Colonel  Johannes,  having  inherited 
a  great  portion  of  the  estate.  Young  Hardenbergh  must  early 
have  evinced  much  talent  and  ability,  as  we  find  that  John  Fre- 
linghuysen's congregations  decided  that  as  soon  as  ordained  he 
should  be  their  new  minister.  In  the  meantime  Mr.  Freling- 
huysen's widow  had  determined,  after  her  short  residence  in 
America,  to  return  with  her  two  children  to  her  parents  in  Hol- 
land. Within  a  few  months  preparations  for  the  journey  were 
completed,  and  the  day  fixed  for  leaving  for  New  York,  where 
she  was  to  embark.  But,  meanwhile,  propinquity,  that  god- 
father of  so  many  marriages,  had  been  doing  its  work  on  the 
susceptible  heart  of  the  young  divinity  student.     Alarmed  at  the 


256         The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

prospect  of  the  near  departure  of  the  object  of  his  aifections,  he 
suddenly  surprised  the  widow  of  less  than  a  year  with  an  offer  of 
marriage.  In  her  astonishment  she  is  said  to  have  cried  out : 
"  My  child,  what  are  you  thinking  about !  "  Although  not  imme- 
diately, the  young  lover  ultimately  had  no  difficulty  in  convinc- 
ing her  of  just  what  he  was  thinking.  Her  sex  asserted  itself. 
The  good  Dutch  lady  could  not  withstand  the  temptation  of  a 
young  and  ardent  husband,  so  her  effects  were  unpacked  and  the 
voyage  to  the  old  country  abandoned.  They  were  married,  and 
she  retired  to  the  manorial  homestead  of  her  new  husband's 
father,  near  Kingston,  New  York,  where  she  awaited  his 
majority  and  the  completion  of  his  studies.  Hardenbergh  was 
at  this  time  not  yet  seventeen,  while  his  wife  was  approaching 
thirty. 

In  May,  1758,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hardenbergh  were  again  occupy- 
ing John  Frelinghuysen's  brick  house  in  SomerviUe,  or  as  that 
whole  section  was  then  known,  Raritan,  and  the  young  man  of 
barely  twenty-one  installed  as  the  pastor  of  the  four  united  con- 
gregations of  Raritan,  North  Branch,  Millstone,  and  Neshanic. 
The  last  named,  had  been  organized  in  1752,  and  set  off  from 
the  North  Branch  congregation,  which  had  long  before  this 
abandoned  its  primitive  house  of  worship,  and  built  a  new  church 
three  miles  away  at  Readington.  The  ecclesiastical  history  of 
Somerset  county  will  never  be  completely  written  without  devot- 
ing many  pages  to  the  character  and  attainments  of  this  virtuous 
woman — "Jufvrouw  Hardenbergh."  For  the  fifty  yeai's  that 
she  bore  this  honored  name  her  deeply  religious  nature  was 
alike  a  prop  and  stay  to  the  faith  of  timid  believers,  and  a  com- 
fort and  encouragement  to  profound  theologians  and  the  ablest 
occupants  of  the  Reformed  Dutch  pidpits.  Doctor  Messier,  in  a 
tribute  to  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Hardenbergh,  avers  that  a  large 
share  of  the  usefulness  and  success  of  this  divine  can  be  attrib- 
uted to  the  influence  of  his  wife.  Her  father  was  an  Amster- 
dam merchant,  and  a  man  of  wealth  and  fashion.  She  was 
educated  in  a  superior  manner,  and  her  tastes  cultivated  to  a 
high  degree ;  but  to  her  parents'  great  disappointment,  at  the 
early  age  of  fourteen  her  religious  impressions  became  so  fixed 
as  to  cause  her  to  find  no  pleasure  in  the  allurements  and  amuse- 
ments of  the  society   of  the  metropolis.     It  is  said  that  on  one 


Dinah  Van  Bergh's  Journal.  257 

occasion,  when  forced  by  her  father  to  attend  a  dancing  school, 
she  to  his  great  anger  hid  behind  the  seats,  and  resolutely  refused 
to  participate  in  what  she  considered  frivolous  amusements.  At 
another  time — while  she  was  yet  a  child — her  parents  were 
entertaining  some  frienils,  and  the  guests,  as  was  not  unusual  at 
that  period,  were  amusing  themselves  by  playing  cards  for 
money.  She  did  not  hesitate  to  walk  into  the  drawing-room 
and  in  severe  tones  solemnly  warn  her  father  and  his  friends 
against  the  danger  of  so  vain  and  sinful  a  pleasure. 

Every  incident  in  the  daily  life  of  this  remarkable  woman 
produced  a  religious  influence,  and  it  would  seem  that  no  exper- 
ience could  be  hers  without  resulting  in  an  individual  blessing. 
Throughout  her  life  she  had  implicit  confidence  in  special  provi- 
dences, and  many  instances  are  related  in  which  she  claimed  to 
have  experienced  undoubted  proofs  of  direct  answer  to  prayer. 
It  was  her  constant  habit  to  make  affairs  of  either  great  or  minor 
importance  a  matter  of  personal  appeal  to  the  Almighty.  This 
religions  habit  was  not  the  out-growth  of  years,  or  of  ministerial 
associations,  but  a  custom  from  her  youth  uj).  In  the  Sage 
library  at  New  Brunswick  is  preserved  a  voluminous  journal 
closely  written  in  Dutch  in  a  fine  feminine  hand,  which,  with 
much  redundancy  of  expression  and  considerable  repetition, nar- 
rates the  operation  of  her  mind  under  the  "  Divine  guidance  " 
for  nine  months  during  the  year  1 747.  This,  of  course,  was 
when  she  was  living  in  Amsterdam  and  still  a  maiden.  I  cannot 
refrain  from  drawing  a  little  vipon  this  interesting  diary  to 
further  illustrate  the  character  of  Dinah  Van  Bergh.  It  was 
written  at  the  time  when  Louis  XV.  and  Frederick  the  Great 
were  pursuing  their  designs  against  Maria  Theresa  in  the  Neth- 
erlands, and  when  the  French  king,  continuing  his  career  of 
success  after  Fontenoy,  had  mastered  nearly  aU  of  Flanders. 
The  "barbarous  and  vile  treatment  "  of  the  Hollanders  by  the 
French  greatly  disturbed  this  young  Dutch  girl's  repose  of  mind. 
She  writes  in  her  journal : — 

It  stirs  me  up  the  more  to  protest  against  tliem   at  the  Tlirone,   to  imprecate 
righteous  vengeance  on  tliat  Assyrian  and  oppressor. 

Although  she  faithfully  plead  that  the  Netherlands  might  be 
delivered  from   the   French,    she  acknowledges : — 

17 


258  The  Stoky  of  an  Old  Faem. 

I  could  inwardly  approve  of  it  and  justify  God  should  He  give  us  over  to 
destruction,  and  bring  in  upon  onr  land  that  boar  of  the  wood — I  mean  France, 
that  enemy  of  the  heritage  of  God. 

During  one  week  that  this  journal  was  in  hand  Zealand  was 
threatened  with  an  invasion  by  the  French  army,  owing  to  the 
intense  cold  having  converted  the  bays  and  rivers  into  ice 
bridges  strong  enough  to  permit  the  passage  in  safety  of  horses 
and  artillery.  On  Sunday  Dinah  came  to  the  rescue  of  her 
imperilled  country.  All  day  she  prayed  that  the  threatened 
affliction  might  be  averted.     Her  diary  records  : — 

On  Monday  I  was  enabled  to  continue  in  filial  supplications  to  God  in  Christ 
that  if  it  might  so  be  a  change  might  occur  in  the  weather  ;  and,  oh,  adorable 
Goodness!  there  was  on  Tuesday  as  powerful  and  deliglilful  a  thaw  as  was  ever 
seen.  Oh,  how  humble  was  I  thus  rendered  before  ray  compassionate  God,  and 
what  a  lesson  of  confidence  was  I  thereby  taught!  Our  enemies  had  boasted  that 
they  would  do  something  with  which  the  whole  of  Europe  would  resound,  now  I 
was  led  to  say,  "  Oh,  Enemy,  the  daughter  of  Zion  hath  laughed  thee  to  scorn,  and 
shaken  her  head  at  thee;  for  the  Lord  has  strengthened  the  bars  of  our  gates." 

On  another  occasion  Zealand  was  threatened  with  a  dreadful 
inundation  owing  to  very  high  northerly  winds  having  prevailed 
for  several  days.  But  Dinah  dammed  the  flood  with  her  prayers, 
which  induced  the  Lord,  as  she  recounts: — 

To  moderate  the  calamity  by  giving  us  an  east  wind,  and  that  for  days  in  suc- 
cession, connected  with  weather  of  a  most  delightful  character. 

One  day,  being  stricken  with  a  fever  in  a  friend's  house,  her 
life  was  despaired  of.  But  on  praying  for  recovery  she  informs 
us  that  an  intimation  was  given  that  on  a  certain  date — the  six- 
teenth of  September — convalescence  would  begin.  She  told  her 
friend,  and  awaited  with  confidence  the  day.  It  came,  and, 
though  previously  helpless,  she  arose  and  walked  several  times 
across  the  floor,  and  recovery  was  assured  from  that  hour.  The 
attendant  physician,  wdio  was  an  unbeliever,  had  considered  her 
death  imminent ;  he  was  so  afi'ected  by  this  sudden  restoration 
to  health  that  it  resulted  in  his  conversion.  The  good  woman 
always  insisted  tliat  this  visit  to  her  friend  was  heaven-directed, 
in  order  that  her  miraculous  healing  might  be  the  means  of 
awakening  the  soul  of  this  Sceptical  doctor. 

Her  coming  to  America  and  both  of  her  marriages  were  due, 
as  she  believed,  to  a  special  providence.  When  young  John 
Frelinghuysen  was  in  Holland  seeking  ordination,  he  pleaded  in 


DrxAH  Van  Bekgh's  Two  Makriages.  259 

vain  for  Dinah  Van  Bergh  to  return  with  him  as  his  wife.  Soon 
after  setting  out  on  the  home  voyage,  his  vessel  was  disabled  in 
a  violent  storm  and  forced  to  return  to  port.  The  young  minis- 
ter renewed  his  suit,  urging  that  the  Kuler  of  storms  clearly 
indicated  by  the  disaster,  and  his  consequent  return,  that  the 
Divine  pleasure  was  for  her  to  yield  to  his  desires.  This  time 
Dinah  received  intimations,  and  overcoming  her  scruples  against 
leaving  kindred  and  native  land,  she  braved  the  opposition  of 
her  parents  and  embarked  for  a  wilderness  beyond  the  seas  as 
Mrs.  Frelinghuysen. 

The  story  is  told  that  during  the  passage  the  ship  sprung 
a  leak.  After  days  of  arduous  labor  at  the  puinps  the  captain 
abandoned  all  hope  of  saving  the  vessel,  and  so  informed  pas- 
sengers and  crew.  Dinah  apparently  had  no  fears  of  a  watery 
grave.  She  retired  to  her  cabin  and  submitted  the  case  to  her 
Heavenly  Father.  Having  full  confidence  in  the  efficacy  of  her 
prayers,  she  then  sat  down  and  awaited  witlj  composure  the 
result.  Nor  did  she  wait  long — for  almost  immediately  the 
waters  ceased  rushing  into  the  hold — the  pumps  again  did  their 
work — the  ship  was  saved.  Upon  an  examination  being  made, 
it  was  found  that  a  swordfish  had  miraculously  become  wedged 
in  the  open  seam  of  the  bottom  of  the  vessel,  and  thus  efi^ectu- 
ally  closed  the  leak. 

The  Reverend  William  Demarest,  in  a  manuscript  sketch  of 
the  life  of  Dinah  Van  Bergh,  recites  that  her  second  marriage 
was  also  clearlj'  the  result  of  an  intimation  from  on  High.  It 
appears  that  the  first  occasion  of  Mr.  Hardenbergh's  expressing 
his  love  for  Mrs.  Frelinghuysen  was  just  before  the  day  set  for 
the  departure  for  Holland.  With  hor  two  children  she  was  vis- 
iting for  the  last  time  a  favorite  place  on  the  meadows  between 
the  house  and  the  river,  where  she  had  been  accustomed  often  to 
resort  with  her  husband.  While  standing  there,  overwhelmed  by 
her  emotions,  and  "  after,"  as  her  biographer  writes,  "  having, 
it  may  be,  just  engaged  in  prayer,"  her  attention  was  drawn  to 
the  approaching  figure  of  young  Hardenbergh.  She  received 
him  with  surprise  and  expressed  displeasure  at  his  thus  intrud- 
ing upon  her  solitude.  He  excused  himself  by  broaching  the 
subject  of  his  deep  affection,  to  all  of  which  she  listened  with 
indifference  and  distaste.     W^e  may  suppose  that  this  first  attack 


260  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

on  the  fortress  of  the  widow's  heart  was  several  times  repeated 
by  the  undaruited  youth  before  the  time  appointed  for  her  leav- 
ing Raritan.  Nevertheless  she  did  not  abate  her  intentions  nor 
delay  preparations  for  the  long  journey.  At  last  the  day  of 
departure  arrived,  and  she  was  just  ready  to  leave  the  house  for 
the  sloop  that  was  to  convey  her  to  the  seaboard  when  a  violent 
storm  arose,  so  wild  in  its  character  as  to  oblige  her  abandoning,  for 
that  day  at  least,  all  thoughts  of  leaving  home.  The  detention 
resulted  in  the  vessel  on  which  her  passage  had  been  engaged 
sailing  without  her.  The  considerable  time  that  elapsed  before 
another  ship  was  in  readiness  for  the  voyage  offered  to  the  young 
student  abundant  opportitnities  for  pressing  his  suit,  and  the 
good  woman  soon  felt  that  the  God  of  storms  for  the  second  time 
plainly  indicated  the  intention  of  directing  her  marital  affairs.  To 
again  quote  her  biographer  : — 

The  vista  down  which  she  directed  her  view  became  altogether  clianged.  Her 
bewilderment  respecting  tlie  divine  dealing  with  her  gave  way  to  the  delightful 
apprehension  of  a  purpose  on  the  part  of  her  Heavenly  Father  *  *  *  and 
the  consummation  of  the  conjugal  union  lay  as  a  definite  thing  in  the  future. 

So  it  was  in  all  the  affairs  of  her  life,  the  most  ordinary  occur- 
rences were  subjects  of  prayer ;  her  daily  walk  and  conversation 
abounded  in  evidences  that  to  her  the  interests  of  religion  were 
paramount  to  every  duty,  pleasure  and  experience.  It  is  said 
that  so  great  was  her  confidence  in  the  Almighty,  and  in  herself, 
that  she  was  resorted  to  by  both  weak  and  strong  for  pious  coun- 
sel. The  marked  characteristic  of  her  nature  was  the  rounded 
harmony  existing  between  its  religious  and  worldly  parts  ;  the 
spiritual  and  material  blended,  and  all  temporal  relations  were  in 
perfect  adjustment  with  eternal  conditions.  Hers  was  a  nature 
that  always  and  under  every  circumstance  was  iu  complete 
correspondence  with  its  spiritual  environment,  and  while  others 
of  the  brightest  faith  were  often  attacked  by  misgivings,  her 
belief  was  ever  as  steadfast  as  the  everlasting  hills,  enabling  her 
at  all  times  to  say  with  the  Psalmist :  "  For  Thou  art  my  hope, 
O  Lord  God  ;  Thou  art  my  trust  from  my  youth."  Even  minis- 
ters when  approa(diing  the  pulpit  would  pause  at  her  pew  for 
words  of  encouragement,  which  she  always  had  in  readiness.  To 
quote  from  Ralph  Voorhees'  Raritan  reminiscences  : — 

The  Reverend  Doctor  Ira  Condit  of  New  Brunswick,  afterwards  her  minister, 


JuFVROUW  Hardenbergh  and  Doctor  Livingston.    261 

recjuently  applied  for  consolation  and  advice  in  seasons  of  great  despondency. 
Atone  of  these  times  he  went  to  her,  and  said  he  "could  not  and  wotrfd  not 
preach."  "Domine,"  said  she  "go  and  preach  .'  you  don't  know  what  you  can  do 
until  you  try."     He  had  to  ohey. 

The  closing  years  of  Mr.  Hardenbergh's  life  were  passed  in 
the  pastorate  of  the  Dutch  church  at  New  Brunswick,  and  in 
the  presidency  of  Queen's,  now  Rutgers,  college.  At  his  death 
it  was  greatly  desired  that  he  should  be  succeeded  by  Doc- 
tor John  H.  Living.ston  of  New  York,  who,  however,  declined 
at  that  time  to  change  his  field  of  labor.  There  has  been  pre- 
served a  letter  written  to  hiin  by  Jufvrouw  Hardenbergh,  as 
she  was  then  called,  urging  that  he  alter  his  decision  and 
remove  to  New  Jersey.  This  communication  is  a  cimous  and 
interesting  exhibit  of  the  freedom  and  authority  with  which  she 
addressed  the  eminent  clergyman,  for  although  she  used  the 
most  elevated  and  respectfid  language,  no  bishop  in  admonish- 
ing and  warning  a  recalcitrant  priest  coidd  have  been  more 
authoritative  in  counsel  and  advice.     The  letter  begins  in  this 


Most  Kevcrend  Sir 

And  worthy  Brother  in  our  blessed  and 

all-worthy  Lord  .Jesus,  Zion's  King: 
Constrained  by  a  sense  of  duty  and  by  love  to  our  Dutch  Ziou  I  lal<e  tlie  liberty 
to  send  your  Reverence  a  few  lines  and  once  more  to  commend  to  you  our  college 
and  church  ? 

Mrs.  Hardenbergh  evidently  felt  that  it  was  Doctor  Living- 
ston's duty  to  leave  New  York  for  New  Brunswick,  and  she  did 
not  hesitate  to  write  : — 

I  fear  that  you  perhaps  are  not  obedient  to  the  voice  of  the  Lord  as  sounding 
forth  in  the  voice  of  the  people. 

She  furnished  him  with  abundant  scriptural  texts  whereby  his 
views  might  be  strengthened  as  to  its  being  his  duty  to  do  the 
Lord's  work  in  New  Jersey,  and  said  : — 

I  have  heard  your  Keverence  say  to  my  now  departed  husband  tliat  you 
regarded  tlie  college  as  the  fountain  of  our  church  :  why  tlien  be  engaged  by  the 
streams  and  let  the  fountain  dry  up?  The  Holy  Ghost  has  made  you  overseer 
of  that  part  of  His  House.  Oh  that  like  another  Zerubbabel  you  might  be 
encouraged. 

In  another  part  of  her  letter  she  volunteers  the  information:  — 

Large  cities  are  often  very  dangerous     *     *     *     to  labor  for  God  is  certainly 


262  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

your  delight  and  your  happiness.     The  Lord  enable  you  to  discover  what  is  His 
Holy  will. 

Farthei-  on  she  writes  : — 

Now  worthy  Sir  I  have  a  single  request  to  make  to  you  ;  will  your  Reverence 
speedily  let  me  know  whether  you  have  perfect  peace  in  your  mind  in  relation 
to  your  residing  in  New  York  ? 

She  closes  the  long  epistle  by  expressing  her  hearty  love  for 
Mrs.  Livingston,  and  the  hope  that  the  Lord  would  "sustain  her 
ladyship  in  her  infirmities."  And  then  with  ceremonious  sal- 
utations she  su^bscribed  herself 

Most  Reverend   Sir,  Your    Reverence's  handmaid   and   loving  friend  in  our 

Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

Dinah  Hardenbergh, 

by  birth  Van  Bergh. 

Being  a  woman  there  must  needs  be  a  postscript,  which  was  to 
inform  the  doctor  : 

No  one  knows  of  this  letter  excepting  one  female  friend.  It  is  between  the 
Lord  and  us. 

Mrs.  Hardenbergh  expressed  great  fear  in  this  letter  that 
the  college  and  church  would  fall  under  the  sway  of  a  Presby- 
terian, and  her  apprehensions  proved  to  be  well  grounded. 
Her  husband's  successor  in  the  pulpit  was  Doctor  Ira  Condit,  a 
disciple  of  John  Knox,  who,  however,  conformed  to  all  the 
requirements  of  the  Dutch  church.  She  spoke  of  him  afterward 
as  the  "beloved  Condit,"  so  we  may  believe  she  accepted 
Doctor  Livingston's  refusal  at  that  time  with  equanimity. 
Another  instance  is  given  of  her  oflering  advice  and  admonition 
to  a  minister.  On  one  occasion  a  clergyman  called  to  manifest 
his  respect,  and  to  profit  by  her  counsel.  Before  separating 
it  was  proposed  that  they  should  unite  in  prayer,  whereupon 
the  domine  addressed  the  Throne  of  Grace  in  such  loud  and 
boisterous  tones  as  to  much  grieve  and  annoy  the  good  woman. 
Upon  rising  from  her  knees  she  said  to  the  vociferous  supplicant : 
"  Your  God,  Sir,  must  be  diiferent  from  mine,  for  mine  can  hear 
even  though  no  words  be  uttered,  but  yours  it  seems  cannot 
unless  addressed  in  the  loudest  of  tones." 

This  excellent  woman  sui-vived  her  second  husband  seventeen 
years,  dying  in  1807  at  the  ripe  age  of  eighty-one.  It  is  emi- 
nently proper  that  we  should  dwell  thus  long  upon  her  virt  ues  and 


I 


Bedminstkr  Church  FouxDEn.  263 

peculiarities  when  it  is  remembered  that  she  was  the  first  to 
occupy  in  the  Reformed  Dutch  congregation  of  Bedmister  the 
important  position  of  minister's  wife.  About  the  time  that  young 
Domine  Hardenbergh  assumed  charge  of  the  united  congrega- 
tions, many  of  his  flock  who  lived  north  of  Pluckamin,  feeling  in 
need  of  a  church  nearer  home,  urged  the  organization  of  a  new 
congregation.  The  most  prominent  families  in  this  movement 
were  those  of  Jacobus  Van  der  Veer  and  Guisbert  Sutphen.  Of 
the  former  we  have  already  learned  something  as  to  his  settling 
on  the  Axtell  tract,  near  where  the  Peapack  road  crosses  the 
north  branch  of  the  Raritan.  He  was  zealous  in  religious  mat- 
ters ;  his  name  is  to  be  foimd  on  the  books  of  the  Lamington 
Presbyterian  church,  and  in  1756  he  subscribed  five  pounds 
toward  the  erection  of  St.  Paul's  Lutheran  church  at  Pluckamin. 
Guisbert  Sutphen  lived  on  a  farm  lying  half  a  mile  north 
of  the  Larger  Cross  Roads,  which  is  now  owned  and  occupied 
by  his  great-grandson,  Amos  Sutphen.  With  his  wife,  Ari- 
ontje  Van  Pelt,  he  had  entered  the  township  in  1743,  travel- 
ling with  their  children  and  household  goods  in  an  ox-cart 
from  Monmouth  county,  where  his  father,  also  named  Guisbert, 
had  settled  early  in  the  century. 

When  it  was  decided  to  build  Bedminster  chvirch,  differences 
of  opinion  arose  as  to  the  location.  Both  Sutphen  and  Van 
der  Veer  offered  liberal  inducements  to  have  the  building  placed 
at  points  of  their  selection.  Mr.  8utply?n's  choice  was  for  the 
vicinity  of  the  Larger  Cross  Roads,  but  eventually  Mr.  Van  der 
Veer's  views  prevailed,  and  the  new  structure  was  erected  on  the 
site  of  the  present  edifice  below  the  village  of  the  Lesser  Cross 
Roads,  or  Bedminster.  The  first  minute  of  the  new  con- 
gregation was  made  by  Mr.  Hardenbergh  in  the  Raritan 
church  books  on  Christmas,  1758.  It  records  a  meeting  at  the 
parsonage  of  the  consistories  of  North  Branch,  Neshanic,  op  de 
Millstone,  Raritan  and  Bedminster  ;  when  for  the  last  congrega- 
tion elders  Jacobus  Van  der  Veer  and  Jacob  Banta,  and  deacons 
Rynier  Van  Neste  and  Cornelius  Lane  were  appointed  "  opsin- 
derens,"  or  overseers.  It  is  probable  that  the  church  was  erected 
in  that  or  the  following  vear.  Two  acres  of  land  were  donated 
by  Jacobus  Van  der  Veer,  who  also  furnished  fiftv  pounds 
sterling  and  one-third  of  all  the  oak  timber.      The  same  amount 


264  The  Story  of  ax  Old  Faeai. 

of  monev,  together  with  one-half  of  the  oak  necessarv  for  the 
frame,  was  the  gift  of  Guisbert  Sutphen.  Not  then,  as  would  be 
now,  were  architects,  contractors,  carpenters  and  masons  called 
together  to  contribute  their  brains  and  labor  toward  the  erection 
of  the  edifice.  The  members  of  the  congregation  assembled  with 
ox-teams,  axes  and  stoat  arms.  Bv  them  were  the  oaks  felled, 
the  timbers  squared  and  drawn  to  the  spot  selected  ;  perhaps  the 
services  of  Caspar  Berger,  or  some  other  good  mason,  were 
secured  for  laying  the  foimdations,  but  without  doubt  much  of 
the  work  was  contributed  by  those  most  interested. 

And  we  can  well  imagine  with  what  interest  these  simple 
country  folk  watched  the  growth  and  assisted  in  the  completion 
of  their  new  house  of  worship.  The  church  meant  much  more 
to  the  early  settlers  than  now — in  those  days  religion  was  not  a 
matter  for  .Sunday's  consideration  alone — it  stood  first  in  every 
one's  estimation,  taking  precedence  of  all  matters  secular. 
Philosophy  had  not  yet  opened  the  eyes  or  befogged  the  minds 
of  these  honest  Jersey  people,  and  for  one  of  their  number  to 
have  been  a  doubter,  or  in  any  way  unorthodox,  would  have 
insured  not  only  the  passive  but  the  active  condemnation  of  every 
able-bodied  man  in  the  neighborhood.  Xor  was  there  at  that 
time  the  carelessness  and  caUonsness  as  to  spiritual  things  which 
the  distresses  and  demoralization  of  Revolutionary  years  subse- 
quently engendered.  To  a  community,  therefore,  whose  chief 
interests  and  hopes  of  life  all  circulated  about  the  church,  we  can 
readily  appreciate  that  to  have  been  without  a  house  of  God 
would  seemingly  have  endangered  not  only  its  peace  in  the  next 
world,  but  the  possibility  of  success  in  this.  So  it  is  easy  to 
picture  the  rejoicing  and  prayers  of  thanksgiving  that  ascended  to 
Heaven,  when  the  last  nail  was  driven  and  the  finishing  touches 
given  to  the  new  building. 

When  completed,  a  more  bare  or  a  more  miimaginative  struc- 
ttire  could  hardly  have  been  conceived.  Prosaic  to  a  degree, 
and  entirely  wanting  in  decorative  details,  it  was  whoUy  without 
architectural  results  save  that  it  enclosed  space  and  shut  oiF  the 
weather;  in  other  words,  it  was  a  meeting-house,  nothing 
more.  It  was  nearly  square,  being  a  little  greater  in  breadth 
than  in  length.  A  peaked  roof,  without  cupola  or  belfry,  cap- 
ped low  walls,  the  side  ones  being  each  pierced  with  t»vo  square 


First  Service  in  Bedminster  Church.  265 

windows.  The  roof  and  exterior  walls  were  similar  in  appear- 
ance, both  being  covered  with  shingles  rounded  at  the  ends,  that 
had  been  riven  and  shaved  by  members  of  the  congregation.  In 
fact  all  of  this  prim  and  precise  building  was  "  home-made," 
excepting  the  window  glass  and  nails.  The  latter  were  probably 
wrought  at  Mendham.  The  Dodds  and  Axtells  of  that  place 
used  to  manufacture  iron  in  a  primitive  fashiim  from  ore  that  was 
packed  over  from  Dover  in  sacks  on  the  backs  of  horses.  In  the 
broad  front  gable  of  the  new  chui'ch  was  the  entrance,  the  door 
of  which  opened  directly  on  the  ground  without  any  porch  or 
protecting  portico.  A  single  aisle  extended  to  the  steep  stair- 
ease  which  led  up  into  a  lofty,  round,  box-like  pulpit,  perched  on 
a  tall  pillar  or  column.  The  interior  was  not  plastered,  the  walls 
and  ceiling  being  lined  with  cedar,  and  a  short  gallery  stretched 
across  the  south  end  of  the  auditorium.  There  were  no  stoves 
or  any  means  of  warming  the  building ;  old  ladies  during  the 
winter  months,  in  order  to  keep  their  feet  warm,  brought  "  to- 
meetin,"  perforated  wooden  boxes  containing  an  inner  casing  of 
iron,  filled  with  live  coals.  It  was  not  until  after  the  erection  of 
the  second  church  in  1818  that,  in  the  face  of  much  opposition, 
wood-burning  stoves  were  introduced.  ^lany  of  the  good  people 
thought  that  as  God's  grace  had  warmed  both  souls  and  bodies 
from  the  beginning  it  should  do  so  till  the  end. 

To  the  worshippers,  tliis  plain,  gaunt  structure,  destitute  of 
paint,  outside  or  in,  and  ^vithout  comeliness  or  symmetry, 
appeared  as  a  commodious  temple.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  no 
record  has  been  preserved  of  the  first  services  held  in  this  primi- 
tive church.  We  can  without  difficulty,  however,  see  in  imag- 
ination the  rude  and  naked  interior  peopled  by  a  homely  but 
happy  congregation.  We  know  that  high  up  in  the  tall, 
undraped  pidpit  under  a  broad  sounding  board  stood  the  young 
minister,  while  below  him  was  the  precentor,  or  lining-deacon, 
who  lined  out  the  good  old  Psalm  tmies  to  the  members  of  the 
flock,  who  were  seated  in  great  square  pews ;  the  middle-aged 
and  old  people  with  their  faces  toward  the  domine,  the  children 
opposite  ;  while  to  the  right  and  left  sat  the  stalwart  youths  and 
modest  maidens,  who  lent  their  ears  to  the  sermon,  but  like  the 
lads  and  lasses  of  to-day's  congregations,  I  doubt  not,  gave  their 
glances  to  "  eyes  which  spake  again." 


CHAPTER     XIX. 


More    Changes    in   Bedminster — The  Mills  on  Peaimch   Brook 
— Boyish  Reminiscences — Marriages  and  Deaths. 

The  procession  of  the  seasons  continues,  and  life  on  the  "  Old 
Farm "  goes  bravely  on.  No  sooner  has  the  ermine  mantle  of 
winter  disappeared  under  the  kindly  influences  of  the  soft  south 
winds  of  spring,  before  the  crocuses  cleave  the  still  half  frozen 
earth.  The  pond  and  river,  swelling  in  voliune,  burst  their  icy 
bounds,  and  the  di-ear  days  brought  by  overcast  heavens  give 
place  to  sunnier  skies  and  longer  hours.  The  woods  that  have 
so  long  exposed  their  anatomy  to  the  keen  wintry  blasts  again 
shows  signs  of  awakening  life  ;  green  can  be  discovered  among 
the  sassafras  branches,  and  yellow  among  the  willows,  while  the 
maple  buds  redden  sufficiently  to  give  a  warm  hue  to  the  entire 
tree.  Leaf  and  blossom  again  take  possession  of  the  earth, 
clothing  it  with  glory. 

Soon  the  hillsides  are  marked  by  plough  and  harrow,  and  the 
seed  falls  in  generous  showers.  The  crocuses  have  long  since 
had  their  day,  and  June  roses  illumine  the  newly  planted  door- 
yard.  And  now  the  haymakers  have  come  and  gone  in  the 
meadows,  reapers  are  on  the  upland  fields,  and  pyramids  of 
golden  sheaves  adorn  the  landscape.  Bees  hum  in  the  clover, 
the  breath  of  all  nature  is  sweet  and  redolent  with  wild  thyme, 
mint  and  fragrant  aromatic  herbage,  while  harvest  apples  in 
heaps  of  red  and  yellow  lie  imder  the  trees  in  the  orchard. 
Summer  drifts  into  autumn.  Pumpkins  show  their  golden  sides 
under  the  corn  shocks,  and  the  noise  of  the  flail  is  abroad  in  the 
land.  The  world  begins  to  glow  in  color  as  the  October  sun 
paints  in  deepening  crimson  and  ochre,  leaf,  and  herb,  and 
lichen.     The  distant  hill-tops  now  blend  with  the  heavens,  and  a 


Mills  on  Peapack  Brook  Established.  267 

golden  sliade  diifuses  itself  over  the  face  of  the  country.  In  the 
mornings  amber-colored  mists  hang  lightly  over  the  lowland 
pastures,  and  the  landscape  is  veiled  in  the  vague,  yellow  indis- 
tinctness of  Indian  summer  days.  The  brown  acorns  drop  from 
their  browner  cups  ;  the  walnuts  and  chestnuts  rattle  through 
the  branches  upon  the  heads  of  expectant  urchins  who  welcome, 
below,  the  toothsome  haU.  Again  the  paths  through  the  woods 
are  deep  in  the  dry  mummies  of  summer's  luxuriance  ;  the  gusty 
winds  blow  over  iiolds  that,  having  h)st  their  bloom,  lie  brown 
and  dusky  on  the  long  hill  that  stretches  westward  toward  the 
gray  horizon.  Once  more  the  feathery  flakes  descend,  covering 
the  ground  with  whiteness  and  silence; — the  procession  of  the 
seasons  continues,  and  life  on  the  "Old  Farm"  goes  bravely  on. 

Not  only  were  the  lands  improved,  the  outbuildings  increased 
in  number,  and  fences  made  more  substantial,  but  under  Aaron's 
care  the  tannery  below  the  hill  developed  into  one  of  the  most 
important  industries  of  that  character  in  the  province.  A  large 
frame  structure  was  erected  adjoining  the  house,  in  which  the 
leather  was  curried,  both  negroes  and  whites  aiding  in  the  work  and 
in  that  of  grinding  the  bark.  The  number  of  vats  below  the  dam 
was  increased  to  eighteen,  and  the  water-power  much  improved. 
This  hitter  was  done  in  connection  with  the  joint  owners  of  the 
water-rights  on  the  opposite  side  of  Peapack  brook,  who,  then, 
as  now,  utilized  their  jjortion  in  grinding  grist  and  sawing  lum- 
ber. The  exact  date  of  establishing  a  flouring-mill  at  this 
point  has  not  been  ascertained,  but  it  is  well  known  to  have  been 
the  first  mill  erected  in  the  township.  Among  the  pajjcrs  of  the 
New  Jersey  Historical  Society  is  a  map  of  George  Leslie's  grant 
made  by  Samuel  Willmot  in  1751.  It  calls  for  eleven  hundred 
and  eighty-seven  and  one-quarter  acres,  and  shows  that  at  that 
early  date  a  grist  and  saw  miU  were  already  standing  on  the 
west  side  of  Peaj)ack  brook. 

There  is  little  doubt  that  these  mills  were  erected  by  Wil- 
liam Allen.  On  the  twenty-first  of  January,  1750.  the  '•  major 
part  of  the  executors  of  the  last  will  and  testament  of  Doctor 
John  Johnstone,  dec'd,"  conveyed  to  Thomas  Clandenin  in  con- 
sideration of  twenty-eight  pounds  and  eight  shillings,  eighteen 
acres  of  land,  lying  in  the  forks  of  the  brook  and  of  the  north 
branch  of  the  Earitan  river.     On  the  same  dav,  ard  on  the  back 


268  The  Story  of  ax  Old  Fausi. 

of  this  instrument,  Clandenin  sends  greeting,  and  gives  notice 
"To  All  Christian  People'"  that  he  has  sold  to  "  William  Allen, 
his  heirs  and  assigns  forever,  this  present  indenture  and  all  mes- 
suages, lands,  tenements,  and  hereditaments  to  the  same  belong- 
ing." The  consideration  was  "the  sum  of  two  hundred  and  twenty 
pounds,  ten  shillings,  current  money  of  New  Jersey  at  eight 
shillings  to  the  ounce."  The  wording  of  this  transfer,  together 
with  the  amount  of  consideration  mentioned,  woidd  lead  one  to 
suppose  that  buildings  of  some  kind — perhaps  a  saw  and  grist 
mill_bad  already  been  erected;  yet  all  traditions  concur  in 
naming  William  Allen  as  the  person  who  first  established  mills 
in  Bedminster  township.  He  died  in  1761,  his  will  being  dated 
on  the  twenty-third  of  May,  and  proved  on  the  sixih  of  July  of 
the  same  year.     In  it  these  eighteen  acres  are  devised  as  follows  : 

I  give,  lieqiieath  and  devise  unto  my  two  sons,  Robert  and  Joseph,  the  house  I 
now  live' in,  and  the  mill  and  lands  whereon  they  stand,  and  all  my  other  rights 
or  improvements  of  the  nin«ty-two  acres  of  land  adjoining  to  said  mill  lot,  with 
all  the  farming  utensils  and  the  utensils  for  the  mill  now  on  the  same,  and  all 
other  my  movable  estate,  to  them  and  their  heirs'  or  assigns  forever  equally 
between  them  their  heirs  or  assigns  forever. 

The  new  owners  had  not  been  milling  many  years  before  they 
discovered  that  Peapack  brook  did  not  at  all  times  contain 
sufficient  water  to  sujjply  the  races  that  turned  three  mill  wheels. 
They  consequently  conceived  the  idea  of  increasing  the  volume 
by  diverting  water  from  the  north  branch  of  the  Raritan.  For 
the  benefit  of  those  unfamiliar  with  the  locality,  it  would  be  well 
to  explain  that  Peapack  brook,  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  above 
its  mouth,  runs  for  a  considerable  way  parallel  M'ith  and  some 
three  hundred  feet  distant  from  the  branch.  These  streams  are 
separated  by  a  long  narrow  hill  known  as  the  "  Hogback,  "  and 
imtil  within  twenty  years  the  highway  climbed  this  ridge  and 
ran  along  its  spine,  instead  of  following  the  bank  of  the  larger 
stream  as  at  present.  At  this  point  a  dam  was  built  which, 
checking  the  flow  of  the  branch,  created  a  reservoir.  The  hill 
was  then  tunnelled,  forming  an  aqueduct  sis  feet  high  and  three 
feet  broad  ;  it  being  constructed  on  an  incline,  a  considerable 
quantity  of  additional  water  was,  through  it,  led  into  the 
smaller  stream,  thus  greatly  augmenting  the  powers  of  the  lat- 
ter in  serving  the  mills  near  its  mouth.  With  the  strange  fatal- 
ity that  often  attaches  to  local  nomenclature  in  rural  communities 


The  Mystekious  "Folly."  269 

this  undertaking  has  always  been  known  as  the  "  Folly."  It 
may  have  been  because  the  results  secured  were  not  considered 
commensurate  with  the  outlay.  There  is  no  doubt  that  before 
the  completion  of  the  work,  the  Aliens  became  financially  embar- 
rassed and  were  forced  on  the  twenty-fifth  of  Uecember,  1766, 
to  convey  the  eighteen  acres,  together  with  the  mills  and  build- 
ings, to  Stephen  Hunt. 

This  watery  basin  and  its  mysterious  outlet  have  always  pos- 
sessed peculiar  fascinations  for  Bedminster  boys.  It  was  their 
rendezvous  in  my  early  days  for  miles  around.  In  January  its 
flanking  hill  shut  off"  the  north  winds,  securing  a  sheltered  skat- 
ing pond  of  smooth  firm  ice.  Travellers  by  the  old  highway 
over  the  "Hogback,"  on  winter  Saturdays,  were  siu-etohear  the 
ring  of  the  skaters'  steel,  and  to  be  greeted  by  their  joyous 
shouts  as  they  "  gromid  the  bar,"  cut  the  intricate  "  pigeon 
wing  "  or  mastered  the  "  outside  edge  " — feats  of  no  little  diffi- 
culty on  the  old-fashioned,  clumsy,  gutter- runnered  skates.  In 
August  the  same  hill  guarded  a  cool,  shady  pool,  which  fairly 
invited  a  plunge  into  its  pellucid  depths.  At  no  place  along  the 
branch  did  catfish,  dace  or  shiners  congregate  in  greater  num- 
bers, or  appear  more  willing  to  be  enticed  to  the  surface  by 
the  rude  tackle  of  the  "country  lads.  And  then  there  was  the 
"  Folly "  !  Was  there  ever  a  more  weird  or  forbidden  spot 
upon  which  the  imagination  of  a  stripling  could  feed  f  AVhat 
horrors  might  not  lurk  within  its  grim  and  silent  portals.  To 
explore  its  interior  and  brave  its  ambushed  uncertainties  was  the 
one  supreme  test  of  youthful  valor. 

Where  is  the  small  boy  that  could  ever  withstand  being 
"  double-dared"  !  Not  the  writer,  at  least,  in  his  callow  years.  It 
was  this  goad  that  incited  him  one  summer's  day  of  long  ago  to 
penetrate  the  "  Hogback  "  through  the  di-ead  "  Folly."  Certain 
it  is  that  Dante  could  not  have  felt  more  dismayed  on  reading 
"  All  hope  abandon,  ye  who  enter  in,"  than  did  he  when  girt  for 
the  journey.  With  him  there  was  no  encouraging  Virgil,  as 
pushing  aside  the  vines  that  partially  hid  the  low  entrance  to  the 
tunnel,  he  boldly  groped  his  way  into  the  very  bowels  of  the 
earth.  Altogether  it  was  a  solemn  sort  of  place  for  a  small  boy 
to  find  himself  in.  The  walls  were  moist  and  slimy,  and  as  the 
waters  flowed  In  a  swift  current  about  his  naked  ankles,  imagiu- 


270  The  Story  of  an  Old  Fahji. 

ation  peopled  them  with  eels,  snakes  and  all  luannci"  of  creeping 
things;  with  every  step  on  the  rocky  bed  squirming  creatures 
seemed  to  escape  from  beneath  his  halting  feet.  On  nearing  the 
centre  of  the  dark  and  gloomy  conduit  daylight  gradually  disap- 
peared, and  courage  began  to  ooze  away.  Suddenly  a  jagged 
dripping  wall  opposed  further  advance.  Thinking  that  the 
aqueduct  had  come  to  a  sudden  end,  for  a  moment  terror  paralyzed 
all  efforts  at  progress,  but  discovery  was  soon  made  that  it 
turned  sharply  to  the  left.  Its  construction  had  been  simultane- 
ously undertaken  from  both  sides  of  the  hill ;  through  miscalcu- 
lation the  workmen  had  failed  to  meet  in  the  centre,  rendering  a 
double  elbow  in  the  tunnel  necessary.  Feeling  his  way  around 
these  corners,  the  glimmer  of  sunlight  could  be  discerned  from 
the  farther  end,  lightening  the  urchin's  heart  as  well  as  lighting 
the  ghostly  recesses  of  the  archway.  Pressing  on  with  increasing 
confidence  and  more  hurried  steps,  egress  was  soon  made  into 
daylight  on  the  Peapack  brook  side,  of  the  hill,  where  his  com- 
panions received  him  with  open  arms  and  great  honor.  For 
many  days  thereafter  your  narrator  w^as  the  hero  of  the  small 
boy  society  of  that  neighborhood. 

But  let  us  return  to  the  mills  ;  a  direction  in  which  your  scribe's 
steps  have  always  turned  with  eager  anticipation.  Even  now, 
when  the  half-way  house  of  the  ordinary  span  of  life  has  been 
passed,  he  never  approaches  this  sequestered  vale,  and  feels  the 
warm  breath  of  summer,  cooled  by  the  balm  that  rises  from  its 
rapid  streams,  without  his  heart  bounding  with  delight.  Des- 
carte  writes  that  a  person  should  not  seek  to  gratify  his  desires 
so  much  as  to  endeavor  to  restrain  them  ;  notwithstanding  such 
excellent  advice,  and  though  remembering  that  what  may  give 
pleasure  in  the  writing,  may  not  prove  equally  agreeable  in  the 
reading,  1  cannot  refrain  from  further  youthful  reminiscence. 
I  must  tell  of  these  mills  and  of  their  attractive  surroundings. 

Is  there  any  picture  more  completely  to  a  boy's  fancy  than  an 
old  mill,  with  its  alluring  adjuncts  of  pond  and  dam  and  rock- 
paved  stream  ?  or,  for  that  matter,  to  a  man's  fancy,  if,  as  I  sus- 
pect is  the  case  with  many  of  us,  a  good  boy  has  been  spoiled  in 
the  man's  making  I  Just  such  a  picture  can  be  seen  in  the 
entourage  of  what  is  now  known  as  Schomp's  mills,  which  are 
seated  in  the  deep  valley  where  end  the  descending  acres  of  the 


The  Mill  Below  the  Hill.  271 

"  01(1  Farm."  In  attempting  the  description  of  simple  scenes 
made  beautiful  by  early  associations,  one  finds  it  difficult  to  con- 
vey impressions,  the  birth  of  which  is  largely  due  to  the  deep 
sympathies  of  well-remembered  youthful  pleasures.  Were  my 
pen  unchecked  it  would  run  riot  with  adjective  and  exclamation; 
while  this  might  be  sufficient  for  the  needs  of  my  expression,  it 
would  not  go  far  toward  conveying  to  others  an  idea  of  this  old 
water-power  and  its  pleasant  surroundings.  Let  us  suppose, 
then,  that  all  effort  at  description  is  abandoned,  and  leaving  the 
old  homestead,  together  we  will  visit  the  mill  below  the  hill.  You 
can  see  for  yourself  what  it  is  like — but  remember  !  I  shall  look 
at  it  with  boyish  eyes — be  sure  that  you  do  the  same. 

Passing  through  a  decrepit  wicket  at  the  lower  end  of  the 
gai'den,  a  little  path,  worn  smooth  by  over  a  century  of  foot- 
falls, winding  down  the  side  of  the  hill  leads  to  the  brook  below 
the  pond.  Time  was  when  its  bordering  strip  of  meadow  was 
pierced  with  vats.  Memories  shoulder  each  other  just  here,  and 
the  ground  seems  to  exhale  ancient  odors,  which,  borne  over  the 
years  of  time,  fashion  in  the  mind  a  picture  that  includes  an 
antique  bark  mill  with  its  complaining  wheel,  great  heaps  of 
tan,  long  lines  of  drying  hides,  and  piles  of  sacks  of  freshly 
ground  oak-bark.  Recollection  paints,  too,  a  scene  in  which  your 
guide  figures  in  the  foregromid  as  a  truant  toddler,  staggering 
with  the  delight  of  forbidden  joj's  among  the  tan  vats ;  while  in 
the  middle  distance  is  the  view  of  a  nursery  maid,  with  fluttering 
skirts  and  a  nimbus  of  dishevelled  hair,  flying  down  the  hill 
with  warning  cries  to  rescue  the  youngster  from  a  possible 
immersion  in  the  acid  baths.  But  enough  of  ^-outhfid  remem- 
brances. Here,  facing  us,  is  Peapack  brook.  Is  it  not  an  invit- 
ing waterway  1  Interspersed  with  grassy  islands,  and  arched 
by  venerable  trees,  it  is  fed  by  the  curving  waters  falling  in 
rhythmic  melody  from  the  dam,  and  on  the  hottest  of  summer 
days  the  air  is  fresh  and  cool  with  the  fragrant  breath  of  the 
descending  flood.  Crossing  the  stream  by  springing  from  mossy 
stone  to  slippery  boulder — you  must  not  mind  wetting  your 
feet  —  we  are  soon  in  front  of  the  mill.  It  is  much  like  many 
others  planted  along  the  numerous  water-courses  that  swell  the 
flood  of  the  Raritan  river.  A  succession  of  lofty  doors  rise  one 
above  the  other  to  the  apex  of  the  gable,  in  one  of  which  gener- 


272  The  Story  of  an  Old  Fakm. 

ally  stands  the  dusty  miller,  drawing  in  fat  bags  of  grist  from  the 
overhanging  tackle,  or  guiding  descending  sacks  of  flour  to  the 
farmers'  teams  below.  The  great  water-soaked,  overshot  wheel, 
which  in  my  boyish  days  creaked  and  groaned  in  its  ponderous, 
dripping  revolutions,  is  no  longer  here.  Its  work  is  now  less 
picturesquely  but  more  powerfully  and  silently  done  by  two 
insignificant  turbines,  sunk  deep  in  the  rapid  current  of  the  race. 

On  entering,  our  nostrils  are  tickled  by  the  floating  particles  of 
the  floury  atmosphere,  and  the  buikliug  trembles  with  the 
rumbling  of  turning  shafts  and  swiftly  moving  gear.  Passing 
between  bins  of  grain,  and  barrels  tiered  ceiling  high,  we  ascend 
to  the  grinding  floor,  which  is  almost  on  a  level  with  the  pond. 
The  interior  of  the  building  is  yellow  with  the  deposits  of  years 
of  gently  descending  mealy  showers,  that  have  long  since  hidden 
the  original  color  of  its  beams  and  joists ;  while  the  burring 
sound  of  the  grinding  stones  falls  upon  the  ear  as  one  of  the  pleas- 
antest  of  all  the  busy  hums  of  human  industry.  The  western 
gable — i-esting  on  piles — rises  directly  from  the  pond  ;  its  image 
reflected  in  the  tranquil  water  has  much  of  the  completeness  of 
the  mill  itself.  Often  on  a  summei-'s  afternoon  have  I  from  its 
I'ear  door  cast  the  baited  hook,  and,  if  not  rewarded  by  a  nib- 
ble, have  been  more  than  content  in  idly  watching  the  sleepy 
bosom  of  the  pond  mirror  the  fleecy  clouds  floating  in  the  blue 
expanse  above.  On  such  occasions  the  rural  sights  and  sounds 
seen  and  heard  on  every  side  were  always  a  source  of  delight  to 
my  nature-loving  heart.  Stretched  on  a  soft  pile  of  bags, 
dreaming  away  a  few  summer  hours  in  lazily  watching  the  float- 
ing cork  swirl  in  the  eddies,  and  in  drinking  in  the  moisture- 
laden  atmosphere  of  the  watery  landscape,  seemed  ever  a  happy 
occupation  and  never  a  loss  of  time. 

On  the  right  are  rich  fields  of  grass  and  grain,  and  between 
them  and  the  water  on  the  gently  ascending  incline  of  the 
bank  rests  a  group  of  farm  buildings.  They  almost  surround 
an  ample  barn-yard,  from  which  come  the  pleasant  country 
sounds  of  lowing  cattle  and  bleating  sheep,  while  awkward 
ducklings  noisily  quack  as  they  waddle  down  to  their  convenient 
element.  To  the  left  is  a  little  saw-mill — not  much  more  than  a 
timbered  skeleton — through  whose  ribs  you  see  flashing  the 
upright  saw,  jagging  with  hoarse  cry  its  hungry  teeth  into  the 


A  Famous  Swimming  Hole.  273 

slowly  approaching  logs.  Beyond  is  the  great  floodgate,  with 
little  gurgling  riUs  percolating  through  its  seams  and  fissures ;  it 
is  framed  with  massive,  slimy  beams,  from  which  the  frequent 
small  boy  of  the  neighborhood  spends  many  a  happy  hour  in 
endeavoring  to  beguile  the  wary  catfish  from  the  cool  depths. 
The  stone  dam,  with  its  liquid  curtain,  extends  from  the  gate  to 
the  farther  shore  which,  with  a  graceful  curve,  lies  in  the  deep 
shadows  of  a  steep  bank  of  bordering  trees,  whose  drooping 
branches  pressing  outward  overhang  the  peacefid  pool, — Narcis- 
sus-like, in  rapt  admiration  of  their  own  mirrored  beauty.  At 
the  head  of  the  pond  the  waters  shallow,  and  from  their  meagre 
depths  rise  bulirushes  and  reedy  weeds,  which  finally  overgrow 
the  surface  and  harden  into  low  banks  of  bog  and  sedge,  through 
which  the  supplying  brook  slowly  makes  its  way. 

Thinking  over  long  ago,  arresting  memory  brings  to  mind 
many  interesting  spots  in  the  vicinity  of  this  old  miU  that  are 
associated  with  youthful  experiences.  I  have  one  now  in  my 
thoughts — a  famous  swimming  place,  called  the  "  Jinny  Hole." 
It  is  not  far  from  the  head  of  the  pond ;  the  brook  suddenly 
deepens,  and  its  almost  perpendicidar  sides  admit  of  one's  div- 
ing in  safety  from  the  sedgy  banks.  It  must  be  confessed  that 
ambitious  plungers,  who  in  the  hey-day  of  iny  remembrance 
sank  too  deep  beneath  the  wave,  found  plenty  of  soft  mud  lying 
in  wait  at  the  bottom  ;  and  clambering  out  on  the  low  banks  was 
always  a  miry  business.  But  there  were  compensations,  not  the 
least  being  the  interest  that  attached  to  the  tales  that  were  apt 
to  be  told,  while  dressing,  of  the  individual  from  whom  the  hole 
derived  its  name — Miss  Jane  BaUey,  a  simple  maiden  of  complex 
attainments,  who,  like  Bett}'  Flannigan,  could  recollect  her 
"  frinds  for  a  month"  and  her  "  inimies  for  a  year."  Jinny  has 
long  since  gone  over  to  the  "silent  majority,"  which  has  also 
absorbed  most  of  her  "frinds"  and  "inimies,"  but  fifty  years 
ago  she  was  a  noted  character  along  Peapack  brook. 

James  Bailey  and  his  wife  Peggy  were  Irish  Presbyterians, 
who  came  to  this  country  about  1790,  and  settled  on  forty  acres 
of  land  adjoining  the  "  Old  Farm,"  at  the  head  of  the  mill-pond. 
They  both  died  before  1810,  leaving  two  daughters,  Jinny  and 
Peggy,  who  continued  living  on  the  same  property.  Jinny  did 
all  the  farm  work,  ploughing,  planting,  sowing  and  reaping, 
18 


274  The  Stort  of  ax  Old  Fakm. 

without  calling  in  the  aid  of  any  of  the  neighbors.  Peggy  died 
in  1831,  after  which  Jinny  lived  alone  until  her  death  in  1836. 
She  is  remembered  as  a  short  spare  woman,  bent  nearly  double 
with  rheumatism  ;  her  face,  the  color  of  parchment,  was  fur- 
rowed and  wrinkled  by  age,  while  coarse,  white,  uncombed  hair 
covered  her  head  and  hung  down  to  her  shoulders.  Her  dress 
was  always  the  same,  a  blue,  linsey,  home-woven  short-gown  and 
petticoat,  with  a  tow  string  tied  around  her  waist,  and  a  man's 
large  straw  hat  on  her  head  ;  she  always  walked  with  a  cane  much 
taller  than  herself. 

Jinny's    appearance    was  in  accord  with  her    character ;    she 
believed    in    witches,    ghosts,    dreams,    signs    and   sounds,    and 
among  the  ignorant  people  of  the  vicinity  had  a  most  uncanny 
reputation.      She     was    Irish   to   her    crooked   back-bone,    but, 
though    superstitious,  was    always    ready    to  fight  the    church 
of    Rome    from    the    lowest-down     Catholic    up    to    the    pope. 
As  a  red  rag  is  to  an  infuriated  bull,  so  was  the  mention   of  the 
"  Scarlet  Woman"  within  Jinny's  hearing.     It  was  only  neces- 
sary for  predatory  bands  of  boy-tormentors  to  hint  that  all  Irish 
men  and  women  were  papists,  to  cause  her  tawny  face  to  flame 
with  passion,  and  to  call  out  her  richest  vocabulary   of  vitupera- 
tion.    At  such  times  she  looked  a   veritable   Witch   of  Endor. 
Waving  her   shrivelled   arras  and   shaking    her   hoary  locks   in 
anger,  she  shrieked  contumely  upon  the  heads  of  her  tormentors 
and  upon  those  of  every  Catholic  that  ever  lived,  while  her  hag- 
gard eyes  flashed  with  all  the  rage  and  hate  of  a  Meg  Merrilles 
when  cursing  the  enemies  of  the  heir    of  EUangowan.     I  am 
afraid  that  these  pages  are  Jinny's  only  monumental  stone  ;  there 
is  none  to  mark  the  grave  in  Lamington    churchyard   where  she 
lies  buried.     With  the  passing  away  of  the  present  generation 
she  would  probably  have  been  forgotten,  so  we  may  consider  that 
we  have  added  a  little  to  local  Bedminster  history  by  preserving 
her  memory    from    oblivion.     Her    only  relics    are    among  my 
papers.     One  is  the  inventory  made  after  her  death  of  her  personal 
efi'ects,   which    consisted   mainly    of  spinning-wheels,  thatching- 
forks,  a  hatchel,  a  flax  breaker,  a   calabash   and  a  few   farming 
implements.     Another  is  Jinny's  note  of  hand  given   in   1812  to 
Daniel  Melick  for  two  doUars,   which,  notwithstanding  her  anti- 
Catholicism,  she  signed  with  a  cross  large  enough  to  suggest  the 
possibility  of  its  having  been  made  with  the  end  of  her  long  staff. 


A  Cosy  Nook.  275 

There  is  another  spot  about  this  old  mill  that  has  an  especial 
charm  of  its  own.  It  is  reached  by  following  the  stream  a  short 
distance  to  where  the  highway  crosses  by  a  dusty  wooden  bridge, 
the  centre  abutments  of  which  rest  upon  an  elongated  island  that 
splits  the  rapid  current  of  the  brook.  Dropping  from  the  bridge 
you  may  make  your  way  down  this  green  island  to  where  the 
divided  waters  join.  Seat  yourself,  now,  on  this  mossy  bank 
under  the  shadowy  concealments  of  these  low-spreading  branches  ; 
you  will  find  that  you  have  penetrated  deep  into  the  heart  of 
rural  loveliness.  Do  you  not  think  it  a  cosy  nook  f  Although 
the  clear  waters  of  the  rapidly  flowing  stream  babble  at  your 
feet,  the  green  canopy  above  is  astir  with  twittering  birds,  and 
the  soft  wind  comes  laden  with  the  faint  cadences  of  the  splash 
of  the  dam's  cascade,  yet,  such  an  air  of  repose  broods  over  the 
spot,  that  you  feel  the  environment  of  an  atmosphere  of  intense 
quiet,  until  you  imagine  j'ourself  secluded  from  the  world,  as  if 
you  bad  found  your  way  ,to  a  place  of  rare  beauty  hitherto 
undiscovered.  What  a  bower  in  which  to  drowse  away  an  after- 
noon with  Thoreau  or  John  Burroughs  !  or,  should  you  have  no 
book,  just  to  lie  supinely  in  the  long  grass,  inhaling  the  woodsy- 
watery  odors — the  subtle  emanations  of  earth,  trees  and  stream — 
till  your  entire  being  seems  permeated  with  the  very  essence  of 
the  hidden  secrets  of  nature. 

After  all,  the  picture  we  have  attempted  to  draw  is  not  wholly 
true.  It  is  of  the  aspect  of  the  brook  in  the  past  rather  than  of 
the  present.  What  a  disappointment  on  revisiting  familiar  boy- 
ish scenes  to  find  that  they  differ  from  the  picture  one's  memory 
has  carried  through  all  the  years !  That  hills  grow  smaller  may 
be  charged  to  the  lengthened  leverage  of  adult  legs,  but  the 
decrease  in  the  volume  of  the  water-ways  can  be  more  directly 
explained.  As  we  meet  the  streams  of  our  boyhood,  ranging 
through  wood  and  meadow,  they  bear  an  altered  face.  Like  us 
they  have  changed  with  the  years.  While  it  is  to  be  hoped  that 
we  with  advancing  age  have  grown  deeper  and  broader — not  so 
with  the  rivers.  The  vandal  hands  that  robbed  the  timbered 
hillsides  that  guarded  their  sources  were  at  the  same  time  shal- 
lowing their  pools  and  bringing  the  impeding  stones  of  their 
beds  much  nearer  the  surface.  Now,  in  foamy  agitation,  they 
protest  with  loud  voice  against  the  loss  of  their  former  torrents. 


276  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

The  procession  of  the  seasons  continues,  and  life  on  the  "  Old 
Farm  "  goes  bravely  on  !  As  the  years  have  rolled  away  many 
changes  are  to  be  noted  among  the  occupants  of  the  "  Stone 
House."  Three  more  children  have  come  to  Aaron  and  his 
wife  :  Elizabeth,  born  on  the  eighth  of  November,  1765  ;  Mar- 
garet, on  the  twenty-second  of  December,  1767;  and  Maria, 
on  the  twenty-fourth  of  March,  1771.  Not  only  have  new  lives 
entered  into  the  family,  a  little  grave  is  to  be  seen  by  the  side  of 
tbose  of  the  grandparents  in  the  Lutheran  burying-ground  at 
Pluckamin,  for  death  for  the  third  time  has  knocked  at  the  door 
and  claimed  his  own.  Elizabeth,  one  unhappy  May  morning 
before  she  was  three  years  old,  while  playing  about  the  bark  miU, 
fell  under  its  great  revolving  wheel  and  was  so  crushed  that 
within  eight  days,  on   the  fourteenth  of  May,    1768,   she   died. 

Aaron  and  his  family,  together  with  his  dependents,  are  now — 
1775 — the  sole  occupants  of  the  "  Old  Stone  House "  ;  his 
brothers  and  sisters  having  married  and  made  their  homes  else- 
where. Philip  and  Peter  married,  respectively,  Maria  and 
Mary  Magdalena  King.  The  wives  were  probably  sisters,  and 
they  are  presumed  to  have  been  the  daughters  of  Marcus  King, 
who  was  a  Bedminster  resident  at  that  time  and  active  in  church 
and  county  measures.  Among  my  documents  is  a  yellow,  time- 
stained  bond  for  two  hundred  pounds,  dated  the  twenty-ninth 
of  May,  1765,  and  given  by  Aaron,  Marcus  King  and  Jacobus  Van 
derVeer,to  JohnVan  derVeerof  Flatbush,Long  Island.  There  is 
good  reason  for  believing  that  this  bond  was  to  secure  money 
borrowed  for  the  benefit  of  the  Bedminster  church.  This 
opinion  is  confirmed  by  the  fact  of  the  interest — as  is  shown 
by  the  endorsements  on  its  back — having  repeatedly  been  paid  by 
Gruisbert  Sutphen,  who  was  for  a  number  of  years  treasurer  of 
that  congregation.  Some  of  these  interest  receipts  are  written 
in  Dutch  ;  those  in  English  employ  the  following  singular  reiter- 
ative phraseology  :  "  May  the  first  17 —  then  Received  the  full 
Interest  Upon  Bond  I  say  Received  by  me."  It  is  also  interest- 
ing to  notice  that  the  payee  signed  his  name  in  the  five  following 
various  ways  :  Van  derveer,  V.  D.  Veer,  Van  Derveer,  Vander 
Veer  and  Van  Der  Veer.  It  would  seem  that  over  a  century 
ago  members  of  this  Dutch  family  were  as  undecided  as  to  the 
correct  spelling  of  their  surnames   as  are   those  of  to-day.     In 


A  German  Schoolmaster.  277 

the  body  of  this  bond  Aaron's  name  appears  as  Melogh,  but  in 
signing  he  wrote  it  Malick. 

Johannes'  second  daughter  and  fourth  child  married,  sometime 
previous  to  1768,  Simon  Ludewig  Himroth,  or,  as  the  name  is 
now  spelled,  Himrod.  They  remained  in  Bedminster  until 
1772,  when  they  removed  to  Northumberland  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, where  their  descendants  are  now  numerous.  Himroth 
was  a  compatriot  of  Aaron's,  being  a  Bendorf  boy  ;  this  is  shown 
by  the  following  interesting  letter  written  by  our  old  friend  of 
twenty  years  ago  — Joh.  Georg  Hager.  To  my  mind  there  is  a 
wholesome  flavor  about  the  Herr  Praeceptor''s  letters  that  makes 
pleasant  reading.  His  words  have  an  honest  ring,  and  seem- 
ingly flow  from  the  pen  of  one  whose  heart  beats  with  sympathy 
for  his  fellows.  I  can  fancy  him  seated  in  his  deep  leathern 
chair  in  a  quaint  German  parlor,  its  low  ceilings  and  black- 
ened beams  but  half  lighted  by  small  round  panes  set  in  lead. 
He  wears  ratteen  breeches,  and  a  well-worn  velvet  coat  with 
brass  buttons.  On  the  table  by  his  side  is  his  cotton  cap  with 
its  pendant  tassel ;  within  easy  reach  is  a  great  mug  of  blue 
ware  filled  with  foaming  beer,  while  from  his  mouth  hangs  a 
drooping  pipe  with  a  brass  stopper  and  chain.  On  looking  up 
from  his  letter,  he  can  see  through  the  open  kitchen  door  the 
frau  Magdalena,  with  gay  bodice  and  blue  woollen  petticoat,  pat- 
tering from  fii-eplace  to  dresser,  giving  the  finishing  touches  to 
noudels  and  knocpc,  or  stirring  the  rich  flour  soup  whose  savory 
odors  mingle  with  those  exhaled  from  a  pot  of  schoTcolate,  sim- 
mering on  the  hearth. 

Cannot  you  see  the  schoolmaster  as  he  gossips  over  the  home 
news,  and  fashions  his  courteous  sentences  of  friendship  and 
good  wishes  f  A  little  too  red  in  the  face  perhaps,  and  a  trifle 
too  ample  in  girth,  but  his  short,  upright  gray  hair  surmounts 
a  broad,  smooth  forehead  stamped  with  intelligence  and 
sentiment.  His  small  blue  eyes  twinkle  with  good  nature,  a 
comicaUy  fierce  moustache  hides  his  mouth,  and  under  his  full 
chin  there  always  lurks  a  chuckle.  You  may  depend  upon  it  he 
was  a  good  man,  and  won  the  hearts  of  those  with  whom  he 
came  in  contact.  His  letters  show  him  to  have  been  both  cheer- 
ful and  wise ;  his  merry  nature  and  sound  understanding  must 
have  diffused  genial  influences,  and  we  can  imagine  the  villagers 


278  The  Stoet  of  an  Old  Farm. 

always  giving  him  hearty  greeting,  and  ever  being  eager  for  a 
chat  on  meeting  him  in  the  street,  or  on  spying  him  smoking 
a  post-prandial  pipe  in  his  garden. 

Now  for  news  from  the  old  country  : — 

Bendobp  February  15th,  1769. 
My  beloved  friends  from  all  parts  ! 

Your  letter  of  November  15th,  1768,  as  also  that  one  of  1764,  came  duly  to 
hand,  the  latter  of  which  I  answered  immediately,  but,  as  I  learn  from  the  former, 
my  answer  did  not  arrive.  I  received  tliis  letter  of  November  15  by  tlie  friend 
S.  Bastian  through  a  messenger  sent  for  this  purpose.  Since  I  cannot  speak 
to  the  above  named  friend  myself,  and  hearing  tliat  he  passes  the  night  in  Cob- 
lentz  I  set  pen  to  paper  instantly,  so  that  no  opportunity  is  lost,  and  you  have 
news  how  we  get  on.  So  far  no  special  change  has  arrived,  but  that  cousin  Anton 
Kirberger  has  died  ;  his  children  are  partly  happy,  partly  unhappy,  in  their 
matrimony,  and  in  that  house  many  things  have  changed. 

Concerning  myself,  my  wife  and  my  children,  I  can  state  that  we  are — thank 
God — all  well.  My  eldest  son  is  since  three  years  in  the  employ  of  a  wine- 
cooper  in  Amsterdam,  and  m.iy-be,  that  if  he  can  not  make  liis  fortune  there,  he 
will  visit  .\merica.  The  second  one  works  with  an  assessor  in  Wetzlar,  both  do 
quite  well.  My  youngest  son  and  three  little  daughters  are  with  me.  My 
brother-in-law  William  is  safe  and  well  with  your  family  and  will  soon  celebrate 
Christening  with  his  second  wife.  All  of  them  send  their  best  regards  to  you. 
My  wife  and  myself,  who  have  not  yet  visited  cousin  judge  in  Ilochstenbach  as 
long  as  we  are  married,  made  a  call  on  him  hast  fall ;  he  and  she  are  perfectly 
well;  I  told  them  all  .about  what  you  hiid  written  to  me.  He  wishes  you  well_ 
As  I  write  you  directly  without  losing  any  time  and  cannot  therefore  send  him 
the  letter  yet  so  I  shall  ask  him  to  write  to  you  a  letter;  as  soon  as  I  find  an 
opportunity  I  shall  try  my  best  to  send  it  to  you. 

I  was  especially  pleased  by  the  news  that  cousin  Simon  Himroth  has  become  your 
brother-in-law,  a  scholar  whom  I  have  taught,  and  one  who  has  kept  himself 
well  all  the  time;  he  will  do  that  also  henceforth.  I  and  my  wife  send  him  our 
most  cordial  regards;  he  understands  well  how  to  write,  why  does  he  not 
write  me  ? 

In  our  country  a  poor  time  prevails  at  present,  because  of  the  wine-man  liav- 
ing  since  nearly  six  years  not  brought  a  good  wine-year;  therefore  little  food  for 
the  poor  people.  My  wife  sends  her  especial  regards  and  kisses  to  her  cousin 
Veronica.  May  the  Lord  redeem  her  the  loss  of  her  dear  piirents  and  give  wel- 
fare to  the  whole  family  and  have  her  grow  and  nourish  in  luck  and  well-d  oing. 
If  you  get  a  chance  give  my  compliments  to  Herr  faeseh,  who  is  doing  well  I 
suppose  since  one  does  not  hear  much  of  him  ;  perhaps  he  has  married  there  a 
nice  American  lady.  As  I  do  not  know  any  other  news  to  report  I  finish  with 
the  desire  that  the  grace  of  God  Almighty  shall  be  with  you  as  well  as  with  our- 
selves, so  that  we  may  always  have  to  report  good  respective  news.  Give  my 
regards  to  the  cousins  all  by  their  names.  There  may  come  a  time  yet,  if  we 
should  live  longer,  when  we  shall  see  each  other  personally  and  entertain  our- 
selves by  word  of  mouth. 

Wherewith  1  remain  my  highly  esteemed  cousin's  obedient  servant  and 
amiably  devoted  JoH.  Georg  Haoer. 


Simon  Himkoth's  Letter. 


279 


The  preceptor  was  right.  Himrod  certainly  could  have 
wi'itten  to  his  old  teacher.  His  first  letter  from  Pennsylvania — 
with  which  I  will  close  this  chapter — in  penmanship  reflects 
much  credit  upon  the  tuition  of  the  Bendorf  schoolmaster. 

Northumberland  County,  July  27,  1772. 
My  dearest  bbother-in-law  :  Your  letter  of  the  16th  has  duly  come  to 
hand,  from  which  I  learn  that  you  are  all  in  good  health,  which  I  am  glad  to 
hear ;  as  regards  ourselves  we  are  also  in  good  health,  although  I  went  through 
a  dangerous  illness,  still  our  good  Lord  has  had  mercy  with  me  and  assisted  me 
in  recovering,  wherefore  I  cannot  be  thankful  enough  to  Him,  for  I  had  a  most 
serious  pain  on  the  right  side  of  my  breast  together  with  a  severe  hot  fever 
which  produced  such  a  fearful  collapse  within  a  few  days  that  everybody  who 
saw  me  never  expected  to  see  me  up  again,  but  our  Lord  be  blessed  for  the  rem- 
edies I  took  which  enabled  me  within  a  fortnight  to  recover,  so  that  I  am  now 
commencing  to  work  again.  I  will  have  to  postpone  my  returning  until  Septem- 
ber first,  because  I  propose  to  clear  yet  three  acres  of  land  and  to  raise  wheat  on 
it  in  order  to  have  some  pastry  on  our  return  from  Jersey.  In  regai-d  to  our 
things  I  think  it  best,  if  you  will  have  them  sold  by  the  time  I  am  coming  so 
that  we  may  get  ready  to  start  so  much  the  sooner.  You  must  sell  all  the  house- 
hold goods  excepting  all  the  iron  works  and  any  thing  made  of  iron,  all  the  rest 
we  have  already  ordered  to  be  made  here ;  and  then  we  must  have  a  strong  box  to 
put  things  in.  About  Mr.  Barker  we  will  see  and  arrange  when  I  come.  My 
salutation  to  all  our  friends  in  Jersey,  also  from  Sturm  and  his  wife  ;  the  Lord 
bless  you  all,  meanwhile  I  remain  yours  very  truly, 

Simon  Himeoth. 


F«<ir«««' 


^M^*^        ^""^Q.^ 


CHAPTER     XX. 


The  Muttering  that  Preceded  the  Storm  of  the  Revolution — 
Stamp  Acts,  Revenue  Bills  and  Other  Unjust  Imposts 
Weaken  the  Loyalty  of  the  Neiv  Jersey  People — Arming  for 
the  Fray. 

It  requires  no  special  sagacity  to  discover  that  the  embarrass- 
ments peculiar  to  a  work  of  this  character  are  many.  The 
writer  often  finds  himself  encompassed  by  a  mass  of  material 
from  which  to  choose  subjects  for  his  pages,  ranging  from  the 
merest  social  and  personal  trifles  up  to  those  important  political 
events  that  now  begin  to  crowd  the  stage  upon  which  his  actors 
are  distributed.  The  difficulties  of  selection  are  great,  and  he 
is  forced  to  contend  against  the  temptation  of  choosing  those 
pleasing  trifles  that  will  embellish  the  page,  rather  than  to  dwell 
on  more  momentous  affairs  which  would  give  added  weight  and 
value  to  the  narration.  Yet,  who  shall  say  what  is  important — 
which  of  the  trifles  or  traditions  have  value,  or  should  be  pre- 
served. The  warp  and  woof  of  local  history  are  often  made  up  of 
little  motes  that  the  sunbeams  of  research  discover  floating  in 
the  dusty  and  indistinct  atmosphere  of  antiquity.  Placed  on 
the  loom  by  the  weaver  of  history,  they  soon  fashion  themselves 
into  an  interesting  web,  and  in  conjunction  with  other  facts  and 
theories  gradually  form  a  fabric  that  bears  on  its  texture  in  the 
vivid  colors  of  the  present  a  picture  of  circumstances  and  events 
that  fitly  and  beautifully  illustrate  a  past  age. 

But  just  here  there  is  no  need  of  hesitating  as  to  the  choice  of 
trifles.  Important  events  elbow  themselves  forward  and  assert 
recognition.  With  the  telling  of  the  story  of  the  "  Old  Farm," 
it  is   also    necessary    to    give    a    current  picture  of  the  times ; 


The  Stamp  Act.  281 

we  are  now  reaching  an  heroic  period  of  New  Jersey's 
history,  and  scenes  must  be  portrayed  in  which  the  men  of  Som- 
erset are  to  play  a  no  unimportant  part.  Even  before  the  time 
of  the  death  of  Johannes,  the  people  of  the  American  provinces 
began  to  be  apprehensive  that  living  the  life  of  colonial  depend- 
ence on  the  British  crown  was  not  to  be  altogether  one  of 
unmixed  peace  and  prosperity.  Most  irritating  measures,  sub- 
versive to  the  rights  of  Americans,  were  constantly  being  intro- 
duced in  parliament  by  the  Tory  element  of  that  body,  and  taxa- 
tion without  representation  seemed  to  be  the  policy  of  the  British 
rulers.  From  the  granite-ribbed  hills  of  Massachusetts  to  the 
sandy  levels  of  Georgia  the  sentiment  of  the  people  was  pro- 
nounced and  unanimous  against  so  unjust  a  treatment,  and  the 
tocsin  of  liberty  began  to  be  sounded  throughout  the  length  and 
breadth  of  the  land.  By  1763  Benjamin  F'ranklin  had  already 
declared  that  he  would  cheerfully  be  willing  to  spend  nineteen 
shillings  on  the  pound  to  test  the  king's  right  to  take  the  other 
shilling  in  unlawful  taxes  ; — a  sentiment  that  received  endorse- 
ment from  the  entire  country.  But,  in  spite  of  the  earnest 
remonstrances  of  the  colonies,  two  years  later  parliament  passed 
the   obnoxious   stamp   act. 

At  once  from  Boston  to  Savannah  could  be  heard  the 
tumultuous  indignation  of  the  populace,  which  voiced  a 
unanimity  of  feeling.  Spirited  resolutions,  similar  in  their 
character,  were  passed  by  both  the  Virginia  and  Massa- 
chusetts assemblies,  the  latter  calling  for  a  congress  of  the  col- 
onies. On  every  side  were  to  be  heard  the  miitterings  that  pre- 
ceded the  storm  of  the  Revolution.  In  New  York  city,  by  the 
autumn  of  1765,  vast  processions,  under  the  leadership  of  the 
popular  Isaac  Sears,  were  marching  and  counter-marching,  pro- 
claiming by  shout,  image  and  caricature  the  opposition  of  the 
citizens  to  the  stamp  act.  The  coach-house  of  the  royal  gover- 
nor was  forcibly  entered,  and  his  state  carriage  was  forced  to  the 
service  of  carrying  through  the  town  images  intended  to  repre- 
sent devils,  after  which,  with  his  other  carriages  and  sleighs,  it 
was  burned  in  the  presence  of  the  British  garrison.  Just  at  that 
time  it  woidd  seem  that  public  opinion  condemned  the  display  of 
fine  equipage  ;  previous  to  the  Revolution  there  were  probably 
not  over  ten   coaches  in   the   city.     One  was  owned  by  Robei't 


282  The  Stoet  of  ax  Old  Farm. 

Murray,  a  Quaker  merchant,  whose  country-place  was  between 
Thirty-sixth  and  Fortieth  streets  and  Fom-th  and  Fifth  avenues  ; 
so  great  was  the  prejudice  against  these  aristocratic  vehicles 
that  he  called  his  a  "  leathern  conveniency." 

New  Jersey  was  not  behind  the  other  provinces  in  an  attitude 
of  hostility  to  Great  Britain's  encroachments  on  the  constitutional 
rights  of  her  citizens.  To  her  belongs  the  distinction  of  issuing 
the  first  Revolutionary  newspaper — the  "  Constitutional  Cour- 
ant."  It  was  published  by  Andrew  Marvel  on  the  twenty-first 
of  September,  1765,  at  Burlington  at  the  sign  of  the  "  Bribe 
Refused  on  Constitution  HiU,  North  America."  The  streets  of 
New  York  were  soon  flooded  with  copies,  whereby  the  agitations 
of  the  hour  were  much  increased,  but  as  it  was  outspoken  in 
denouncing  the  arbitrary  measures  of  parliament  the  government 
quickly  interfered,  suppressing  its  sale,  and  no  more  numbers 
were  issued.  William  Coxe,  who  had  been  appointed  by  the 
Crown  stamp  officer  for  New  Jersey,  was  threatened  with  viol- 
ence, resulting  in  his  resignation  in  September  ;  indeed,  by  the 
first  of  November,  when  the  odious  act  was  to  go  into  operation, 
it  was  found  that  the  stamp  agents  in  all  the  colonies  had  retired 
from  their  positions,  and  no  one  was  left  with  authority  to  exe- 
cute the  law.  A  congress  of  delegates  from  the  provinces 
having  met  in  New  York  in  October,  a  declaration  of  rights,  a 
memorial  to  parliament  and  a  petition  to  the  king  were  dis- 
patched to  England.  This  action,  together  with  the  assiduity  of 
Benjamin  Franklin — who  was  then  representing  Pennsylvania  in 
London — and  the  advocacy  of  liberty-loving  members  of  the  house 
of  commons,  resulted  on  the  eighteenth  of  March  in  the  repeal  of 
the  stamp  act.  The  feeling  of  relief  throughout  the  country  was 
intense.  As  was  said  by  Colonel  Lambert  Cadwalader,  a  native 
of  Trenton  and  a  distinguished  patriot :  "  Tlie  joyful  news  almost 
calls  back  youth  to  the  aged,  gives  health  and  vigor  to  the  sick 
and  infirm." 

America  was  again  thought  to  be  free ;  the  people  settled 
down  to  their  ordinary  avocations  with  the  hope  that  they  no 
longer  need  fear  the  invasion  of  their  liberties.  A  fancied 
security.  It  was  not  long  before  the  citizens  found  they  had 
new  cause  for  grievance  against  the  home  government.  The 
feeling  of  uneasiness  gradually  increased,  as  the  march  of  events 


MUTTKRINGS   OK   THE    StORM.  283 

showed  conclusively  that  the  policy  of  Grreat  Britain  was  to  be 
one  of  forcing  the  collection  from  the  colonists  of  a  revenue,  with- 
out giving  thorn  representation  or  the  right  of  directing  their 
own  affairs.  The  flame  ignited  by  the  stamp  act  had  never  been 
entirely  subdued,  but  still  slumbered  and  smouldered  beneath 
the  surface,  fed  by  continued  aggressions.  The  passage  of  the 
Boston  port  bill  in  March,  1774,  gave  it  new  life  ;  and  indigna- 
tion and  protest  were  again  ablaze  from  Maine  to  Georgia.  In 
the  light  of  subsequent  history  it  appears  most  extraordinary 
that  parliament  should  persistently  have  continued  to  pursue  a 
policy  which  the  most  ordinary  statesmanship,  it  would  seem, 
shoidd  have  divined  must  inevitably  result  in  the  loss  of  Eng- 
land's most  precious  colonial  possessions.  Ill-advised  politicians, 
notwithstanding  the  warning  oratory  of  Chatham  and  other  far- 
seeing  legislators,  continued  to  pile  up  the  fuel  of  revenue  bills, 
tea  duties  and  other  unjust  acts,  until  at  last,  in  their  madness, 
they  applied  the  torch  of  coercion,  starting  a  conflagration  which 
was  only  quenched  by  a  deluge  of  blood,  which  cut  off  from  Great 
Britain  three  million  of  subjects,  and  increased  the  public  debt 
by  one  hundred  and  twenty  millions. 

We  have  now  reached  a  time  when  the  mutterings  of  thQ 
coming  storm  could  plainly  be  heard  as  an  angry  hum  of  distrust 
and  resentment.  The  colonists  were  rapidly  losing  their  lov- 
alty  to,  and  affection  for,  the  mother  country.  The  people  of 
the  different  provinces  seemed  of  one  mind;  without  concerted 
action,  and  almost  without  correspondence,  they  held  informal 
meetings,  and  formed  self-constituted  committees  for  the  purpose 
of  obtaining  intelligence,  and  of  advising  with  the  inhabitants  of 
other  colonies  as  to  what  means  should  be  employed  to  prevent 
further  encroachments  on  the  vested  rights  and  liberties  of  the 
king's  subjects  in  America.  In  New  Jersey  a  general 
committee  of  correspondence  had  been  appointed  by  the  pro- 
vincial assembly  in  February,  1774,  composed  of  nine  members. 
Their  duties  at  tirst  seem  to  have  been  confined  to  corresponding 
and  consulting  with  prominent  citizens  of  the  different  counties  in 
order  to  insure  a  unanimity  of  sentiment  and  action  when  the 
time  should  come  for  the  people  to  assert  their  individual  and 
collective  i-iglits.  The  committee  met  on  the  first  of  June  in 
New  Brunswick,  when  by  letter  to  the   people   in  Massachusetts 


284  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

they  pledged  the  citizens  of  New  Jersey  to  act  in  concert  with 
the  other  colonies  in  whatever  steps  should  be  generally  agreed 
upon.  They  also  called  upon  Governor  William  Franklin  to 
convene  the  provincial  assembly  before  the  first  of  August. 
This  the  executive  declined  to  do,  giving  as  a  reason,  "there 
is  no  public  business  of  the  province  which  can  make  such  a 
meeting  necessary." 

During  the  months  of  June  and  July,  a  series  of  meetings 
were  held  in  the  several  counties  of  New  Jersey  for  the  purpose 
of  organizing  for  defence,  and  for  choosing  deputies  to  represent 
the  province  in  a  continental  congress,  which  had  been  called 
to  meet  in  the  following  September.  The  resolutions  passed  at 
the  different  meetings  were  much  of  the  same  character.  They 
bound  the  citizens  to  act  in  conjunction  with  those  of  other 
counties  in  any  measures  that  might  be  decided  upon  insuring 
the  happiness  and  safety  of  the  people.  They  were  unanimous 
■  in  expressing  the  sentiment  that  the  sufferings  and  injustice  vis- 
ited upon  the  people  of  Boston  by  Great  Britain  should  be  a 
common  cause  of  grievance  for  the  inhabitants  of  the  entire  con- 
tinent ;  and  that  the  rights  and  privileges  of  America  should  be 
protected,  even  though  necessitating  the  adoption  of  the  most 
severe  and  extreme  measures. 

Permanent  committees  of  correspondence  were  appointed, 
and  directed  to  meet  in  a  state  convention  for  the  pur- 
pose of  appointing  delegates  to  the  proposed  congress.  The 
committees  convened  on  the  twenty-first  of  Jvdy,  1774,  in 
New  Brunswick,  holding  a  three  days  session.  The  sev- 
enty-two members  present,  by  their  resolution,  recognized 
and  acknowledged  King  George  III.  to  be  their  rightfid  and  law- 
ful sovereign  to  whom  they  owed  and  promised  faithful  alle- 
giance. They  declined,  however,  to  recognize  the  right  of  the 
British  parliament,  in  which  they  had  no  representation,  to  make 
laws  for,  or  impose  taxes  on,  the  king's  American  subjects. 
They  boimd  themselves  to  oppose  with  all  the  legal  and  rightful 
means  in  their  power  all  unconstitutional  and  oppressive  meas- 
ures of  that  body,  which  might  be  considei-ed  dangerous  and 
destructive  to  the  colonies.  They  advised  the  appointment  of  a 
general  congress  of  committees  of  the  respective  colonies,  who 
should  have  power  to  pledge  the  public  honor  and    faith   in    all 


A  Historic  Ride.  285 

eflforts  that  should  be  made  to  redress  the  wrongs  of  the  peo- 
ple. 

The  meeting  of  this  first  continental  congress  at  Philadelphia 
in  September,  1774,  is  a  matter  of  history.  It  was  a  fairly 
representative  body,  the  delegates  having  been  chosen  from 
among  all  classes  of  the  people.  The  proceedings  were  opened 
by  its  president,  Peyton  Randolph,  of  Virginia.  He  was  followed 
by  a  man  of  the  people — Patrick  Henry — who  spoke  as  "  Homer 
wrote."  Moved  by  the  fire  of  genius  his  tall,  awkward  figure 
grew  majestic  as  he  exclaimed  :  "I  am  not  a  Virginian,  but  an 
American!"  When  he  took  his  seat  it  is  said  that  there  was  no 
longer  any  doubt  that  he  was  the  greatest  of  American  oi-ators, 
and  ranked  among  the  ablest  champions  of  constitutional  liberty 
in  America.  He  and  George  Washington,  mounted  on  thorough- 
breds, had  travelled  together  to  Philadelphia  from  the  "  Old 
Dominion."  A  historic  journey  !  Picture  to  yourself  these 
illustrious  men  riding  side  by  side ;  the  opulent  planter  with  a 
mature  mind  of  almost  unequalled  sagacity  and  comprehensive- 
ness, and  the  plain  county  lawyer  with  already  a  national  repu- 
tation as  a  political  thinker ;  picture  them  slowly  traversing  the 
Virginia  woods,  cantering  over  the  swells  and  swales  of  Mary- 
land, fording  the  rapidly  running  streams,  and  climbing  Penn- 
sylvania's rugged  ridges.  As  they  reasoned  together  of  the 
dangers  threatening  the  country,  could  their  saddle-talk  have 
been  preserved,  what  a  contribution  it  would  now  be  to  our 
knowledge  of  the  springs  that  fed  the  patriotic  currents  of 
thought  animating  the  hearts  and  actions  of  these  heroic  Vir- 
ginians. 

It  is  hardly  necessarj'  to  refer  to  the  debates  and  resolutions 
of  the  members  of  this  first  continental  congress  ;  neither  need  we 
enlarge  upon  the  elaborate  exposition  that  was  drawn  of  the 
rights  of  the  king's  subjects  in  America,  or  upon  the  favorable 
statements  of  the  wrongs  for  which  the  colonists  demanded 
redress  from  Great  Britain.  Suflice  it  to  say  that  it  "was  recom- 
mended that  during  the  winter  throughout  the  colonies  township 
meetings  should  be  held,  when  a  more  direct  appeal  to  the  people 
coiUd  be  made,  and  a  more  general  expression  of  their  sentiments 
obtained.  FoUowing  this  suggestion  of  congress,  meetings  in  the 
several  townships  in  New  Jersey  were  held,  at  which  committees 


286  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

of  observation  and  inspection  were  appointed.  The  members  of 
these  township  committees  then  met  in  each  county,  and  by  a 
majority  vote  chose  a  county  committee  of  correspondence.  In 
my  possession  is  a  safiron-colored,  time-disfigured,  original  paper 
containing  what  appears  to  be  a  concise  digest  of  the  minutes  of 
the  first  four  meetings  of  the  Bedminster  committee  of  observa- 
tion and  inspection,  together  with  the  expenses  incurred  thereat. 
The  person  who  penned  this  document  may  have  been  a  patriot, 
but  his  spelling  was  wofid.  The  paper,  however,  is  interesting 
and  valuable  as  showing  the  members  of  the  committee  to  have 
been  Stephen    Hunt,   Aaron    Malick,    Gruisbert    Sutphen,    John 

Wortman,  John  Voorhees, Gaston  and Lane  (probably 

Matthew). 

We  have  already  learned  something  of  some  of  the  men  form- 
ing this  committee — of  Hunt,  as  owner  of  the  mill  on  Peapack 
brook  ;  of  Sutphen,  as  active  in  the  congregation  of  the  Bedmin- 
ster church  ;  of  Wortman,  as  one  of  the  earliest  settlers 
at  Pluckamin.  This  last  member  was  also  a  justice  of  the 
peace  and  the  first  blacksmith  in  the  village.  It  was  not  long 
before  his  activity  in  the  popular  cause  brouglit  upon  him  the 
distinction  of  having  a  price  set  upon  his  rebel  head  by  the  enemy. 
The  squire,  as  he  was  called,  told  in  after  years  with  much 
pride  that  he  had  not  only  entertained  Washington  at  his  own 
table,  but  had  shod  his  horses  with  his  own  hands.  Matthew 
Lane,  it  is  believed  at  this  time  lived  in  the  old  dwelling  known 
as  the  Fenner  house,  and  lately  occupied  by  Mrs.  Sarah  Harmer. 
He  was  a  merchant,  and  in  1787  Pluckamin's  leading  store- 
keeper ;  his  store  adjoined  his  residence,  which  continues  to 
this  day  to  bear  many  of  its  original  Revolutionary  characteris- 
tics. He  was  the  nephew  of  Guisbert  Sutphen,  and  the  son  of 
Matthias  Lane,  who  came  from  Monmouth  county  in  1745,  and 
purchased  three  hundred  acres  of  land  east  of  Van  Vleet's  mills, 
a  portion  of  which  is  still  in  the  possession  of  his  descendants. 
John  Voorhees  was  an  associate  of  Aaron  Malick,  and  was  a 
well-to-do  farmer  living  on  the  road  running  from  the  Larger 
Cross  Eoads  to  Peapack.  At  his  death  in  1807  Aaron  was  one 
of  the  administrators  of  his  estate.  He  was  a  deacon  of  the  Bed- 
minster Keformed  Dutch  church. 

At  two  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  tlie   twenty-fourth  of  April, 


First  Provincial  Congress.  287 

1775,  the  Middlesex  committee  of  correspondence  received  at 
New  Brunswick  a  despatch  from  the  New  York  committee 
announcing  that  the  battle  of  Lexington  had  occurred  on  the 
nineteenth  instant.  The  committee  endorsed  this  message,  and 
the  express-rider  flew  on  to  Princeton,  thence  to  Trenton,  and 
on  to  Philadelphia,  reaching  there  at  nine  A.  M.  on  the  twenty- 
fifth,  having  been  one  hour  less  than  six  days  in  coming  from 
Watertown,  Massachusetts,  including  stops  at  all  the  principal 
places  on  the  way.  The  country  was,  of  course,  in  a  blaze  of 
excitement.  No  truer  prophecy  was  ever  uttered  than  that 
ejacidated  in  broken  tones  by  pastor  Jonas  Clark  of  Lexington, 
over  the  lifeless  forms  of  his  seven  parishioners  that  the  British 
volley  had  stretched  at  his  church  door  on  the  village  green : 
"  From  this  day  will  be  dated  the  liberty  of  the  world."  It  was 
now  no  longer  the  mutterings  but  the  storm  itself  that  the  people 
of  New  Jersey  were  forced  to  face.  For  months  the  black  clouds 
of  strife  and  dissension  had  been  slowly  and  surely  rolling  on, 
enshrouding  the  land  in  gloom  and  apprehension ;  now  the  citi- 
zens awoke  to  the  realization  that  civil  war  with  its  attendant 
horrors  was  to  be  the  heritage  of  their  generation. 

The  general  committee  of  correspondence,  which  had  been 
appointed  by  the  convention  of  the  preceding  July,  was  at 
once  convened,  meeting  at  New  Brmiswick  on  the  second  day 
of  May,  1775.  It  directed  the  chairman  to  call  a  provincial 
congress  for  the  twenty-third  instant,  and  it  desired  the  several 
counties  to  speedily  appoint  their  respective  deputies.  This  sec- 
ond convention  or  provincial  congress  met  at  Trenton  on  the 
twenty-third  of  May,  remaining  in  session  for  eleven  days.  Its 
president,  Hendrick  Fisher ;  its  secretary,  Jonathan  D.  Sergeant, 
and  its  assistant  secretaries,  \^'illiam  Patterson  and  Frederick 
Frelinghuysen,  were  chosen  from  among  the  Somerset  dele- 
gates. President  Fisher  was  ripe  in  years  and  experience, 
having  been  born  in  Germany  in  1697.  Though  by  rea- 
son of  strength  he  had  long  since  passed  the  allotted  span  of  life, 
he  was  as  ardent  in  the  cause  of  the  colonies  as  was  the 
most  devoted  of  the  younger  New  Jersey  patriots.  When  the 
parliamentary  aggressions  forced  the  province  into  an  atti- 
tude of  opposition  to  the  British  government,  he  was  a  member 
of  the  colonial  assembly  and  at  once  became  conspicuous  among 


288  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

his  fellows  as  a  champion  of  liberty.  From  that  time  until  his 
death  in  1779,  he  was  active  in  his  duties  of  serving  the 
people.  Mr.  Fisher  was  a  forcible  debater  and  exerted  an 
important  influence  in  the  deliberations  of  the  provincial 
assemblies,  and  in  those  of  the  many  executive  committees  of 
which  he  was  a  member.  In  Domine  John  Frelinghuysen's 
time  he  was  a  helper  and  lay-preacher  in  the  Raritan  church, 
and  some  of  his  sermons  are  reported  to  have  been  rich  in  doc- 
trine, and  in  their  illustrations  of  spirtual  Christianity.  His 
home  was  on  the  south  side  of  the  Raritan  river,  a  little  below 
Bound  Brook,  on  a  property  lately  owned  by  Abraham  I. 
Brokaw,  and  there  he  is  buried  in  a  little  family  graveyard  over- 
growTi  with  a  thicket  of  thorns  and  small  bushes. 

In  this  congress  youth  and  old  age  joined  hands  in  presenting 
an  undaunted  front  to  those  who  proposed  warring  against 
the  rights  of  the  colonies.  Assistant-secretary  Frelinghuysen, 
who  has  already  been  referred  to  as  the  son  of  Domine  John 
Frelinghuysen,  was  barely  twenty-two  years  old.  During  this 
same  year  he  represented  the  province  in  the  continental  con- 
gress, and  his  name  often  appears  in  Somerset  annals  among 
its  soldiers  and  statesmen.  We  shall  find  him  doing  excellent 
service  at  the  battles  of  Trenton,  Princeton  and  Monmouth,  and 
he  was  appointed  major-general  and  commander-in-chief  of  New 
Jersey  and  Pennsylvania  troops  for  the  western  expedition,  dur- 
ing Washington's  presidency.  At  the  bar  of  the  state  he 
stood  among  the  first,  and  when  he  died  in  1804,  lamented 
by  his  country,  he  left  to  his  posterity  the  legacy  of  an 
illustrious  career  and  an  unsullied  record.  Those  familiar 
■with  the  name  of  Frelinghuysen — and  who  in  New  Jersey 
are  not  ? — know  that  many  of  his  talents  and  virtues  were 
transmitted  to  his  children  and  grandchildren.  Jonathan  D. 
Sergeant  was  another  son  of  Somerset  of  whom  any 
county  might  with  good  reason  be  proud.  He  was  a  resid- 
ent of  Princeton,  having  been  born  there  in  1746,  his  mother 
being  the  daughter  of  the  Reverend  Jonathan  Dickinson, 
of  Elizabethtown.  He  studied  for  the  bar  with  Richard  Stock- 
ton the  elder,  and  became  distinguished  as  a  lawyer,  and 
eminent  in  public  affairs.  In  1778  he  removed  to  Philadelphia, 
and  was  soon  chosen  attorney-general  of  Pennsylvania.     In  1793, 


Arming  for  the  Fray.  289 

he  died  of  yellow  fever,  fallinj^  in  the  cause  of  humanity.  When 
most  of  the  population  of  Philadelphia  fled  in  terror  from  that 
disease-stricken  city,  he  with  a  few  other  equally  noble  souls 
faced  the  danger,  and  remained  to  assist  and  relieve  the  sick  and 
destitute. 

This  congress,  recognizing  the  impending  conflict,  proceeded 
to  put  the  colony  on  a  war  footing  by  passing  a  militia  bill, 
which  boldly  declaimed  it  to  be  "  highly  necessary  that  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  Province  be  forthwith  properly  armed  and  disci- 
plined for  defending  the  cause  of  American  Freedom."  An 
ordinance  was  also  passed  laying  a  war  tax  of  ten  thousand 
pounds,  proclamation  money,  of  which  Somerset's  proportion  was 
about  nine  hundred  pounds.  Other  provinces,  and  the  second 
continental  congress  then  in  session,  were  notified  of  the  steps 
taken  by  New  Jersey  ;  and  before  adjourning  a  new  committee 
of  cori-espondence  was  appointed,  which  included  Fisher  and 
Frelinghuysen.  This  committee  was  directed  to  instruct  the 
sub-county  committees  to  secure  the  signatures  of  the  inhabi- 
tants to  articles  of  association  of  a  form  adopted  by  the 
provincial  congress.  These  articles  pledged  every  person  to 
support  and  carry  into  execution  whatever  measures  might  be 
recommended  by  the  continental  and  provincial  congresses. 

With  the  session  of  this  first  provincial  congress  then  sitting 
at  Trenton  it  would  appear  that  the  Bedminster  committee  of 
observation  and  inspection  had  business,  as  in  its  minutes  before 
referred  to  is  the  following  entry  : — 

May  2o,  1775,  John  Wortman  and  gisbert  Sutphen  when  sent  to  the  Congress 
at  trintown,  out  two  Days&  Expenceof  going5s.'3d.&at  trentownOs.  7d.  Return- 
ing 5s.  3d.  in  all  Sutphen  payd  on  the  above  17s.  5d.  John  wortman  2s.  8d. — 
John  wortmans  to  the  Ride  of  his  horse  to  trintown  3s.  9d.  Gisbert  Sutphen  for 
his  horse  3s.  yd.    Included  in  tlie  above. 

At  the  same  meeting  the  following  minute  was  made : — 
Mr.  Hunt  has  payd   to   the  man  that  Came  from   Brunswick  to   train   the 
men  £0.  4s.8d. 

While  the  people  in  all  parts  of  New  Jersey  were  quick  to 
respond  to  the  recommendations  of  congress  that  they  should 
arm  and  discipline  themselves  for  defense,  it  would  seem  that 
Somerset  county  took  the  lead  in  putting  muskets  in  the  hands  of 
its  citizens.  The  "  Pennsylvania  Packet "  of  the  twelfth  of  June 
states  that: — 
19 


290  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

The  mariial  spirit  which  prevails  among  the  inhabitants  of  Somerset  county, 
in  New  Jersey,  truly  merits  the  attention  of  the  public.  We  have  certain  intel- 
ligence that  they  are  forming  themselves  into  companies,  and  daily  eiercising,  to 
become  complete  masters  of  the  military  discipline;  and  particularly,  that  the 
township  of  Bridgewater,  in  said  county,  met  at  Karitan,  the  sixth  instant,  and 
chose  Mr.  Abraham  Ten  Eyck,  captain,  under  whose  command  eighty-five  vol- 
unteers immediately  enlisted,  to  be  in  readiness  at  an  hour's  warning,  to  march 
for  the  assistance  of  any  neighboring  colony,  on  any  emergency.  Their  pay  and 
other  necessaries  are  provided  by  said  township.  The  other  counties  and  town- 
ships, it  is  hoped,  will  follow  their  example,  as  it  may  be  necessary  to  repel 
force  by  force,  in  order  to  secure  our  national  rights  and  privileges. 

Bedminster  did  not  need  the  example  of  Bridgewater  to  fan 
tlie  flame  of  patriotism ;  for  its  men  had  already  taken  the 
initiative,  and  were  arming  for  the  fray.  They  had  even  antici- 
pated the  action  of  the  provincial  congress  of  the  twenty-third  of 
May,  as  is  shown  by  the  following  minute  made  at  a  meeting  of 
its  committee  of  observation  and  inspection  held  on  the  eigh- 
teenth of  May,  at  the  house  of  Anthony  J.  Jacobs  : — 

Borrowed  from  John  Wortman  in  cash  £2.  Os.  Od.  to  Gow  to  new  york  to  Buy 
arras  [three  words  blurred]  Stephen  Hunt  chosen  to  go  to  new  york  to  Buy 
the  arms. 

At  another  meeting,  "  when  the  Company  met  to  Rase  men," 
the  minutes  show  that  it  was  agreed  ''  that  the  Captain  shall 
have  one  Dollar  per  Day  to  treat  his  men  when  he  trains  his 
men  that  once  a  wick."  This  meeting  was  held  on  the  twentieth 
of  May  "  at  the  house  of  John  phoenix  " — probably  at  the  tavern 
at  the  Lager  Cross  Roads,  kept  during  the  Revolution  by  John 
Sutphen,  who  married  John  Phoenix's  daughter,  Sarah.  It 
stood  on  the  site  where  is  now  the  dwelling  of  David  Dunham, 
and  Washington  and  his  generals,  in  passing  westward  through 
the  township,  always  made  it  their  stopping  place.  Sarah 
Phoenix  used  to  tell  her  grandchildren  that  when  the  army 
marched  through  the  Larger  Cross  Roads,  open  house  was  kept 
for  the  continental  officers,  and  that  she  distinctly  remembered 
General  Washington's  reserved  and  absent  demeanor  one  day 
at  dinner,  while  Generals  Knox,  Wayne,  and  others  were 
inclined  to  be  merry  over  their  wines  and  desserts. 

Among  the  many  duties  of  the  committee  of  observation  and 
inspection,  not  the  least  arduous  one  was  that  of  securing  guns, 
powder  and  ball.  As  early  as  in  October,  1774,  the  British 
ministry  instructed   all  the   royal   governors  to   seize   whatever 


Lead  a  Preciols  Metal.  291 

arms  and  ammunition  might  be  imported  into  their  provinces. 
Munitions  of  war  were  consequently  scarce ;  after  the  supplies 
of  the  cities  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia  were  exhausted 
it  became  necessary  for  the  members  of  the  committee  to  ran- 
sack the  country,  and  purchase  of  farmers,  mechanics,  and 
others,  old  muskets,  shotguns  and  firelocks  of  every  description. 
Those  out  of  order  were  sent  to  be  made  serviceable  to  the  gun- 
smiths, Henry  Watkey  and  Joseph  Robinson  at  New  Brunswick, 
and  to  Lebbeus  Dodd  at  Mendham  who  before  and  during  the 
Revolution  repaired  all  the  guns  and  made  aU  the  clocks  for  that 
part  of  the  country.  The  raw  material  for  bullets  was  more 
easily  obtained,  although  the  people  were  forced  to  make  many 
personal  sacrifices  in  order  to  comply  with  the  requirements  of 
the  hour.  The  provincial  congress  had  directed  the  township 
committees  "  to  collect  all  the  leaden  weights  from  windows  and 
clocks,  all  leaden  weights  of  shops,  stores,  and  mills,  of  one  pound 
weight  and  upwards ;  also  aU  the  lead  in  and  about  houses  and 
other  places."  Commissioners  were  appointed  to  receive  the 
same  from  the  committees,  paying  therefor  sixpence  per  pound, 
proclamation  money,  together  with  expenses.  Bedminster  was 
soon  denuded  of  what  had  suddenly  grown  to  be  considered  a 
precious  metal,  many  of  the  families  even  cheerfully  sacrificing 
their  pewter  dishes  and  platters,  which  were  much  valued  by 
colonial  housewives. 

The  next  session  of  the  provincial  congress  convened  on  the 
fifth  of  August,  continuing  until  the  seventeenth  instant.  Since 
the  adjournment  important  events  had  rapidly  followed  each 
other.  The  British  force  in  Boston  had  been  augmented  ;  the 
battle  of  Bunker  Hill  had  been  fought  on  the  seventeenth  of 
June  ;  Washington,  having  been  appointed  commander-in-chief, 
had  already  drawn  his  sword  under  the  great  elm  on  Cambridge 
common,  his  army  being  composed  of  fourteen  thousand  five 
hundred  militia,  without  uniformity  in  discipline,  subordination, 
arms,  dress  or  organization.  On  the  twenty-eighth  of  June  Sir 
Henry  Clinton's  land  force  of  three  thousand  men  and  Sir  Peter 
Parker's  fleet  of  ten  frigates  and  gun-ships,  after  fighting  two 
hours  and  throwing  fifty  tons  of  shot,  had  been  repulsed  at 
Charleston   with    the    loss    of   a  frigate    and   one  hundred   and 


b" 


seventy  men.     All  this  had  brought  the  colonists  to  a  full  realiza- 


292 


The  Stoky  of  an  Old  Farm. 


tion  that  they  were  involved  in  the  miseries  of  civil  strife,  hwit 
little  or  no  probability  of  an  accommodation  with  what  had 
always  been  considered  the  home  govcjrnment,  until  the  ques- 
tions at  issue  had  been  arbitrated  by  many  bloody  conflicts.  The 
deputies  proceeded  to  deliberate  upon  the  condition  of  the  coun- 
try, and  to  pass  such  ordinances  as  the  gravity  of  the  situation 
demanded  :  one  to  increase  the  effectiveness  of  the  militia ;  one 
for  the  more  thorough  establishment  of  the  civil  government ; 
one  to  insure  the  more  prompt  collection  of  the  war  tax  ;  and 
others  of  equal  importance.  A  "  committee  of  safety "  was 
appointed,  which  diu'ing  the  recess  of  congress  was  to  possess 
much  of  tlie  powers  of  that  body.  Among  its  members  were 
Frederick  Frelinghuysen,  Hendrick  Fisher,  Jonathan  D.  Ser- 
geant, Peter  Schenck  and  Enos  Kelsey,  all  of  Somerset.  The 
authority  of  this  committee  was  almost  dictatorial,  its  members 
were  appointed  by  successive  provincial  congresses,  and  in  a 
majority  of  their  votes  were  vested  general  powers  for  the 
security  and  defence  of  the  colony.  It  continued  in  existence 
until  October,  1776,  which  was  the  date  of  the  first  meeting  of 
the  legislature  under  the  state  constitution.  After  that  time  the 
governor  and  a  "  councU  of  safety  "  (composed  of  twenty  mem- 
bers) were  invested  with  requisite  authority  to  act  during  the 
intervals  between  meetings  of  the  legislature. 


CHAPTER     XXI. 

The  Declaration  of  Independence  and  the  Overthrow  of  the- 
Provincial  Government — The  Arrest  of  the  Royal  Governor, 
William  Franklin. 

The  most  important  of  New  Jersey's  provincial  congresses,  and 
the  final  one  for  the  year  1775,  opened  on  the  third  of  October 
and  continued  for  twenty-two  days.  Its  members  had  been 
elected  by  the  people,  the  previous  bodies  having  been  provis- 
ional in  character,  the  delegates  emanating  from  the  choice  of 
informal  coimty  meetings  or  conventions.  The  amount  of  busi- 
ness transacted  at  this  session  was  very  great.  The  whole  col- 
ony was  in  a  state  of  intense  agitation,  and  excitements  ruled 
the  hour.  It  was  a  time  of  civil  discord,  when  neighbor  feared 
neighbor  and  friend  suspected  friend.  Disputes  and  difficulties 
between  the  people  were  rife,  culminating  in  all  manner  of 
charges  and  complaints,  which  were  jtoured  in  u})on  congress  in 
the  shape  of  accusations,  petitions  and  appeals.  Communications 
from  township  and  comity  committees  had  to  be  received  and 
deliberated  upon,  charges  against  loyalists  investigated,  and  many 
complaints  of  personal  grievances  considered. 

Ordinances  were  passed  for  the  raising  of  regiments,  the 
strengthening  of  the  militia,  the  purchase  of  munitions  of  war, 
and,  to  meet  the  many  pecimiary  necessities  of  the  hour,  arrange- 
ments were  effected  for  the  issue  of  bills  of  credit  to  the  amount 
of  thirty  thousand  pounds,  proclamation  money.  But  we  will 
not  speak  in  detail  of  all  the  important  matters  that  were 
patiently  and  ably  considered  by  this  patriotic  congress,  among 
whose  officers  were  Samuel  Tucker  of  Hunterdon,  as  president, 
and  John  Mehelm  of  Hunterdon  and  Hendrick  Fisher  of  Somer- 
set, as  vice-presidents.      It  is  enough   for  us  to   know   that  at  ;i 


294  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

period  when  legislative  difficulties  of  the  most  involved  character 
had  to  be  encountered,  these  deputies  conducted  their  delibera- 
tions with  wisdom  and  prudence,  and  by  their  intelligent  and 
far-seeing  devotion  to  the  best  interests  of  the  colony  laid  a  firm 
foundation  upon  which  was  afterward  raised  the  superstructure 
of  a  great  state.  This  important  session  adjourned  to  meet  at 
New  Brunswick  on  the  first  Tuesday  in  April,  1776.  One  of  its 
final  acts  was  to  appoint  a  committee  of  safety  to  govern  the 
province  ad  interim,  among  whom  were  Samuel  Tucker,  John 
Hart  and  John  Mehelm  of  Hunterdon,  Hendrick  Fisher  and 
Kuloff  Van  Dyke  of  Somerset. 

All  this  time  the  second  continental  congress,  which  had 
convened  on  the  tenth  of  May,  was  in  session,  and  in  constant 
communication  with  the  congresses  and  committees  of  the  sev- 
eral provinces.  It  is  unnecessary  to  speak  in  detail  of  the  many 
important  measures  that  were  ably  considered  by  this  celebrated 
legislature,  or  of  the  ardor  of  its  patriotic  members  whose  soul- 
stirring  debates  in  the  historic  State  House  at  Philadelphia  still 
arouse  the  enthusiasm  of  mankind,  the  wide  world  over.  Wher- 
ever the  name  of  liberty  is  known  and  loved,  the  broad  compre- 
hensive views  and  deep  political  knowledge  exhibited  by  the 
many  distinguished  men  composing  this  congress,  have  been  rec- 
ognized and  extolled.  Since  the  formation  of  society  the  record 
of  no  other  representative  body  contributes  pages  of  such  value 
and  brilliancy  to  the  history  of  the  cause  of  human  progress.  We 
should  be  false,  however,  to  the  continuity  of  the  story  of  the 
times  did  we  fail  to  note  that  by  early  June  in  1776  Richard 
Henry  Lee  of  Virginia  had  submitted  a  motion,  declaring  the 
colonies  to  be  "  absolved  from  all  allegiance  to  the  British  crown, 
and  that  all  connection  between  them  and  Great  Britain  is,  and 
ought  to  be,  dissolved."  This  was  but  anticipatory  of  the  cul- 
minating act  of  the  memorable  second  day  of  July  which  saw  the 
final  adoption,  without  a  dissenting  voice,  of  that  resolution  for 
independence  which  was  to  insure  a  name  and  a  national  exist- 
ence to  the  United  States  of  America. 

The  second  of  July  was,  therefore,  the  momentous  day  on 
which  was  broken  the  last  political  link  binding  the  colonies  and 
the  mother  country.  A  committee  was  at  once  appointed  to 
draft  a  declaration  of  reasons  justifying  this  all-important  step 


WiTHERSPOON    IX    CONGRESS.  295 

taken  by  the  delej^ates.  Two  days  later,  on  the  morning  of  the 
fourth,  Thomas  Jefferson  as  chairman  of  that  committee  pre- 
sented to  the  continental  congress  the  immortal  Declaration  of 
Independence.  Among  the  illustrious  men  who  listened  to  the 
reading  of  this  document  there  is  one  figm-e  that  stands  sharply 
defined  on  the  canvas  which  portrays  the  scene  of  the  crowning 
act  of  this  historic  body.  It  is  that  of  John  Witherspoon,  a 
distinguished  representative  from  New  Jersey,  whose  patriotism 
and  foresight  at  a  crucial  moment  is  believed  to  have  powerfully 
promoted  the  prompt  acceptance  of  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence. After  Jefferson  had  finished  the  reading  of  this  paper, 
the  members  of  congress  were  appalled  by  the  solemnity  of  the 
occasion,  and  by  the  apparent  realization  for  the  first  time  of  the 
portent  of,  the  document.  The  knowledge  seemed  suddenly 
forced  upon  them  of  what  its  adoption  must  entail  upon  the 
country.  It  meant  a  continuation  of  the  war,  and  all  the  miser- 
ies that  would  necessarily  follow  a  prolonged  civil  conflict. 
Should  the  American  arms  not  prevail,  complete  subjection  of  the 
entire  people  must  follow,  and  for  the  signers  and  promulgators 
of  this  incendiary  and  rebellious  instrument  naught  could  be 
expected  but  an  ignominious  death.  Through  the  halls  of  con- 
gress an  intense  silence  prevailed.  It  was  a  critical  moment. 
When  the  painful  hush  shoidd  be  bi'oken  the  temper  of  the  first 
speaker  might  decide  the  weal  or  woe  of  the  people.  As  has 
been  said  by  a  witness :  "  The  very  destiny  of  the  countiy 
seemed  to  be  svispended  upon  the  action  of  a  moment." 

Suddenly  a  stalwart  form  arose — that  of  a  man  fuU  of  years ; 
bis  hair  whitened  by  the  snows  of  many  winters.  With  a  coun- 
tenance resolute  and  determined,  and  a  voice  trembling  \yith  the 
intensity  of  his  emotions,  he  broke  the  deep  silence  of  the  chamber: 
"  There  is,"  said  he,  "  a  tide  in  the  affairs  of  man,  a  nick  of 
time;  we  perceive  it  now  before  us.  The  noble  instrument  upon 
your  table,  which  insures  immortality  to  its  author,  should  be 
subscribed  this  very  morning  by  every  pen  in  the  house.  He 
who  will  not  respond  to  its  accents,  and  strain  every  nerve  to 
carry  into  effect  its  provisions,  is  unworthy  the  name  of  a  free- 
man. Although  these  gray  hairs  must  descend  into  the  sepul- 
chre, I  would  infinitely  rather  they  should  descend  thither  by 
the  hand  of  the  j)ublic  executioner  than  desert,  at  this  time,  the 


296  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

sacred  cause  of  my  country."  The  speaker  sat  down,  and  a 
great  sigh  of  relief  and  murmur  of  approval  went  up  from  his 
listeners — the  tension  was  over,  the  crisis  safely  passed.  In  the 
debates  which  followed,  the  speeches  of  the  members  displayed 
much  of  the  spirit  of  patriotic  firmness  that  had  characterized 
the  timely  appeal  of  this  excellent  man,  resulting  finally  in  the 
adoption  of  that  poi'tentous  document  *  which  secured  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  thirteen  states. 

John  Witherspoon  was  a  Scotch  divine  who  in  1768  had 
been  called  to  the  presidency  of  the  College  of  New  Jersey, 
and  to  the  pastorate  of  the  Presbyterian  church  in  Prince- 
ton. This  was  not  his  first  appearance  in  the  arena  of  rebel- 
lion. When  the  Highlanders  flocked  to  the  royal  standard 
unfurled  by  the  yoimg  pretender  in  the  north  of  Scotland, 
Witherspoon,  though  the  pastor  of  a  parish,  raised  a  corps 
of  militia  and  marched  to  his  support.  The  young  parson- 
soldier's  enthusiasm  carried  him  into  the  battle  of  Falkirk,  where 
he  was  taken  prisoner ;  he  lay  captive  in  the  castle  of  Donne 
until  after  Culloden.  In  America  he  proved  a  patriot  of  great 
influence  in  the  councils  of  the  nation,  and  served  the  state  in 
congress  with  honor  and  ability  for  six  years,  and  in  1776  was 
also  a  member  of  the  provincial  congress,  afterwards  the  "  Con- 
vention of  the  State  of  New  Jersey."  As  a  Princeton  resident,  we 
may  fairly  claim  Doctor  Witherspoon  to  have  been  a  Somerset  man ; 
it  was  many  years  after  that  time  before  the  county  was  shorn  of 
its  southern  border  which  then  included  that  seat  of  learning,  in 
order  to  contribute  to  the  new  county  of  Mercer. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  until  early  in  1776  the  semblance 
of  royal  government  continued  to  exist  in  New  Jersey.       Up  to 

*  The  declaration  signed  that  day  is  not  the  venerable  parchment  now  so 
carefully  preserved  in  the  state  department  at  Washington.  This  latter  docu- 
ment was  subsequently  engrossed,  and  it  was  not  for  many  months  afterward 
that  all  of  its  appended  signatures  were  thereon  inscribed.  Indeed  a  number 
of  its  signers,  among  them  Charles  Carroll  and  Dr.  Benjamin  Rush,  were 
not  even  members  of  congress  on  the  fourth  of  July,  1776,  but  were  elected  dele- 
gates some  weeks  later.  The  original  declaration  has  not  been  preserved  and 
may  possibly  have  been  destroyed  by  order  of  congress.  Much  interesting,  and 
what  to  many  would  be  considered  new,  information  regarding  the  adoption  of 
the  Declaration  of  Independence,  is  to  be  found  in  a  paper  by  William  L. 
Stone  in  Harper's  Magazine,  Vol.  LXVII.,  p.  208.  The  Witherspoon  incident 
is  given  in  Alexander  Graydon's  "  Memoirs  of  His  Own  Times." 


Provincial  Congresses  of  177fi.  297 

the  fourth  of  July  all  official  documents  and  proclamations  ended 
with  the  phrase,  "  God  save  the  King."  At  this  time,  with  the 
exception  of  that  grand  old  "  Rebel  Governor,"  Jonathan  Trum- 
bull of  Connecticut,  there  was  not  in  all  the  thirteen  colonies  a 
chief  magistrate  but  that  was  strongly  prejudiced  in  favor  of 
British  interests,  and  zealous  to  check  the  uprising  of  the  people. 
Governor  William  Franklin  occupied  the  proprietor's  house  at 
Perth  Amboy — yet  extant,  and  used  as  a  home  for  aged  Pres- 
byterian ministers.  His  duties  mainly  consisted  in  keeping  his 
government  advised  as  to  the  treasonable  acts  of  the  citizens. 
The  colonial  assembly  still  had  a  legal  existence,  though  the 
house  had  been  prorogued  by  the  governor  on  the  sixth  of 
December,  1775,  until  the  third  of  January,  1776 ;  it  never 
reassembled  ;  and  thus  terminated  the  colonial  legislature  of  New 
Jersey. 

The  provincial  congress  of  1776  met  on  the  tirst  of  Febru- 
ary at  New  Brunswick ;  owing  to  the  exigency  of  the  times 
it  was  convened  by  the  council  of  safety  before  the  date  to 
which  the  previous  congress  had  adjourned.  The  business 
before  this  session  was  largely  composed  of  following  the  sugges- 
tions made  by  continental  congress  as  to  the  raising  and  equip- 
ping of  regular  battalions,  and  for  supplying  the  province's 
portion  of  the  munitions  of  war.  Among  the  many  ordinances 
passed  was  one  making  radical  changes  in  the  franchise 
laws,  whereby  all  persons  who  had  lived  one  year  in  the 
county,  were  worth  fifty  pounds  in  personal  estate,  and  had 
signed  the  articles  of  association  prepai-ed  by  the  township 
committees  of  observation  and  inspection,  were  entitled 
to  vote  for  deputies.  The  first  election  under  this  ordinance 
took  place  in  May,  1776,  and  the  deputies  chosen  from  Som- 
erset were  Frederick  Frelinghuysen,  William  Paterson,  John 
Witherspoon  (also  member  of  continental  congress),  Jacob 
R.  Hardenbergh  (pastor  of  the  Raritan  Reformed  Dutch 
churches),  and  James  Linn.  Judge  James  Linn  was  one  of 
Somerset's  aristocrats  and  a  citizen  highly  esteemed  throughout 
the  country.  He  lived  on  a  well  improved  plantation  of  six 
hundred  acres,  lying  in  the  Mine  brook  valley  in  Bernards  town- 
ship, about  one  mile  east  of  the  xdllage  of  Bedminster.  He  had 
quite  a   retinue  of  servants  and  twenty  slaves.     His  estate  had. 


298  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

been  inherited  from  his  father ;  on  it  he  continued  to  live  as 
one  of  the  first  gentlemen  of  the  county  until  1810. 

On  Monday,  the  tenth  of  June,  this  most  important  of  all  of  New 
Jersey's  provincial  congresses  met  at  Burlington.  Its  sessions  con- 
tinued until  the  twenty-first  of  August,  though  twice  adjourned, 
the  first  time  to  Trenton  and  the  second  to  New  Brunswick.  This 
congress  enacted  all  laws  for  a  time  Ln  the  name  of  the  colony, 
but,  having  on  the  second  of  July  adopted  a  state  constitution, 
on  the  eighteenth  of  the  same  month  it  assumed  the  title 
of  the  "  Convention  of  the  State  of  New  Jersey,"  thus 
giving  birth  to  a  free  and  independent  commonwealth. 
Another  act  of  this  body  distinguishing  it  above  all  preceding 
congresses  was  the  deposition  of  the  royal  governor.  As  has 
been  said  before,  the  semblance  of  kingly  power  still  continued 
in  New  Jersey.  In  addition  to  the  representative  of  the  crown, 
the  king's  council  still  had  an  existence,  though  shorn  of  some 
of  its  members  by  their  disaffection.  Among  these  was  Lord 
Stirling  of  Somerset,  who  had  been  suspended  by  the  governor 
in  September,  1775,  because  of  having  accepted  a  military  com- 
mission from  the  provincial  congress. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  greater  part  of  Governor  Franklin's 
administration  was  much  to  the  advantage  of  the  colony,  as  he 
fostered  and  encouraged  many  enterprises  that  promoted  its  pros- 
perity. Could  the  people  of  New  Jersey  forget  his  subsequent  con- 
duct as  a  vindictive  loyalist,  they  would  be  better  able  to  look 
back  upon  his  government  with  respect,  and  appreciate  that 
during  his  long  administration,  for  much  of  the  time  he  dis- 
played a  commendable  desire  for  the  welfare  of  the  prov- 
ince. Such  without  doubt  is  his  record,  and  we  may  even 
accord  to  him  sincerity  of  opinion  and  purpose  in  identifying 
himself  with  those  who  were  endeavoring  to  sacrifice  the  liberties 
of  the  country.  But  with  the  dissensions  that  arose  between  the 
executive  and  the  citizens,  he  is  said  to  have  become  petulant 
and  unwise.  As  the  people  grew  to  be  alert  in  regard  to  every 
question  touching  their  rights,  his  arrogance  increased,  and  he 
rapidly  became  destitute  of  prudence  and  self-control.  In  the 
provincial  assembly  he  made  great  endeavors  to  defeat  the  ratifi- 
cation of  the  actions  of  the  first  continental  congress,  and  from 
that  time  up  to  his  deposition  was  but  little  more  than  a  spy  for 
the  public   enemy. 


Governor  William  Franklin's  Record.  299 

As  has  Ijeen  said  on  a  former  page,  the  governor  was  a  son  of 
Benjamin  Franklin, — the  natural  son,  for  who  was  his  mother  is 
not  known.  The  date  of  his  birth — 1730 — was  one  year  pre- 
vious to  that  of  his  father's  marriage.  He  was  taken  home  by 
Benjamin  Franklin  and  reared  and  educated  as  though  bom  in 
wedlock.  The  New  Jersey  people,  who  well  knew  of  this  bar 
sinister  on  the  Franklin  escutcheon,  were  much  chagrined  on 
learning  in  176'2  who  was  to  be  their  new  governor.  John 
Penn,  one  of  the  proprietors  of  Pennsylvania  and  the  son  of  its 
founder,  Wrote  to  Lord  Stirling  from  England  in  September  of 
that  year  that  he  thought  it  a  dishonor  and  a  disgrace  to  have 
such  a  man  at  the  head  of  the  government ;  and  that  he  hoped 
that  some  effort  would  be  made  before  his  Jersey  friends  would 
put  up  with  such  an  insult.  This  letter  was  written  from  Stoke- 
Park.  The  manor  adjoins  that  little  ivy-clad  church  which 
since  Gray  wrote  his  imperishable  elegy  has  been  an  interna- 
tional shrine.  But  few  of  its  many  American  pilgrims,  as  they 
leave  the  highway  and  follow  the  little  footpath  leading  across 
Stoke-Park  to  Stoke-Pogis  churchyard,  know  that  the  fortmie 
that  established  this  handsome  English  seat  had  its  origin  on  the 
banks   of  the  Delaware. 

William  Franklin,  just  after  being  appointed  governor 
of  New  Jersey,  was  married  in  St.  George's  church,  Hanover 
square,  London,  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Downe.  Strange  as 
the  coincidence  may  be,  he,  too,  had  an  illegitimate  son, 
born  two  years  before.  As  had  done  his  father,  so  did  he ; 
naming  the  child  William  Temple  Franklin  he  took  him  home 
to  his  bride,  and  the^boy  was  reared  with  as  much  solicitude  as 
if  the  offspring  of  marriage.  Benjamin  Franklin  grieved  much 
over  the  failure  of  his  son  to  espouse  the  cause  of  the  colonists. 
He  wrote  "  that  nothing  had  ever  affected  him  with  such  keen 
sensitiveness  as  to  find  himself  deserted  in  his  old  age  by  his 
only  son  ;  and  not  only  deserted,  but  to  find  him  taking  up  arms 
against  him  in  a  cause  wherein  his  good  fame,  fortune  and  life 
were  at  stake."  The  grandson  was  a  warm  adherent  of  the 
Americans,  and,  deserting  his  father,  allied  his  tbrtimes  to  those 
of  his  grandfather,  with  whom  he  remained  associated  until  his 
death.  He  subsequently  wrote  a  biography  of  Doctor  Franklin, 
and  died  in  France  in  1823. 


300  The  Story  of  an  Old  Faijm. 

The  prestige  and  patriotism  of  the  governor's  father  caused' 
the  people  to  judge  leniently  of  the  attitude  the  son  assumed 
toward  the  cause  so  dear  to  the  popular  heart ;  this,  too, 
at  a  time  when  loj'alists  were  looked  upon  with  extreme  dis- 
favor. But,  as  the  months  rolled  on,  his  pronounced  acts  in 
support  of  the  British  ministry  were  too  great  for  the  forbearance 
of  the  people  in  their  newly-born  sovereign  capacity.  An  inter- 
cepted despatch  in  January,  1776,  had  led  to  Lord  Stirling's 
placing  him  under  arrest,  and  on  parole.  For  some  months  he 
continued  to  occupy  the  gubernatorial  residence  at  Perth  Amboy, 
and  to  nominally  direct  the  affairs  of  the  province,  but  having 
called  upon  the  old  assembly  to  meet  on  the  twentieth  of  June, 
the  provincial  congress  declared  this  to  be  in  direct  contempt  of 
the  orders  of  the  continental  congress.  On  the  fifteenth  of  June 
WUliam  Livingston,  John  Witherspoon,  William  Paterson  and 
John  Mehelm  were  appointed  a  committee  to  cause  the  arrest  of 
the  governor,  and  to  depose  him  from  office.  Colonel  Nathaniel 
Heard,  commanding  the  1st  Middlesex  battalion,  imder  the 
direction  of  this  committee  made  the  arrest,  and  the  governor 
was  brought  before  provincial  congress  under  guard.  He 
treated  that  body  with  great  indignity  ;  did  not  hesitate  to  charge 
its  members  with  being  low-bred  men  who  deserved  to  be  hung 
as  rebels,  and  declared  them  to  be  without  sufficient  education  for 
devising  or  carrying  out  plans  for  the  public  weal.  When  he- 
had  finished  his  violent  tirade.  Doctor  Witherspoon  sprang  to  his 
feet  and  fixing  his  keen  eyes  upon  the  king's  representative 
poured  on  him  a  copious  stream  of  irony,  delivering  a  "  rebuke- 
so  withering  as  to  cause  the  boldest  to  hold  his  breath  with 
astonishment."  In  concluding,  after  referring  to  Franklin's  illi- 
gitimacy,  he  said  : — 

On  the  whole,  Mr.  President,  I  think  that  the  governor  has  made  us  a  speech 
every  way  worthy  of  his  exalted  birth  and  refined  education. 

Acting  under  the  advice  of  Washington  it  was  decided  by 
congress  to  transfer  the  deposed  executive  to  the  keeping  of 
Governor  Trumbull  of  Connecticut,  whereupon  Franklin  was 
confined  in  a  house  in  East  Windsor.  Here  he  remained  a  pris- 
oner for  two  years  ;  upon  being  exchanged,  he  established  him- 
self in  New  York  which  continued  to  be  his  home  until  1782, 
when  he  returned  to  England.     To  cover  his  losses  the  British 


Some  New  Jersey  Patriots.  301 

•government  allowed  him  the  sum  of  eighteen  hundred  pounds 
and  an  annual  pension  of  eight  hundred  pounds.  William  Liv- 
ingston was  appointed  governor  in  his  stead,  a  position  which  he 
ably  filled,  owing  to  repeated  re-elections,  until  the  year  1782.  * 

It  will  be  noticed  that  deputies  of  the  provincial  congress  were 
always  inclined  to  call  upon  men  of  Somerset  to  occupy  leading 
positions  in  their  body,  or  to  carry  out  their  most  important  meas- 
ures. Whon  the  time  came  to  depose  this  royal  goverjior,  two 
of  the  committee  chosen  to  undertake  this  delicate  and  disgree- 
able  office  .were  from  our  county,  while  a  third,  John  Mehelm, 
afterwards  became  a  resident,  and  tilled  for  many  years  to  the 
great  satisfaction  of  the  people  the  position  of  surrogate.  At  this 
time  he  was  living  in  Hunterdon  county,  at  a  place  since  known 
as  Hall's  mills,  where  he  owned  one  hundred  acres  of  land  and  a 
flouring  mill.  He  was  a  stanch  Jerseyman  whose  patriotism 
stood  many  severe  tests ;  from  the  first  murmuring  of  the  colon- 
ists against  the  home  government  he  was  an  advocate  for  inde- 
pendence, and  throughout  the  war  was  an  associate  of,  and  a  coun- 
sellor with,  the  ablest  and  purest  men  of  the  country.  He  served 
as  a  member  of  the  provincial  congress,  the  convention,  and  the 
committee  of   correspondence    and  safety. 

William  Paterson,  who  was  New  Jersey's  second  governor, 
has  always  been  considered  one  of  the  great  men  of  that  time. 
He,  too,  displayed  the  most  intelligent  devotion  to  many  public 
trusts  in  state  and  country ;  represented  New  Jersey  in  the 
senate  of  the  nation,  and  died  in  1806  as  judge  of  the  supreme 
court  of  the  United  States.  His  residence  was  an  antiquated 
stone  mansion,  no  longer  in  existence,  on  a  plantation  known 
as  the  "  Paterson  Farm,"  lying  two  miles  south  of  Somerville  on 
the  Raritan  river.  Here,  as  the  guest  of  Judge  Paterson, 
Aaron  Burr  spent  much  of  his  time  while  an  undergraduate  at 
Princeton,  and  here  he  prepared  for  admission  to  the  bar. 
Of  Witherspoon  we  have   already  learned  much,  and  as  to  the 

*  His  salary  was  fixed  at  £550,  equal  to  1466§  Spanish  dollars.  Marriage 
licenses,  letters  of  administration  and  other  perquisites  increased  the  annual  stip- 
end about  £350.  The  salary  of  the  chief-justice  was  £350  and  of  the  other  two 
judges  £300;  treasurer  £150,  attorney-general  £30.  Delegates  to  congress  $4  a 
day  while  present,  and  members  of  assembly  $2  a  day.  During  Franklin's 
administration  the  salary  of  the  colonial  governor  had  been  gradually  raised  to 
£3,200,  with  perquisites  amounting  to  about  |1,000. 


302  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

third  member  of  this  historic  committee,  William  Livingston,  all 
who  know  the  a,  b,  c,  of  Revolutionary  history  are  familiar  with 
the  valuable  record  of  this  distinguished  war-governor.  His 
sound  judgment  in  counsel,  and  his  coolness  and  courage  in 
action  and  execution,  brought  inestimable  benefits  upon  the 
country,  and  his  services  in  the  cause  of  freedom  take  rank  with 
those  of  Washington,  Hancock  and  Adams.  His  residence  was 
in  Elizabethtown — an  ample  brick  mansion  kno-s'STi  as  "  Liberty 
Hall,"  which  is  still  standing,  owned  and  occupied  by  John 
Kean,  the  great-gran dnephew  of  the  governor.  It  has  had  a  top 
storey  added ;  otherwise  with  the  exception  of  modernized 
windows  and  fireplaces  it  is  much  the  same  as  it  was  during  the 
Revolution.  A  large  tree  which  faces  the  front  door  was  planted 
in  1772  by  Livingston's  oldest  daughter  Susan,  who  afterwards 
married  John  Cleves  Symraes. 

We  have  now  sketched  in  a  hvirried  manner  the  successive 
steps  taken  by  the  people  of  New  Jersey  in  their  progress  from 
a  condition  of  being  the  mere  dependent  subjects  of  a  foreign 
government  to  that  of  free  citizens  of  a  free  repviblic,  able 
almost  at  once  to  assume  the  rights  of  membership  in  the  family 
of  nations.  Well-informed  readers  may  deplore  the  time  lost  in 
telling  over  again  the  well-known  story  of  the  outbreak  of  the 
Revolution ;  but  without  a  proper  stage-setting  our  Somerset 
actors  in  the  approaching  drama  could  not  well  play  their  parts. 

As  a  background  to  the  scene  in  which  they  are  to  figure,  it  is 
also  necessary  to  consider  the  condition  of  the  coimtry  in  the 
spring  of  1776.  At  that  time  it  was  truly  but  the  beginning  of 
things  for  the  United  States  of  America.  Where  is  now  the 
centre  of  population  buff'aloes  browsed  in  herds,  and  wild  deer 
had  naught  to  fear  from  the  crack  of  the  woodsman's  rifle.  Even 
the  valleys  through  which  flow  the  Mohawk  and  the  Genesee  were 
almost  destitute  of  white  population,  and  those  regions  were  stiU 
the  hunting  and  fighting  groimds  of  the  painted  warriors  of  the 
dreaded  Six  Nations  of  the  North.  Great  cities,  the  pulsations 
of  whose  markets  are  to-day  noted  in  the  moneyed  centres  of  all 
Europe,  were  not  yet  conceived,  and  their  sites  were  solitudes  of 
wildernesses. 

Eastern  and  Middle  Pennsylvania  lay  quiet  in  the  shade  of  a 
vast  and  sombre  forest ;    Pittsburgh,    a   mere   collection   of  log 


The  United  States  of  1776. 


303 


cabins,  was  just  becoming  known  as  a  point  where  emigrants 
built  their  keel-boats,  and  launched  themselves  and  their  fortunes 
on  the  waters  of  the  Ohio.  New  York  city  in  population  was 
but  little  larger  than  is  Plainfield  of  to-day,  and  smaller,  by 
many  thousands,  than  is  Elizabeth  ;  those  two  populous  places 
were  thei.,  respectively,  but  a  hamlet  and  a  small  village  ;  while 
SomervUle  was  not  to  have  an  existence  for  yet  a  quarter  of  a 
century.  Newark  in  1777  contained  but  one  himdred  and  forty- 
one  houses,  and  at  no  time  during  the  war  did  it  exceed  one 
thousand  in  population.  New  Brunswick  claimed  about  the 
same  number.  A  round  cupola  capping  a  square  wooden 
church-tower  rising  above  a  few  clustering  houses,  was  all  that 
marked  where  now  centres  over  half  a  million  of  people  as  the 
city  of  Brooklyn.  Powles'  Hook  was  represented  by  a  ferry- 
tavern  and  a  few  scattering  dwellings  ;  it  was  not  till  1820  that  it 
was  rebaptized  as  Jersey  City,  and  even  then  had  but  three 
hundred  residents.  Only  about  one-quarter  of  the  lands  of  East 
Jersey  had  been  located,  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  entire  state 
numbered  less  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand.  In  the 
entire  country  there  were  but  twenty-eight  postoffices ;  as  late  as 
1791  New  Jersey  possessed  but  six,  and  at  that  time  Somerset 
county  appears  to  have  had  none. 


CHAPTER     XXII. 

The  Turbulent  Sea  of  the  Revolution — The  Soldiers  of  Somerset 
—  William  Alexander,  Lord  Stirling;  Captain  Andrew 
Malick,  and  Private  John  Malich. 

And  now  we  find  the  men  of  Somerset  prepared  to  do  their 
part  toward  manning  the  new  ship  of  state,  which  is  at  last  fairly 
launched  on  the  turbulent  sea  of  the  Revolution.  But  notwith- 
standing the  ominous  notes  of  war,  the  daily  routine  of  Bedmin- 
ster  life  continued.  Sun-browned  men  went  to  and  from  the 
fields,  peddlers  wandered  from  village  to  farm,  and  women  gos- 
sipped  as  they  spmi  or  stepped  in  their  short  kirtles  to  the  music 
of  their  swiftly  whirling  yarn-wheels. 

There  was  little  or  no  break  in  the  industries  that  centred 
about  the  "  Old  Stone  House."  The  bdls,  bonds  and  corre- 
spondence preserved  from  that  time  show  that  work  continued  at 
the  tannery  and  on  the  farm,  their  products  finding  a  ready 
market.  By  this  time  the  land  had  been  considerably  curtailed 
of  its  original  area.  At  the  death  of  Johannes  a  division  of  his 
estate  was  made  by  will  among  his  children.  All  the  provisions 
of  this  last  testament  are  not  known,  no  copy  having  been  found, 
but  references  in  subsequent  deeds  show  that  the  tannery,  home- 
stead, and  two  hundred  acres  fell  to  Aaron.  The  southern  por- 
tion of  the  farm,  embracing  one  hundred  and  sixty-seven  acres, 
being  all  the  land  fronting  on  the  Bernardsville  and  Lamington 
road,  was  devised  to  Aaron's  youngest  brother,  Peter.  Upon 
this  land,  sometime  before  the  Revolution,  he  erected  a  house 
and  farm-buildings.  They  were  located  on  the  site  of  the 
present  residence  of  Alfred  Johnson  in  the  village  of  Bedminster. 
Here  on  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  Peter  was  living  with  his 
wife  and  three  children,  David,  John,  and  Catharine. 


b 


St.  James'  Lutheran  Church.  305 

Andrew's  share  of  his  father's  estate  was  probably  what 
remained  of  the  four  hundred  and  nine  acres  of  land  in  Greenwich 
township,  Sussex,  now  Warren  county,  which  Johannes  had  pur- 
chased of  John  F.  Garrits  in  1747.  It  will  be  remembered  that 
in  1758  one  hundred  and  eighty-one  acres  of  this  purchase 
were  conveyed  to  Gottfried  Moelich.  At  any  rate,  this  is 
where  Andrew  settled  on  leaving  the  homestead,  and  he  con- 
tinued to  be  a  resident  of  that  township  until  his  death  in  1820. 
On  the  fourth  of  July,  1776,  he  received  a  commission  as 
captain  in  the  1st  Regiment,  Sussex  militia,  commanded  by 
Colonel,  afterwards  General,  William  Maxwell,  and  throughout 
the  war  was  active  in  the  service  of  his  country. 

In  the  year  1769  Andrew  was  prominently  connected  with  form- 
ing the  congregation  of  St.  James  Lutheran  church.  Its  first  edifice 
was  erected  at  the  close  of  that  year  about  three  miles  fi-om  Phil- 
lipsburg,  on  the  road  leading  to  Springtown.  It  was  built  of  logs, 
with  a  breadth  of  thirty  by  a  length  of  forty  feet,  having  a  straw 
thatched  roof,  from  which  comes  its  present  name,  "  Straw 
Church."  This  primitive  structure  made  way  in  1790  for  a 
larger  stone  edifice,  which  was  followed  in  182-4  by  the  brick 
building  now  in  use.  The  old  records  of  this  congregation,  which 
begin  with  the  year  1770,  name  as  pastors,  Christian  Streit 
and  Peter  Muhlenberg.  The  latter  was  at  that  time  the  resi- 
dent clergyman  of  Zion  Lutheran  church  at  New  Germantown, 
Hunterdon  county,  and  for  the  congregation  of  this  "  Straw 
Church,"  probably  acted  as  supervising  rector.  This  was  the 
same  Peter  Muhlenberg  who  afterwards  became  famous  as  the 
Revolutionary  general.  Christian  Streit  was  also  the  pastor  of  a 
Lutheran  church  at  Easton.  The  records  of  St.  James'  show 
Andrew  to  have  been  continuously  a  communicant,  and  for  many 
years  an  elder  and  warden.  Upon  the  pages  of  its  old  church  book 
are  also  recorded  the  baptism  of  four  of  his  children,  the  first 
having  been  Catarina,  who  was  born  on  the  fourth  of  April,  1770, 
and  baptised  on  the  third  of  June.  In  the  graveyard  of  this 
church,  surrounded  by  his  wife,  children,  and  many  of  his 
descendants,  Andrew  lies  buried.  His  crumbling  tombstone  bears 
the  following  inscription  : 


20 


306  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

In  Memory  of 

CAPTAIN  ANDREW  MELICK.* 

Who  was  born  December  24,  1729,  and  departed  this  life  June  29,  1820, 

Aged  90  years,  6  months  and  5  days. 

Beneath  this  earth  the  remains 
Of  an  old  and  respected  fellow 
Citizen  reposes.     Stranger  pause  and 
Contemplate  the  frailties  to 
Which  human  nature  is  exposed. 
And  ere  you  leave  this  spot  learn 
To  know  and  feel  that  man  is  dust 
And  to  dust  must  return. 

His  wife  Catharine,  who  died  on  the  twenty-ninth  of  October, 
1804,  in  the  sixty-fourth  year  of  her  age,  has  the  following 
verse  upon  her  gravestone  : 

Rest  gentle  corpse  beneath  this  clay. 
Now  time  has  swept  your  cares  away, 
For  surely  now  all  troubles  cease 
While  in  the  grave  you  rest  in  peace. 

At  the  breaking  out  of  the  Revolution  Aaron  was  beyond  the 
age  required  by  the  acts  of  provincial  congress  for  serving  in 
the  militia.  As  has  already  been  shown  he  was  a  member  of 
the  Bedminster  committee  of  observation  and  inspection,  and 
furnished  the  sinews  of  war.  He  did  more  than  this ;  he 
buckled  the  armor  on  his  oldest  son  John,  then  a  lad  of  but 
eighteen,  and  sent  him  off  with  his  blessing  to  fight  the  battles 
of  his  country.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  our  knowledge  of 
John's  Revolutionary  services  is  not  more  complete  in  its  details. 
In  General  William  S.  Stryker's  "  Roster  of  the  Men  of  New 
Jersey  in  the  Revolution,"  published  by  authority  of  the  state, 
he  appears  as  a  private  in  Captain  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company  of 
the  1st  Battalion,  Somerset  militia,  and  also  as  a  private  in  one 
of  the  New  Jersey  regiments  of  the  continental  line. 

At  the  outset  of  the  war  this  1st  Battalion  was  commanded 
by  William  Alexander — known  to  history  as  Lord  Stirling ;  a 
son  of  Somerset  in  whose  Revolutionary  record  the  people  of  the 
county  justly  take  much  pride.  While  in  England  in  1756  he 
laid  claim  to  the  earldom  of  Stirling,  which   had  been   in    abey- 

*  Although  Andrew's  name  appears  on  his  tombstone  "  Melick,"  throughout 
life  he  generally  spelled  it  "  Malick,"  and  it  was  so  written  on  the  muster-rolls 
of  the  1st  Sussex  Battalion. 


LoKD  Stirling's  Recohd.  307 

ance  for  a  number  of  years.  Although  successful  in  establishino- 
a  direct  descent,  the  house  of  peers,  before  whom  his  claim  went 
for  final  adjudication,  decided  against  him.  The  title,  however, 
seems  to  have  been  allowed,  in  this  country  at  least,  by  courtesy. 
Washington,  in  his  corresjiondence,  invariably  addressed  him  as 
"  My  Lord,"  and  always  spoke  of  him  as  "  his  lordship."  On  his 
return  to  America  in  1761,  he  settled  at  Basking  Ridge  on  the 
estate,  as  has  been  shown  in  a  previous  chapter,  that  had  been 
acquired  by  his  father,  James  Alexander.  Here  he  made 
improvements  which  for  taste  and  expense  were  much  greater 
than  anything  of  the  kind  ever  attempted  in  the  province.  His 
grounds  were  laid  out  in  the  manner  of  an  English  park,  and  the 
spacious  mansion  possessed  all  the  characteristics  of  a  gentle- 
man's seat  in  the  old  country.  This  large  dwelling,  together 
with  its  connecting  offices,  stables,  and  coach-houses,  were  orna- 
mented with  cupolas  and  gilded  vanes,  and  surrounded  a  paved 
court  or  quadrangle.  There  was  a  grand  hall  and  an  imposing 
drawing  room,  with  richly  decorated  walls  and  stuccoed  ceilings. 
Jones,  the  tory  historian,  who,  of  course,  bore  Lord  Stirling 
no  love,  states  that  while  living  here  "  he  cut  a  splendid  figure, 
he  having  brought  with  him  from  England,  horses,  carriages,  a 
coachman,  valet,  butler,  cook,  steward,  hair-dresser  and  a  mis- 
tress." Here  this  American  nobleman  lived  the  life  of  a  country 
gentleman  of  fortune;  he  rode  in  a  great  coach  with  gilded  panels 
emblazoned  with  coronets  and  medallions,  and  altogether  affected 
a  style  and  splendor  probably  imequalled  in  the  colonies.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  king's  council,  a  colonel  in  the  militia,  and 
was  naturally  the  most  conspicuous  figure  in  the  county. 

At  the  first  sign  of  a  severance  of  the  relations  between  the 
colonies  and  the  home  government,  Lord  Stirling  warmly 
espoused  the  popidar  cause,  and  throughout  the  war,  as  is  well 
known,  proved  himself  a  stanch  patriot,  and  a  soldier  brave  to 
rashness.  On  the  thirteenth  of  October,  1775,  the  provincial 
congress  of  New  Jersey,  acquiescing  in  a  recommendation  of 
continental  congress,  organized  two  battalions,  consisting  of 
eight  companies  of  sixty-eight  privates  each.  This  was  the  first 
call  on  New  Jersey,  and,  together  with  a  third  battalion  organized 
in  February,  1776,  it  was  known  as  the  "First  Establishment" 
of  troops  fi-om  the   colony  for  the  continental  army.     The  men 


308  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

were  enlisted  for  one  year,  and  Lord  Stirling  was  commissioned 
as  colonel  of  the  Ist  Battalion.  All  readers  of  history  are  fam- 
iliar with  his  subsequent  career.  He  was  soon  promoted  to  be  a 
brigadier-general  and  fought  stubbornly  at  the  battle  of  Long 
Island,  where  he  finally  was  captured  by  the  enemy.  Having 
been  exchanged  for  the  governor  of  Florida,  at  the  battle  of  Tren- 
ton his  brigade  opened  the  fight.  For  his  distinguished  services 
he  was  elevated  to  the  rank  of  major-general,  and  as  such,  in 
1777,  we  find  him  fighting  with  Washington  at  the  bloody  battle 
of  Braudywine.  The  next  year,  he  it  was  who,  at  the  most  crit- 
ical time  on  the  field  of  Monmouth,  so  effectively  handled  his 
artillery  as  to  dismay  and  check  the  British,  while  at  the  same 
time  exciting  their  surprise  and  admiration.  So,  throughout  the 
war,  he  was  ever  conspicuous  among  the  leading  and  most  noted 
of  the  Revolutionary  generals.  His  appearance  was  imposing, 
and  it  has  been  said  that,  next  to  Washington,  he  possessed  the 
most  mai'tial  presence  of  any  commander  in  the  army.  Lord 
Stirling  never  returned  to  his  home  amid  the  New  Jersey  hills. 
He  died  in  1784  at  Albany,  New  York,  while  in  command  of  the 
"  Northern  Department." 

When  Colonel  Alexander  was  transferred  from  the  militia  to 
the  continental  line,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Stephen  Hunt  was 
promoted  to  the  command  of  the  1st  Somerset  Battalion.  The 
acquaintance  of  Hunt  we  have  already  made  as  the  owner  of  the 
mills  adjoining  the  "  Old  Farm"  on  the  opposite  side  of  Peapack 
brook.  He  wiU  also  be  remembered  as  a  member  of  the  com- 
mittee of  observation  and  inspection  with  Aaron  Malick.  That 
John  Malick  should  have  enrolled  himself  in  this  regiment  can- 
not be  charged  to  any  special  spasm  of  patriotic  virtue.  He  had 
no  choice.  As  early  as  the  third  of  June,  1777,  the  provincial 
congress  declared  that  the  time  had  come  for  the  people  of  the 
province  to  arm  for  defence.  On  that  date,  and  in  August  and 
October  of  the  same  year,  acts  were  passed  making  it  obligatory 
on  all  citizens,  between  the  ages  of  sixteen  and  fifty,  to  enroll 
themselves  into  militia  companies  that  the  several  committees  of 
safety  were  directed  to  form.  These  companies  were  then 
embodied  into  regiments  which  were  distributed  throughout  the 
state,  Somerset's  quota  being  two.  Each  man  was  obliged  to 
furnish  himself  with  a  "good  musket  or  firelock,  and  bayonet, 


New  Jersey  Mini'te-Men.  309 

sword  or  tomahawk,  a  steel  ramrod,  worm,  priming-wire  and 
brush  fitted  thereto,  a  cartridge-box  to  contain  twenty-three 
rounds  of  cartridge,  twelve  flints,  and  a  knapsack."  Militiamen 
were  also  required  to  keep  in  readiness  at  home  one  pound  of 
powder  and  three  pounds  of  bullets.  The  only  men  of  proper 
age  who  could  avoid  militia  service  were  those  employed  by  the 
province,  or  who  were  occupied  in  the  manufacture  of  government 
supplies.  Of  course,  there  were  instances  of  individuals  of  cow- 
ardly nature  or  weak  patriotism  who  were  glad  to  take  advantage 
of  this  exemption  and  seek  such  employment.  In  March,  1778, 
the  Hibernia  furnace  in  Morris  county  was  engaged  in  produc- 
ing shot  and  shell,  and  consequentl}'  offered  itself  to  such  persons 
as  a  city  of  refuge.  The  superintendent  of  the  works,  in  speak- 
of  the  exemption  of  his  employes,  thus  wrote  to  his  principal, 
Lord  Stirling  : — 

My  Lord,  tliis  is  the  only  thing  that  induces  the  greater  i)art  of  tlie  men  to 
work  here,  as  they  are  farmers  and  have  left  their  farms  and  come  here  solely  to 
be  clear  of  the  militia  and  from  no  other  motive.  I  find  they  are  determined  to 
shuffle  the  time  away  they  are  exempt  and  do  as  little  business  as  they  possibly 
can.  Could  not  your  Lordship  send  us  some  of  the  Regular  and  Hessian  desert- 
ers ?     I  will  do  my  endeavour  to  make  thirty  or  forty  of  them  serviceable. 

The  militia  law  of  August,  1775,  in  compliance  wnth  the  rec- 
ommendation of  continental  congress,  authorized  the  raising 
of  minute-men ;  Somerset  furnished  four  companies  formetJ 
in  one  battalion.  They  were  uniformed  in  hunting  shirts,  took 
precedence  over  other  militia,  and  were  required  to  be  in  con- 
stant readiness  to  march  to  any  point  for  the  defence  of  New 
Jersey  or  a  neighboring  colony.  So  many  of  the  minute-men 
joined  the  continental  army — as  it  was  their  privilege  to  do — that 
the  battalions  became  much  reduced,  and  before  the  first  of 
March,  1776,  they  were  disbanded  and  incorporated  in  the 
militia.  The  first  service  that  the  Somerset  troops  were  called 
upon  to  perform  was  in  answer  to  an  application  of  the  New 
York  committee  of  safety  for  a  force  to  aid  in  suppressing  tories 
on  Long  Island.  Seven  hundred  militiamen  were  consequently 
ordered  to  march  under  field  officers  Colonel  Nathaniel  Heard, 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Edward  Thomas,  and  Major  John  Dunn. 
Of  this  command  one  hundred  were  minute-men  from  Somerset, 
and  there  are  reasons  to  believe  that  John  Malick  was  among  the 
number.     The   battalion  marched  from  Woodbridge  on  the  sev- 


310  The  Stoky  of  an  Old  Farm. 

enteenth  of  January.  On  reaching  Manhattan  Island  they  were 
reinforced  by  three  hundred  men,  among  whom  was  a  New  York 
city  vohinteer  organization,  which,  it  is  said,  was  composed  of 
the  most  abandoned  of  the  population.  This  reinforcement  was 
under  the  command  of  Major  De  Hart  of  New  Jersey,  and  on  the 
twenty-ninth  instant  the  combined  forces  crossed  to  Long  Island 
and  proceeded  at  once  on  the  object  of  the  mission,  which  was 
the  apprehension  of  violent  loyalists,  and  the  disarming  of  the 
disaffected  of  the  inhabitants.  The  political  aspect  of  affairs  on 
the  western  end  of  Long  Island  was  very  different  from  that  of 
its  neighbors,  patriotic  New  England,  New  Jersey,  and  the  rest 
of  New  York.  Loyalty  and  rebellion  blended,  the  balance  of 
power,  before  the  arrival  of  troops,  being  largely  in  favor  of  the 
former.  The  rich  aristocrats,  and  the  phlegmatic  Dutch  who 
were  also  well-to-do,  were  averse  to  distui-bing  the  peace  and 
order  of  the  communities.  This  was  especially  so  in  Queen's 
comity,  which  was  largely  tory,  and  the  county  of  King's  was 
almost  equally  reluctant  to  show  its  influence  on  the  side  of  the 
Revolutionary  movement. 

The  march  of  this  invading  force  through  these  two  counties 
spread  dismay  among  the  inhabitants.  Colonel  Heard  was  well 
fitted  for  his  ungrateful  mission,  and  was  indefatigable  in  pursuit 
of  the  objects  of  the  movement.  So  far  as  lay  in  his  power  he 
treated  friend  and  foe  with  civility  and  kindness.  He  found  it 
difficidt,  however,  to  control  his  auxiliary  force,  especially 
the  company  from  New  York  city ;  their  excesses  caused  him 
much  pain  ;  and  acrimony  and  bitterness  were  engendered  among 
the  residents  of  the  island  against  the  military  representatives  of 
the  colonists.  To  quote  from  the  "  Collections  of  the  Long  Island 
Historical  Society  ": — 

So  flagrant  and  scandalous  were  many  of  the  outrages  perpetrated  by  De  Hart's 
force  that  the  officers  of  the  minute-men,  who  had  doubtless  been  chosen  agreea- 
bly to  the  orders  of  Congress  as  prudent  and  discreet  men,  were  shocked  at  their 
license  and  longed  to  be  rid  of  their  disorderly  companions.  The  minute-men  of 
New  Jersey  were  respectable  farmers  and  tradesmen,  heads  of  families  in  many 
instances ;  and  these  humane  men  scorned  the  petty  plunder  which  the  others 
appropriated,  as  much  as  they  commiserated  the  distress  of  which  they  were  com- 
pelled to  be  the  authors. 

The  above  quotation  is  a  fair  example  of  the  many  warm 
tributes    found    in    Revolutionary    literature     to    the  yeomanry 


A  Tribute  To  Jkksey  Militiamen.  311 

of  OUT  state.  In  them  was  a  military  force,  unique  in  the  history 
of  warfare.  Far  be  it  from  mc  to  decry  the  inestimable  services 
of  the  men  of  the  continental  line — their  bones  lie  under  the 
sods  of  too  many  well-fought  battle-fields.  But  the  New  Jersey 
militiamen  stand  as  distinct  figures  on  the  Revolutionary  canvas, 
and  their  praises  cannot  be  too  often  or  too  loudly  sung.  They 
well  deserved  the  liberty  for  which  they  fought,  and  the 
remembrance  of  the  self-sacrifice  with  which  they  exerted  them- 
selves in  behalf  of  freedom  and  independence  is  a  heritage  dearly 
prized  by  their  descendants,  who  now  enjoy  all  the  blessings 
that  flow  from  their  valuable  services.  It  must  be  acknowledged 
that  for  a  short  sixty  days,  or  maybe  forty,  at  the  close  of  the 
year  1776,  they  faltered  in  their  faith,  and,  discouraged  by  the 
fearful  adversities  of  the  hour,  many  were  inclined  to  abandon 
the  cause,  and  seek  protection  for  their  homes  and  families  from 
a  victorious  enemy.  But  it  was  a  temporary  disaffection.  They 
soon  learned  to  detest  the  promises  of  the  invader,  and,  angered 
by  the  outrageous  injuries  visited  on  them  by  the  British, 
they  resumed  their  arms.  Henceforth  the  militia  of  the 
Jerseys  stood  pre-eminent  among  the  defenders  of  the  liberties 
of  the  people.  As  was  written  at  the  time  by  one  who,  though 
not  a  resident  of  the  state,  was  a  witness  of  and  a  participant  in 
their  glorious  achievements  : — 

They  hovered  around  the  enemy  and  liarnissed  Iiim  beyond  liis  stationary 
guards;  the  .aged  watched,  explored,  designed — tlie  youth,  alert,  courageous,  and 
ever  ready  for  the  outset,  planted  a  hedge  of  pickets  in  General  Washington's 
front  to  abate  his  painful  solicitudes,  to  conceal  liis  nakedness,  and  support  the 
Revolution  during  a  period  in  which  a  second  army  was  totally  disbanded  and  a 
third  levied  under  the  eyes  of  a  British  commander. 

On  this  head  we  also  have  the  testimony  of  Washington.  In 
a  letter  written  to  the  Pennsylvania  legislature  in  October,  1777, 
he  says : — 

The  exertions  of  the  New  Jersey  militia  have  kept  the  enemy  out  of  lier 
limits,  except  now  and  then  a  hasty  descent,  without  a  continental  regiment. 
Besides  doing  this,  she  has  sent,  and  is  now  sending  reinforcements  to  this  and 
the  northern  army. 

John  Hancock,  too,  writing  in  September  of  the  same  year  to 
Governor  Livingston,  testifies  : — 

The  militia  by  their  late  conduct  against  our  cruel  enemies  have  distinguished 
themselves  in  a  manner  tlliit  does  them  the  greatest  honor,  and  I  am  persuaded 


312  '        The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

they  will  continue  to  merit,  on  all  occasions   when  called   upon,  the   reputation 
they  have  so  justly  acquired. 

In  August,  1776,  the  militia  was  divided  into  two  divisions — 
that  is,  every  organization  was  divided  into  two  parts.  One  was 
ordered  to  report  immediately  to  General  Washington  for  one 
month's  tour  of  duty,  as  it  was  termed  ;  the  other  was  required 
to  be  in  readiness  to  relieve  the  first.  In  this  manner,  until  the 
close  of  the  war,  the  two  divisions  did  alternate  and  valiant  ser- 
vice, acting  with  the  continental  army  at  the  battles  of  Long 
Island,  Assunpink,  Princeton,  Germantown,  Springiield  and 
Monmouth.  They  also,  when  not  on  a  tour  of  duty,  were  fre- 
quently called  upon  to  defend  their  homes  and  communities,  and 
performed  a  distinguished  part  in  the  fights  and  skirmishes 
known  as  Quinton's  Bridge,  Hancock's  Bridge,  Three  Rivers, 
Connecticut  Farms  and  Van  Nest's  Mills  (Weston). 

Although  early  in  1776  campaigns  were  being  prosecuted  in 
the  North  and  South,  the  main  theatre  of  war  continued  to  be  in 
the  East.  But  in  April  it  was  transferred  to  New  York.  Too 
soon  the  scene  will  again  be  shifted — the  next  time  to  the  west 
side  of  the  Hudson  River,  for  New  Jersey  was  yet  that  year  to 
know  the  martial  sound  of  trumpets,  to  grow  familiar  with  the 
tread  of  armies,  and  to  feel  the  dread  stroke  of  war.  On  the 
seventeenth  of  March  the  British  acknowledged  the  sujierior 
generalship  of  Washington  by  evacuating  Boston,  embarking  in 
their  fleet  and  sailing  away  for  Halifax.  As  the  commander-in- 
chief  felt  confident  that  the  ultimate  design  of  the  enemy  was  to 
attack  New  York,  he  decided  to  make  that  city  his  base  of 
operations,  and  consequently  marched  with  his  army  to  Manhat- 
tan Island.  On  the  ninth  of  July  the  fleet  from  Halifax  passed 
inside  of  the  Hook.  A  few  days  later  Sir  Henry  Clinton  with 
three  thousand  men  arrived  on  Sir  Peter  Parker's  battered 
squadron  that  had  just  returned  from  the  misfortunes  of  Charles- 
ton. Almost  daily  thereafter  ships  crossed  the  bar  laden  with 
troops,  until  on  the  twelfth  of  August  eighty-two  transports  and 
six  men-of-war  arrived,  bearing  a  final  contingent  of  nearly  eight 
thousand  Hessians  and  one  thousand  English  guards.  At  this 
time  New  Y''ork  bay  and  its  vicinity  presented  a  maritime  scene 
unequalled  before  or  since.  Almost  its  entire  surface  was  cov- 
ered   by    ships,  attended  by   innumerable   galleys,  bateaux  and 


Battle  ok  Long  Island.  315 

small  boats.  Thirty-seven  men-of-war  guarded  four  hundred 
transports,  which  had  brought  to  America  thirty-five  thousand 
soldiers  and  sailors,  together  with  artisans,  servants,  trains  of 
artillery,  and  all  the  necessary  horses,  provisions,  and  munitions 
of  war  for  that  great  body  of  men. 

During  the  summer  the  country  was  in  a  painful  tension.  The 
sense  of  the  great  struggle  so  surely  impending  was  uppermost 
in  every  one's  mind.  On  the  third  of  June  the  continental 
congress  called  upon  the  colonies  for  thirteen  thousand  eight 
hundred  militia  to  re-inforce  the  army  at  New  York.  New  Jer- 
sey was  required  to  furnish  thirty-three  hundred  men,  and 
eleven  days  thereafter  the  provincial  congress  ordered  that  the 
force  be  raised  to  serve  until  the  first  of  December,  and  to  be 
formed  of  five  battalions,  composed  of  eight  companies  of  seventy- 
eight  men  each,  One  of  these  battalions  contained  three  com- 
panies from  Somerset  and  five  from  Hunterdon,  its  field  otficers 
being  Colonel  Stephen  Hunt,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Philip  Johns- 
ton and  Major  Joseph  Phillips ;  Hunt  became  disabled,  and 
resigned  on  the  thirteenth  of  July,  when  the  lieutenant-colonel 
was  promoted.  Colonel  Johnston  was  subserpiently  killed  at  the 
battle  of  Long  Island,  and  was  succeeded  by  Major  Phillips,  Cap- 
tain Piatt  Bayles  being  promoted  to  major.  When  this  command 
marched  away,  John  Malick  carried  a  musket  in  its  ranks.  The 
five  battalions  were  brigaded  under  Colonel  Nathaniel  Heard, 
who  was  promoted  to  be  a  brigadier-general.  His  brigade 
formed  a  part  of  Washington's  army,  which  on  the  eighth  of 
August  was  composed  of  seventeen  thousand  two  hundred  and 
twenty-five  men,  mostly  raw  troops,  of  whom  thirty-six  himdred 
and  fifty-eight  were  sick  and  unfit  for  dut}^  Of  this  force  eight 
thousand  lay  on  Long  Island  between  Bedford  and  the  East 
river,  the  rest  on  Manhattan  Island,  the  line  extending  as  far 
as  King's  Bridge,  the  extreme  points  being  seventeen  miles 
apart.  The  command  with  which  John  Malick  was  connected 
was  on  Long  Island. 

On  the  twenty-seventh  of  August  this  little  army  of  poorly 
armed,  undisciplined  militia,  that  was  stretched  thinly  along  an 
extended  line  south  of  Brooklyn,  received  the  shock  of  a  vast, 
thoroughly-equipped  body  of  British  and  Hessian  soldiers,  sup- 
ported by  a  great  fieet.  Defeat  was  almost  a  foregone  conclusion  ; 


314  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

in  the  liii;ht  of  subsequent  knowledge  it  seems  extraordinary  that 
the  American  army  was  not  entirely  annihilated.  The  total 
loss  of  the  enemy  was  three  hundred  and  sixty-seven  men,  of 
whom  but  twenty  were  killed,  tive  being  officers.  The  esti- 
mated loss  of  the  Americans  in  killed,  wounded  and  prisoners 
was  two  thousand,  among  the  latter  being  Grenerals  Sullivan  and 
Lord  Stirling,  and  one  who  served  his  country  with  equal  ardor  on 
that  day,  though  in  the  more  humble  position  of  the  bearer  of  a 
flint-lock — John  Malick. 

Included  among  the  dead  was  Colonel  Philip  Johnston,  the 
commandant  of  the  provisional  battalion  to  which  the  Somerset 
companies  were  attached.  At  a  critical  period  of  the  battle  his 
command  occupied  the  right  and  centre  of  Sullivan's  advance 
line  at  the  redoubt  at  Flatbush  pass.  Here  our  Jersey  soldiers 
made  a  heroic  stand  against  Colonel  von  Donop's  force  of  German 
yagers,  riflemen  and  grenadiers.  In  the  heat  of  the  action  a 
musket  ball  tore  its  way  into  the  heart  and  ended  the  life  of  Col- 
onel Johnston.  So  perished,  just  thirty-five  years  to  a  day  from 
the  date  of  his  birth,  a  gallant  officer,  and  one  of  the  first  to  fall 
in  the  service  of  the  new  state.  He  was  the  son  of  Philip  John- 
ston, who  lived  in  a  large  stone  mansion  at  Sydney  in  Hunterdon 
county,  in  which  house  the  younger  Philip  was  born  in  1741. 
The  colonel  had  acquired  a  military  reputation  before  the  Revo- 
lution, having  gained  credit  as  a  brave  soldier  while  serving  with 
the  New  Jersey  battalion  in  the  French  war.  His  behavior  at 
the  engagement  on  Long  Island  was  most  marked.  General 
Sullivan,  who  witnessed  his  spirited  conduct  and  death,  said  of 
him  :  "  No  officer  could  have  behaved  with  greater  firmness  and 
bravery ;"  and  General  Jeremiah  Johnson  characterized  him  as 
being  as  gallant  an  officer  as  ever  commanded  a  battalion,  and 
declared  his  conduct  on  Long  Island  to  have  been  remarkable 
for  intrepidity  and  heroism.  Colonel  Johnston  was  a  fighter  by 
heredity,  as  his  family  was  descended  from  an  ancient  barony  in 
Anandale,  Scotland,  which  in  early  days  was  a  warlike  clan  and 
a  great  terror  to  border  thieves.  Like  many  brave  soldiers  the 
colonel  was  a  warm  friend,  and  a  tender,  loving  husband  and 
father.  It  is  recorded  that  in  1776  when  he  was  leaving  home 
for  the  front  he  went  into  the  room  where  his  three  little  chil- 
dren were  in  bed,  and,  kissing  them   farewell,  knelt   down  and 


Battle  of  Long  Isi^nd.  315 

commended  his  family  to  God  in  prayer.  One  of  those  children, 
Mary,  became  the  wife  of  Joseph  Sciidder,  and  was  the  mother 
of  Doctor  John  Scudder,  the  world-renowned  missionary  to  India. 
It  is  not  within  the  province  of  this  work  to  narrate  the  details 
of  the  battle  of  Long  Island.  When  the  relative  condition 
of  the  two  armies  is  considered,  that  it  should  have  resulted 
in  so  dire  a  disaster  is  readily  to  be  seen  was  inevitable. 
George  Collier,  commander  of  "His  Majesty's  Ship  Rainbow, 
forty-four  guns,"  in  a  letter  to  England,  thus  wrote  of  the  calibre 
of  the  opposing  forces.  While  not  endorsing  the  sentiment  or 
the  conclusion  of  the  extract,  we  may  value  the  information  as 
the  evidence  of  an  eye-witness,  and  esteem  it  the  greater  because 
written  after  the  engagement  by  an  enemy  who,  naturally,  would 
not  desire  to  rob  the  victors  of  any  of  their  laurels  by  unduly 
belittling  the  strength  and  effectiveness  of  their  opponents  : — 

Mr.  Washington  of  Virginia,  who  had  formerly  served  in  the  last  war  against 
the  French,  had  tlie  chief  command  of  the  rebel  army  and  took  upon  himself  the 
title  of  General.  The  utmost  of  his  collective  force  did  not  amount  to  sixteen 
thousand  men,  all  of  whom  were  undisciplined,  unused  to  war,  wanting  in  clothing 
and  even  necessaries,  and  very  ill  provided  with  artillery  and  ammunition.  His 
officers  were  tradesmen  of  diHerent  professions,  totally  unacquainted  with  disci- 
pline, and  consequently  utterly  unskilled  in  the  art  of  war. 

The  writer  then  goes  on  to  speak  of  the  English  army  : — 

General  Howe  had  now  the  satisfaction  of  finding  himself  at  the  head  of  full 
twenty-four  thousand  tine  troops,  most  completely  furnished  and  appointed,  com- 
manded by  tlie  ablest  and  best  officers  in  the  world,  and  having  a  more  numerous 
artillery  than  liad  ever  before  been  sent  from  England.  Such  wait  the  exact 
state  of  both  arms  before  any  operation  was  undertaken.  Justice  on  the  royal 
side  and  treason  on  the  other  made  the  balance  still  more  unequal. 

•Another  foreign  officer  who  participated  in  the  battle — Col- 
onel Von  Heeringen  of  a  Hessian  regiment — also  thus  wrote  as 
to  the  American  soldiers  : — 

No  regiment  is  properly  dressed  or  armed,  every  one  has  a  common  musket 
like  those  wliich  citizens  use  in  Hessia  when  they  march  out  of  town  on  Whit- 
suntide, with  the  exception  of  one  of  Stirling's  regiments  that  was  dressed  in 
blue  and  red  and  consisted  of  three  battalions,  for  the  most  part  Germans  enlisted 
in  Pennsylvania.  They  were  tall  Hne  fellows,  and  c;irried  beautiful  English 
muskets  with  bayonets. 

John  Malick's  campaigning  for  the  time-being  was  at  an  end. 
A  few  days  later  he  was  taken  over  to  New  York  and  delivered 
with   many  other   prisoners   to   the   tender   mercies   of  Provost- 


316  The  Story  of  ax  Old  Farm. 

Marshal  Cunningham,  of  infamous  memory.  He  was  thrown  into 
one  of  the  New  York  sugar-houses,  and  his  sufferings  in  that 
pest-prison  can  better  be  imagined  than  described.  Lieutenant 
Robert  Troup  of  the  Long  Island  militia,  in  an  affidavit  made 
before  Governeiir  Morris,  gives  a  distressing  account  of  the  treat- 
ment of  himself  and  other  prisoners  taken  at  the  battle  of  Long 
Island,  and  ])laced  in  charge  of  the  provost.  They  were  allowed 
no  fuel,  and  the  provisions  were  so  scanty  and  of  such  an  inferior 
quality  that,  as  he  expressed  it : — 

He  dotli  verilv  believe  that  most  of  tliem  would  have  died  if  they  had  not  been 
supported  by  the  kindness  of  some  poor  persons  and  common  prostitutes  who 
took  pity  on  their  miserable  situation  and  alleviated  it. 

There  were  three  sugar-houses  at  this  time  in  use  as  prisons; 
Rhinelander's,  on  the  corner  of  William  and  Duane  streets  ;  Van 
Courtlandt's,  on  the  northwest  comer  of  Trinity  churchyard  and 
Thames  street ;  and  a  third,  the  most  noted,  a  five-storey 
stone  building  which  stood  a  few  feet  east  of  the  Middle  Dutch 
church,  at  what  is  now  numbers  thirty-four  and  thirty-six 
Liberty  street.  During  the  faU  and  winter  thousands  of  per- 
sons were  incarcerated  in  these  sugar-houses,  and  the  unfortu- 
nates suffered  great  hardships  because  of  overcrowding,  filth,  and 
disease.  AU  persons  of  humanity  were  outraged  by  the  treat- 
ment of  the  prisoners.  Their  rations  were  of  the  worst  possible 
character,  and  when  winter  came  many  perished  with  the  cold, 
they  being  provided  with  neither  fire  nor  covering.  So.  great 
were  their  sufferings  that  fifteen  himdred  died.  The  dead  were 
dragged  from  their  prisons,  and  piled  up  outside  the  doors  till 
there  were  enough  to  make  a  load.  They  were  then  carted 
away  to  the  Potters'  Field,  tumbled  helter-skelter  in  a  great 
trench,  and  but  partially  covered  with  earth.  The  miseries 
endured  by  the  prisoners  were  made  much  greater  by  the 
inhumanity  of  their  jailor,  Provost-Marshal  Cunningham.  The 
name  of  this  man  will  go  down  through  the  ages  as  one  to  be 
execrated  by  all  lovers  of  humanity.  Not  content  with  the 
physical  sufferings  he  was  enabled  to  heap  upon  those  in  his 
charge,  he  did  not  hesitate  to  add  the  most  terrible  mental  afflic- 
tions. It  was  his  delight  to  torture  the  minds  of  special 
prisoners  by  announcing  that  on  a  certain  day  they  were  to  be 
hanged.     He  it  was  who,  on  the  twenty-second  of  September  of 


Provost-Marshal  Cunningham.  317 

this  year,  executed  with  unnecessary  brutality  young  Nathan 
Hale,  the  "  patriot  spy,"  whose  last  words  were  "  I  only  regret 
that  I  have  but  one  life  to  lose  for  my  country."  In  conducting 
this  execution  the  provost  acted  in  a  most  unfeeling  manner. 
The  brave  captain  was  hanged  from  an  apple  tree  in  Colonel 
Rutgers'  orchard,  near  where  now  Market  street  and  East  Broad- 
way intersect.  He  was  surroimded  by  spectators  who  were 
indignant  at  Cunningham's  brutality,  the  women  giving  loud 
sobs  in  their  sympathy  for  the  sufferer.  Notwithstanding  Hale's 
appeals  he  was  denied  the  services  of  a  clergyman ;  and  even  a 
Bible,  for  a  moments'  devotion,  was  refused  him.  The  provost 
destroyed  letters  that  the  sufferer  left  for  his  mother  and  friends, 
under  the  plea  that  it  would  not  do  to  let  the  rebels  know  there 
was  a  man  in  their  army  who  could  die  with  so  much  firmness. 
For  the  benefit  of  those  who  take  comfort  in  compensations  it  may 
be  well  to  state  that  this  same  Captain  Cunningham  was  hanged 
in  London  in  1791  for  forgery.  In  his  dying  confession  he 
acknowledged  that  when  provost  in  New  York  he  had  executed 
many  prisoners  on  his  own  responsibility,  and  without  trial. 
How  long  John  Malick  remained  in  the  clutches  of  this  monster 
is  unknown.  Tradition  speaks  of  his  having  been  taken  from 
prison  by  a  British  general  whom  he  was  forced  to  serve  until 
included  in  a  cartel.  When  finally  exchanged  he  enlisted  in  the 
continental  line,  but  of  his  additional  Revolutionary  record 
nothing  has  been  preserved. 

Our  future  interest  in  the  American  army  lies  in  its  experi- 
ences on  New  Jersey  soil.  We  may  therefore  pass  over  Wash- 
ington's masterly  retreat  from  Long  Island  under  the  cover  of  a 
dense  fog;  the  evacuation  of  New  York  city  ;  the  successful  stand 
made  by  the  continental  army  at  Harlem  ;  the  indecisive  action 
at  White  Plains  on  the  twenty-eighth  of  October ;  and  the  fall  of 
Fort  Washington  on  the  sixteenth  of  November,  which  may  be 
considered  the  greatest  disaster  that  befell  the  American  arms 
during  the  war.  Before  the  latter  catastrophe  the  main  British 
army  had  moved  to  the  east  side  of  the  Hudson,  in  the  vicinity 
of  Dobb's  Ferry.  Washington,  feeling  uncertain  as  to  the 
designs  of  the  enemy,  dispatched  Heath  to  PeekskUl  with 
three  thousand  men  to  guard  the  approaches  to  the  High- 
lands,   and    leaving    Lee    with    over    five    thousand    men    at 


318 


The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 


Northcastle,  crossed  the  Hudson  with  what  was  left  of  the 
artuy,  and  encamped  in  the  vicinity  of  Hackensack.  Gen- 
eral Greene  was  already  in  New  Jersey  with  a  considerable 
force,  garrisoning  Fort  Lee,  immediately  opposite  Fort  Wash- 
ington. 


CHAPTER     XXIII. 

The   British  in  New  Jersey — Washington's  Retreat  to  the  Dela- 
ware— General  Lee  in  Somerset. 

Now  commences  New  Jersey's  bitter  experience  of  the 
war.  On  the  nineteenth  of  November  Cornwallis's  army,  six 
thousand  strong,  crossed  the  Hudson  in  two  hundred  boats, 
and  scaling  the  precipitous  heights  of  the  Palisades  at  old 
"  Closter  Landing,"  the  scarlet-coated  column  with  bristling 
bayonets  moved  rapidly  on  Fort  Lee.  This  was  not  the  tirst 
appearance  of  the  foe  in  the  state.  Soon  after  the  arrival  of  the 
Bi'itish  in  the  harbor  of  New  York  a  detachment  was  landed  on 
Constable's  Hook,  which  place  was  occupied  for  some  time. 
The  necessity  was  occasioned  by  the  presence  of  General 
Mercer's  "  Flying  Camp  "  on  Bergen  Neck,  the  English  fearing 
that  the  Americans  might  prove  annoying  to  the  fleet,  as  some  of 
the  vessels  lay  close  to  the  shore  at  the  mouth  of  the  Kills. 

On  the  approach  of  Cornwallis  the  garrison  at  Fort  Lee 
abandoned  that  post  and  fell  back  to  Hackensack,  joining  the 
main  body  of  Washington's  army  which  had  made  a  stand  on 
the  right  bank  of  the  river.  The  combined  forces  now  numbered 
less  than  six  thousand  men,  but  its  commander  was  actively 
engaged  in  endeavoring  to  procure  reinforcements.  Urgent 
appeals  were  made  to  Governor  Livingston  for  militia,  and 
couriers  were  dispatched  to  General  Lee,  who  had  been  left  with 
between  three  and  four  thousand  men  (not  counting  those  whose 
time  was  about  expiring)  east  of  the  Hudson,  directing  him  to 
make  all  haste  in  joining  the  main  army  with  his  command. 

From  this  time  up  to  the  cessation  of  hostilities,  the  soil  of 
New  Jersey  was  the  board  upon  which  many  of  the  most 
desperate    of  the    Revolutionary   games   were   played,   and  her 


320  The  Story  of  an  Old  Fakm. 

territory  was  much  of  the  time  the  fighting  ground  or  plunder 
•of  the  enemy.  It  is  claimed  that  her  losses  in  proportion  to 
wealth  and  popidation  were  greater  than  that  of  any  other  state 
save  South  Carolina.  With  the  exception  of  the  winter  of  Valley 
Forge  and  the  Virginia  campaign  against  Cornwallis  in  1781  the 
continental  troops  were  constantly  in,  or  on  the  confines  of,  the 
state.  In  addition,  her  militia  was  constantly  called  upon  by  the 
commander-in-chief  for  special  services,  or  to  swell  the  number 
of  the  American  army. 

But  we  must  proceed  with  the  disheartening  tale  of  the  retreat 
across  the  Jerseys.  On  the  twenty-second  of  the  month  Wash- 
ington reached  Newark,  Cornwallis  having  forced  him  to  with- 
draw from  Hackensack.  On  the  following  day  his  army  was 
mustered  and  found  to  contain  but  fifty-four  hundred  and  ten 
men  fit  for  duty,  of  whom  the  enlistments  of  only  twenty-four  hun- 
dred and  one  extended  beyond  the  coming  January.  One  brigade, 
that  of  General  Bradley,  reported  but  sixty  men  present,  while 
General  Beale's  brigade  was  twelve  himdred  strong,  but  the  time 
of  the  latter's  men  expired  within  a  week.  Washington  remained 
at  Newark  for  six  days,  when  the  van  of  the  enemy  appearing 
his  column  was  set  in  motion  for  "  Brunswick."  The  British 
troops  I'ested  for  several  days  at  Newark,  and  their  stay  was 
marked  by  desolation  and  ruin.  Its  citizens  received  their  first 
lesson  in  the  miseries  of  being  under  the  heels  of  a  conquering 
lost.  Tory  and  patriot  were  alike  plundered,  women  and  young 
girls  were  much  worse  than  insulted,  and  as  a  witness  of  that 
time  writes,  those  only  escaped  robbery  and  murder  who  were 
fortunate  enough  to  procure  a  sentinel  to  guard  their  doors.  He 
further  recites  that  "  there  was  one  Captain  Nutman  who  had 
always  been  a  remarkable  tory,  and  who  met  the  British  troops 
on  Broad  street  with  huzzas  of  joy.  He  had  his  house  robbed  of 
almost  everything.  His  very  shoes  were  taken  oft'  his  feet,  and 
they  threatened  to  hang  him." 

On  leaving  Newark  the  Americans  moved  in  two  columns, 
one  marching  via  Elizabethtown  and  Woodbridge,  and  the 
other  through  Springfield,  Scotch  Plains  and  Quibbletown  (New 
Market),  they  coming  together  again  at  New  Brunswick.  Wash- 
ington had  hoped  to  make  a  stand  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Rari- 
±an,  having  confidently  expected  to   receive    reinforcements  at 


The  Retreat  Through  Somerset.  321 

New  Brunswick.  He  was  doomed  to  disappoiutment.  Lee, 
who  had  been  repeatedly  ordered  to  hurry  forward  his  command, 
had  not  yet  come  up,  and  the  militia  did  not  respond  to  the  calls 
of  the  governor.  In  addition,  a  general  spirit  of  insubordination 
pervaded  tlie  army,  and  hundreds,  deserting  the  cause,  went 
home,  believing  that  a  further  struggle  against  the  superior 
organization,  arms  and  discipline  of  the  British  troops  would  be 
unavailing.  Cornwallis,  on  the  other  hand,  on  approaching  New 
Brunswick  was  largely  reinforced  by  Howe,  and  Washington's 
weary,  wayworn,  shattered  battalions'  were  again  obliged  to  take 
up  their  hurried  flight  toward  the  Delaware.  The  retreat  was 
by  way  of  Princeton  and  Kingston,  and  the  inhabitants  of  lower 
Somerset  had  an  unhappy  first  view  of  the  continental  army. 
They  had  good  reason  for  despairing  of  the  patriot  cause,  when 
they  beheld  theii-  country's  defenders,  many  of  them  bare-footed, 
and  all  illy  protected  fi-om  the  wintry  weather,  dwindling  away 
with  each  mile  of  their  disheartening  march,  while  being  chased 
across  the  state  by  a  well-clad,  victorious  force,  •'  tricked  out  in 
all  the  bravery  of  war."  During  the  night  that  the  column 
marched  from  New  Brunswick  the  rain  fell  violently,  and  the 
roads  were  deep  with  mud  caused  by  the  passage  of  artillery 
and  wagons.  About  daybreak  on  the  following  morning  the 
rear-guard  passed  through  Rocky  Hill,  every  step  of  the 
exhausted  men  being  above  the  ankles  and  often  to  the  knees  in 
mire. 

Washington,  anticipating  the  possible  necessity  of  abandoning 
the  state  to  the  enemy,  had  collected  at  Trenton  all  the  boats  of 
the  upper  Delaware.  He  reached  that  place  with  the  main  body 
of  what  was  left  of  the  army  on  the  third  of  December,  having 
left  Lord  Stirling  with  a  detachment  at  Princeton  to  watch  and 
endeavor  to  check  the  enemy  until  the  baggage  and  stores  could 
cross  the  river.  The  total  strength  of  the  American  force,  as 
shown  by  a  return  made  on  the  first  instant,  was  four  brigades  of 
sixteen  regiments,  with  a  total  apparent  number  of  forty-three 
hundred  and  thirty-four  men,  but  of  these,  ten  hundred  and 
twenty-nine  were  sick  and  absent,  while  those  left  were  rapidly 
leaving  the  fleeing  column.  On  the  sixth,  Stirling  was  reinforced 
by  twelve  hundred  men  from  Trenton  ;  but  on  the  seventh  the 
enemy    advanced    in    such  force  as   to  necessitate    the  hurried 

21 


322  The  Story  of  an  Old  Fakm. 

retreat  of  the  entire  American  army.  By  midnight  Washington, 
with  all  of  his  men,  was  west  of  the  Delaware ;  as  the  troops 
disembarked  frora  the  last  boat  the  music  of  the  pursuers  could 
be  heard,  as  their  advance  entered  the  town  that  had  just  been 
evacuated.  Wliat  remained  of  the  army — less  than  twenty-five 
hundred  men — were  now  safe.  The  enemy,  after  vainly  endeav- 
oring to  obtain  boats,  showed  no  disposition  to  continue  the 
chase,  but  went  into  winter  quarters  in  the  different  towns,  con- 
tent for  that  campaign  with  the  occupation  of  the  state,  and,  as 
they  thought,  the  annihilation  of  an  army.  The  rebellion  was 
believed  to  be  crushed.  Howe  and  CornvvaUis  returned  to  New 
York,  and  the  latter,  thinking  his  services  to  be  no  longer 
required  in  America,  decided  to  sail  for  England. 

For  the  time-being  New  Jersey  was  a  captured  province. 
While,  as  will  be  presently  shown,  many  of  its  citizens  made 
their  submission  to  the  victors,  the  cruelties  perpetrated  on  the 
inhabitants  by  the  occupying  army  were  such  as  to  greatly 
increase  among  the  masses  the  feeling  of  hatred  toward  British 
rule.  The  historians  of  England  find  great  difficulty  in  hiding 
the  stains  blotting  the  pages  that  recount  the  atrocities  com- 
mitted by  British  soldiers  on  New  Jersey  soil ;  committed,  too, 
with  the  connivance,  or  at  least  the  acquiescence,  of  their  com- 
manding noblemen — was  word  ever  so  misused  ? — the  Howes, 
Cornwallises,  Percys  and  Rawdons.  The  sufferings  of  the  peo- 
ple were  not  only  caused  by  their  being  forced  to  impoverish 
themselves  in  furnishing  billets  and  forages  to  the  British,  but  by 
such  marauding  and  plundering  by  the  troops  as  would  have  dis- 
graced the  followers  of  an  eastern  satrap.  General  Howe's  army 
was  at  this  time  given  up  to  indiscriminate  and  universal  thiev- 
ing, the  officers  not  only  countenancing  the  outrages,  but  parti- 
cipating as  well.  The  men  were  licentious  and  permitted  to 
commit  every  manner  of  rapine,  violence  and  cruelty ;  conse- 
quently the  tartaned  Scot  with  his  flowing  skirt,  the  natty  gren- 
adier, and  the  dashing  dragoon  with  scarlet  coat  and  bright 
yellow  short-clothes,  looked  upon  a  Jersey  rebel  as  legitimate 
prey. 

Max  von  Eelking,  the  German  historian  of  the  Revolution, 
writes  that  "Sir  William  Howe  was  much  given  to  sensuous  pleas- 
ures and  enjoyments  of  every  kind,  frequently  forgetting  in  their 


British  Atrocities.  323 

pursuit  the  high  duties  of  a  general.  He  kept  at  all  times  a 
good  kitchen  and  usually  also  a  mistress,  and  liked  to  see  others 
enjoy  themselves  in  the  same  way."  Governor  Livingston,  in  a 
speech  before  the  assembly  in  1777,  declared  that  the  English 
soldiers,  while  in  New  Jersey,  warred  upon  decrepit  age  and 
defenceless  youth,  plundered  friends  and  foes,  destroyed  public 
records  and  private  monuments,  and,  to  quote  his  own  words, 
"  violated  the  chastity  of  women,  disfigured  private  dweUings  of 
taste  and  elegance,  and  in  the  rage  of  impiety  and  barbarism 
profaned  edifices  dedicated  to  Almighty  God." 

When  the  British  came  marching  through  Middlesex  county 
in  pursuit  of  the  retreating  Americans,  Dunlap  the  art  historian, 
then  a  small  boy,  accompanied  his  father  to  Piscataway,  who 
went  to  claim  from  General  Grant,  the  commandant  of  a  detach- 
ment, protection  as  a  subject  of  the  Crown.  Though  but  a  lad 
he  was  much  impressed  by  the  lawlessness  and  looting  of  the 
troops.  In  later  years  he  thus  described  the  scenes  witnessed  on 
that  occasion  : — 

The  men  of  the  village  retired  on  tlie  approach  of  the  enemy.  Some  women 
and  children  were  left.  I  heard  their  lamentations  as  the  soldiers  carried  off 
their  furniture,  scattering  the  feathers  of  beds  to  the  winds,  and  piled  up  look- 
ing glasses  with  frying  pans  in  the  same  heap  by  the  roadside.  The  soldiers 
would  place  a  female  camp-follower  as  a  guard  upon  the  spoil  while  he  returned 
to  add  to  the  treasure. 

While  many  instances  might  be  given  of  the  sufferings  visited 
on  the  Jersey  people  at  this  time,  a  few  illustrations  will  suffice 
to  excuse  or  warrant  so  wholesale  a  condeiiuiation  of  the  occupy- 
ing army.  Of  course,  those  citizens  most  active  in  the  patriot 
cause  were  especially  marked  for  the  vengeance  of  the  British 
and  their  partisan  allies.  No  feud  so  deadly  as  one  between 
brothers.  The  ferocity  exhibited  at  this  time  by  the  tories  against 
their  fellow  countrymen,  and  often  against  neighbors,  was  inhu- 
man to  a  degree  that  in  these  days  of  peace  and  amity  it  is  dif- 
ficult to  comprehend.'  General  Greene,  in  writing  to  his  wife 
from  New  Jersey  on  the  sixteenth  of  December,  thus  speaks  of 
the  sufferings  of  the  inhabitants  : — 

The  tories  are  the  cursedest  rascals  amongst  us — the  most  wicked,  villainous 
and  oppressive.  They  lead  the  relentless  foreigners  to  the  houses  of  their  neigl- 
bors,  and  strip  the  poor  women  and  children  of  everything  they  have  to  eat  and 
wear ;  and   after  plundering    them    in   this    sort,    the   brutes   often   ravish    the 


324  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

mothers  and  daughters,  and  compel  their  fathers  and  sons  to  behold    their   brut- 
ality ;  many  have  fallen  sacrifices  in  this  way. 

In  the  same  month  Greene  wrote  to  Governor  Cook  of  Rhode 
Island  that  General  Howe's  ravages  in  New  Jersey  exceeded  all 
description — that  "  houses  were,  plundered,  men  slaughtered, 
women,  and  even  little  girls  not  ten  years  old,  ravished  in  the 
presence  of  husbands,  sons  and  brothers." 

In  the  line  of  the  writer's  maternal  ancestry  are  the  Middlesex 
families  of  Ayres,  Dunn,  and  Dunham.  Of  the  last  named,  fifteen 
members  served  in  the  army,  nine  of  whom  were  spoliated  by  the 
British.  David,  David,  Jr.,  and  Samuel,  of  Piscataway,  had 
their  houses  and  barns  burned;  and  EUsha,  Jonathan,  Josiah  and 
John,  of  Woodbridge,  also  suffered  great  losses.  Azariah — 
of  the  committee  of  safety — was  robbed  of  many  valuables,  and 
even  his  aged  father,  the  Reverend  Jonathan,  of  Piscataway, 
was  plundered  by  the  thieving  soldiery.  Samuel,  Jacob  and 
Reuben  Ayres,  who  were  in  the  army,  had  their  Woodbridge 
houses  pillaged :  Samuel  lost  cattle,  sheep,  hay  and  women's 
clothing,  among  the  last  being  "  one  black  Calamanco  Cloak 
lined,  new,"  and  "  one  Scarlet  Cloak,  part  worn ;  "  Reuben's 
house  was  burned,  and  his  horses  and  a  "  good  gun  "  appropri- 
priated. 

Fifteen  members  of  the  Dunn  family  were  in  the  army, 
ranging  in  grade  from  a  private  to  a  colonel.  Eleven  of 
them  were  despoiled  by  the  English  and  tories.  Captain 
Hugh  Dunn,*  of  the  1st  Middlesex  militia  —  the  writer's 
great-great-grandfather  —  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war  had  just 
completed  a  new  house.  It  is  still  to  be  seen  at  the  end  of 
a  long  lane  running  from  the  turnpike,  about  one  mile  east  of 
Kew  Brunswick ;  its  old-fashioned  well-sweep  and  the  great  tree 
in  the  door-yard,  in  which  is  imbedded  a  Revolutionary  cannon- 
ball,  testifying  of  ancient  days.  When  the  enemy  overran  Mid- 
dlesex county,  many  of  the  inhabitants  deserted  their  homes. 
Not  so  Captain  Hugh,  who  determined  to  stay  on  his  lands  and 
defend  his  possessions.  He  was  forced  to  give  up  his  new 
dwelling  to  British  officers  and  to  move  with  his  family  into  the 


*  He  married  Abigail  Carman,  who  brought  him  a  dowry  of  bedding  and  bed 
curtains,  a  silver  tankard,  a  horse  and  side-saddle,  and  her  negro  servant "  York." 


Captain  Hugh  Dunn.  325 

kitchen-part  of  the  old  house,  in  the  main  body  of  which  wa8 
quartered  a  company  of  Hessians.  In  the  end  he  fared  much 
better  than  did  some  of  his  neighbors  who  moved  back  into  the 
country,  his  losses  being  confined  to  furniture,  cattle,  grain  and 
other  personal  effects,  among  them  being — as  he  recites  in  his 
statement  to  the  authorities,  preserved  at  Trenton — a  "  new  coat 
for  my  Negro."  He  and  his  wife  paid  dearly  in  another  way, 
however,  for  just  then  a  baby  was  born  to  them,  and  when  the 
little  girl  began  to  talk,  a  stammering  tongue  and  an  impeded 
speech,  which  lasted  through  life,  told  the  story  of  the  excite- 
ments and  fears  of  that  turbulent  period.  Sturdy  Hugh  Dunn 
was  a  stanch  patriot,  and  did  valiant  servnce  in  the  cause  of 
freedom.  His  convictions  were  of  the  strongest  character,  and 
they  are  illustrated  by  many  curious  stories  preserved  by  his 
posterity.  After  the  famous  Boston  tea-party,  throughout  his 
long  life,  he  never  again  permitted  himself  to  taste  the  "  cheer- 
ing cup."  He  even  held  his  own  brother  in  contempt,  who  at 
the  outset  of  the  war  sold  his  farm  and  moved  to  Canada.  Many 
years  afterwards,  when  this  same  brother  sent  him  from  the  British 
Possessions  a  present  of  a  barrel  of  fish,  he  would  not  even  grant 
it  storage,  but  set  it  out  on  the  road-side,  giving  all  passers-by 
permission  to  help  themselves. 

All  this  winter  of  1776  and  1777  the  Dunns  of  that  neighbor- 
hood were  marked  for  British  vengeance.  The  well-furnished 
two-storey  house  of  Justus  Dimn  was  burned  ;  Daniel's  horse  was 
taken;  Benjamin  lost  books,  furnitiu-e,  and,  as  he  states,  a  "stout 
negro  man  "  ;  Jeremiah  was  forced  to  contribute  horses,  cattle 
and  crops  to  the  enemy ;  Major  John  Dunn,  a  member  of  the 
committee  of  observation  and  inspection,  was  robbed  of  horses 
and  household  fui-niture,  including  two  clocks  valued  at  sixteen 
and  thirty  pounds  ;  Lieutenant-Colonel  Micajah  Dunn,  another 
member  of  the  committee  of  observation  and  inspection,  lost  his 
horse,  two  guns  and  clothing.  The  above  items  are  given  to 
show  how  certain  it  was  that  those  serving  the  comitry  should 
suffer  at  the  hands  of  the  British.  During  their  stay  of  a  little 
over  six  months  in  Middlesex  county  these  ungenerous  foes 
ravaged  the  property  of  six  hundred  and  fifty  persons,  and 
burned  more  than  one  hundi-ed  dwellings,  miOs  and  other  build- 
ings.    Charles  D.  Deshler,  an  authority  on  Middlesex  history, 


326  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

estimates  that  at  that  time  there  were  but  two  thousand  house- 
holders in  the  county,  which  would  show  that  about  one  in  every 
three  was  pillaged. 

A  son  of  Somerset  prominent  at  this  period  for  valuable  ser- 
vices rendered  his  country  was  that  able  scholar  and  statesman, 
Richard  Stockton,  one  of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence. He  was  a  man  of  wealth,  and  lived  on  a  handsome 
estate  near  Princeton,  which  had  descended  to  him  from  his 
forefathers.  His  homestead  was  repeatedly  plundered  by  the 
enemy,  and  on  the  thirtieth  of  November,  1776,  while  visiting  a 
Mr.  Cowenhoven,  he  and  his  host  were  dragged  from  their  beds 
by  a  party  of  refugee  royalists.  They  were  carried  to  New 
York,  and  Mr.  Stockton  was  treated  with  such  barbarity  as  to 
bring  on  an  illness  which  in  1781  resulted  in  his  death.  A 
neighbor  of  Richard  Stockton,  and  also  a  signer  of  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence,  was  John  Hart — "  honest  John  Hart." 
He  was  a  substantial  farmer  living  in  the  vicinity  of  the  village 
of  Columbia,  in  Hunterdon,  now  Mercer  coimty.  Though  an 
illiterate  man,  and  quite  wanting  in  the  cultivation  and  accom- 
plishments which,  with  few  exceptions,  distinguished  the  mem- 
bers of  the  second  congress,  he  possessed  sound  sense,  strong 
will-power,  and  great  tenacity  of  purpose,  qualities  which 
enaljled  him  to  be  of  signal  service  both  as  an  actor  and  promp- 
ter in  the  drama  of  the  Revolution.  Hart's  devotion  to  the 
interests  of  the  revolted  colonies  brought  upon  him  the  malig- 
nant hatred  of  the  tories,  and  the  persecutions  of  the  enemy. 
His  sufferings  during  the  first  year  of  the  war  were  most  severe  ; 
his  property  was  destroyed,  his  family  dispersed,  and  he  himself, 
driven  from  the  deathbed  of  his  wife,  was  hunted  througli  the 
woods,  and  from  cottage  to  cave.  So  dire  a  treatment  laid  the 
foundation  of  disease  which  cut  short  his  career  in  1780. 

Although  Bedminster  township  lay  far  north  of  where  the 
British  cantonments  were  located,  it  did  not  escape  the  miseries 
inflicted  on  the  communities  by  the  enemy.  In  December,  1776, 
a  squadron  of  Bi'itish  cavalry  suddenly  apjieared  in  Pluckamin, 
and  visited  all  manner  of  indignities  upon  the  place  and  people. 
Women  were  grossly  insulted,  dwellings  robbed,  and  stock 
driven  oif.  The  doors  of  the  Lutheran  church  were  battered 
down,  the  pews  broken  up,  and  the  pulpit  hacked  and  disfigiu-ed 


Cavalry  Raids  in  Bedminstee.  327 

with  sabre  strokes.  The  object  of  this  raid  was  to  secure  the 
person  of  Captain  Isaac  Van  Arsdale,  who  had  made  himself 
obnoxious  because  of  his  activity  in  behalf  of  the  colonists.  On 
learning  of  their  approach  he  escaped  to  the  woods,  and,  in  con- 
jiuiction  with  some  neighbors,  succeeded  to  some  extent  in 
harassing  the  marauders.  At  least  one  man  was  known  to  have 
suffered  from  their  musket  balls,  as  he  was  bi'ought  to  EofTs 
tavern,  where  sheets  were  torn  up  to  make  bandages  to  staunch 
his  wounds.  Major  McDonald,  who  owned  the  mills  on  Cham- 
ber's brook,  was  probably  in  sympathy  with  these  cavalrymen, 
as  they  treated  him  with  consideration ;  he,  in  return,  rolled  out 
a  barrel  of  "  apple  jack,"  and  regaled  them  with  bread  and 
cold  ham. 

On  another  occasion  a  troop  of  light-horse  created  great  havoc 
in  Bedminster.  They  seized  Elias  Van  der  Veer,  the  father  of 
the  late  Doctor  Henry  Van  der  Veer,  and  carried  him  off  to 
Trenton.  The  detachment  had  been  especially  ordered  to  make 
him  a  prisoner,  as  he  had  become  well-known  to  the  enemy  as 
an  active  patriot,  and  a  spirited  co-worker  in  the  American 
cause  with  his  brothers-in-law,  Colonel  John  Schenck,  and 
Captains  Henry  Schenck  and  Frederick  Frelinghuysen.  He 
was  taken  from  his  mill  and  placed  on  a  horse  between  two 
troopers,  and,  although  the  weather  was  severe,  was  not 
given  an  opportunity  of  putting  on  a  hat  or  coat.  In  passing 
through  Pluckamin  a  hat  was  placed  on  his  head  by  a  neighbor, 
who  on  seeing  him  passing  ran  out  for  that  purpose.  The 
exposure,  and  the  cruelties  practised  upon  Mr.  Van  der  Veer 
while  in  prison,  caused  his  death  on  the  twenty-ninth  of  Novem- 
ber, 1778,  in  the  thirty-third  year  of  his  age,  as  his  gravestone 
in  Bedminster  churchyard  bears  witness. 

It  is  not  strange  that  innumerable  experiences  of  a  like  char- 
acter, together  with  the  fact  of  Washington  having  been  driven 
from  the  state,  should  have  produced  a  profound  feeling  of 
despondency.  The  stoutest  hearts  began  to  despair  of  the  future, 
and  many  commenced  to  think  only  of  the  safety  of  their  families 
and  property.  The  victorious  enemy,  recognizing  this  growing 
sentiment,  offered  amnesty  to  soldiei-s  and  protection  to  citizens 
if  they  would  return  to  their  allegiance.  Disaffection  spread, 
and  as  many  as  two  hundred  persons  came  in  one  day  to  the 


328  The  Stoey  of  an  Old  Farm. 

British  headquarters  and  pledged  their  faith  to  the  Crown  ;  among 
these  were  Samuel  Galloway,  a  member  of  the  first  continental 
congress,  and  Samuel  Tucker,  of  Trenton ;  the  latter  had  presided 
over  the  provincial  congress  of  New  Jersey  when  the  state  consti- 
tution was  adopted,  and  in  1776  was  justice  of  the  supreme 
court  and  treasurer  of  the  state.  It  is  claimed  that  Tucker 
secured  protection  for  the  purpose  of  preserving  public  funds  and 
private  trusts,  then  in  his  possession.  Washington,  in  addressing 
the  national  legislature  on  the  first  of  Januarj^,  1777,  thus 
alludes  to  such  weak-kneed  patriots  :  "  After  being  stripped  of 
all  they  had  without  the  least  compensation,  protection  had  been 
granted  for  the  full  enjoyment  of  their  eff"ects." 

The  members  of  the  family  in  the  "  Old  Stone  House  "  did 
not  waver  in  their  colonial  sympathies,  and  Aaron  showed  no 
hesitation  in  his  fealty  to  the  best  interests  of  the  budding  nation. 
So  it  was  with  all  his  brothers  excepting  the  youngest,  Peter. 
My  fidelity  as  a  family  historian  demands  a  true  and  unbiased 
account  of  ancestral  failings,  as  well  as  of  virtues ;  and  it  must 
be  acknowledged  that  Peter  took  advantage  of  the  proclamation 
of  the  "  Right  Honorable  Lord  Howe,  and  his  Excellency, 
General  Howe,"  and  received  a  protection  paper  from  Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel Mawhood,  of  the  17th  Regiment,  British  line, 
who  commanded  a  brigade  of  foot,  whereby  he  was  assured 
protection  "  both  for  himself,  his  family  and  property,  and  to 
pass  and  repass  on  his  lawful  business  without  molestation." 
Peter's  disaffection  does  not  appear  to  have  been  permanent ;  he 
was  never  classed  as  a  loyalist,  and  like  thom  did  not  suffer  from 
attainder  or  confiscation,  but  continued  to  be  a  valued  citizen. 
In  making  his  submission  he  was  doubtless  influenced  by  his 
business  relations  with  James  Parker,  whose  acquaintance,  it 
wiU  be  remembered,  we  made  when  Johannes  visited  the  pro- 
vincial capital  Lq  1752.  Mr.  Parker  sometime  before  the  Revo- 
lution purchased  of  the  executors  and  heirs  of  John  Johnstone, 
deceased,  extensive  bodies  of  land  lying  north  of  Peapack  brook, 
within  the  Peapack  patent.  He  appointed  Peter  Melick  his 
agent  for  its  care,  improvement,  and  sale.  Peter  was  obliged 
to  make  frequent  journeys  to  Perth  Amboy  in  order  to  consult 
with  his  principal.  It  is  fair  to  presume  that  he  imbibed  more 
or  less  of  the  loyal  sentiment  there  openly  and  almost  universally 


Disloyalty  at  Perth  Amboy.  329 

displayed.  Being  the  seat  of  the  king's  government,  and  since 
1762  a  garrison  town,  a  large  element  of  its  population,  especially 
among  the  wealthier  citizens,  were  dominated  in  their  sympa- 
thies by  the  ever-present  influence  of  royal  power.  At  the  close 
of  the  war  but  a  very  small  proportion  of  those  who  had  formed 
the  colonial  aristocracy  remained  residents  of  the  ancient  capital. 
General  Washington,  on  the  fourth  of  Jidy,  1776,  in  a  commu- 
nication to  congress,  thus  refers  to  Perth  Amboy  : — 

The  disaft'ection  of  the  people  of  that  place  and  others  not  far  distant,  is 
exceedingly  great,  and  unless  it  be  checked  and  overawed  it  may  become  more 
general  and  very  alarming. 

It  does  not  appear  that  James  Parker  openly  evinced  hostility 
to  the  new  order  of  things.  He  endeavored  to  occupy  the  middle 
ground  of  neutrality.  Though  in  April,  1775,  he  was  chosen  a 
delegate  to  the  provincial  congress,  he  did  not  take  his  seat,  and 
in  November  of  that  year  he  located  his  family  on  a  farm  in 
Bethlehem,  Hunterdon  county,  his  Perth  Amboy  home  not  being 
re-established  until  1785.  His  property  escaped  confiscation, 
though  he  himself  does  not  seem  to  have  remained  at  aU  times 
beyond  suspicion  ;  in  1777  he  was  placed  under  arrest  by  the 
authorities  and  for  a  time  was  confined  at  Morristown.  Mr. 
Parkei-'s  wife  was  a  daughter  of  the  Revei-end  William  Skinner, 
rector  of  St.  Peter's  church.  Her  family  was  pronounced  in 
favor  of  a  continuance  of  British  rule,  and  at  its  overthrow  the 
rector's  son,  Courtlandt,  had  for  seven  years  been  attorney-gen- 
eral for  the  Crown.  In  1776  he  was  commissioned  a  brigadier- 
general,  and  authorized  to  raise  five  battalions  among  those  men 
of  New  Jersey  who  adhered  to  the  king.  He  succeeded  in 
obtaining  at  that  time  but  five  hundred  and  seventeen  recruits, 
although  later  in  the  war  the  number  in  his  command  was  largely 
increased. 

The  strong  reluctance  shown  by  James  Parker  and  other  lead- 
ing citizens  of  that  portion  of  the  state,  to  support  the  Revolu- 
tion, may  be  ascribed  somewhat  to  their  extreme  feeling  of 
loyalty  to  the  church  of  England.  They  found  it  difficult  to 
dissever  church  from  state.  The  clergy,  by  their  oaths  of  con- 
formity and  allegiance,  felt  themselves  bound  to  sustain  the 
Crown,  and'the  communicants  of  the  church,  in  a  great  majority 
of  instances,  were  influenced  by  their  spiritual  guides.     In  1775 


330  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

Doctor  Tucker,  dean  of  Gloucester,  addressed  a  circular  letter 
to  the  ministers  of  the  "  Established  Church  in  North  America  " 
warning  them  against  teaching  principles  as  to  a  civil  govern- 
ment drawn  from  Mr.  Locke  rather  than  from  the  gospel.  This 
admonition  was  scarcely  needed.  Both  before  and  after  that 
time  the  rectors  from  their  pulpits  pelted  their  people  with  Paul; 
— cried  out  that  "  the  powers  that  be  are  ordained  of  Grod;"  did 
not  hesitate  to  preach  that  "  they  that  resist  shall  receive  to 
themselves  damnation;" — and  so,  in  their  weekly  discoiu'ses, 
rang  all  the  changes  on  the  fii'st  eight  verses  of  the  thirteenth 
chapter  of  the  epistle  to  the  Romans.  The  apostle  Peter,  too, 
helped  them  with  texts  as  to  the  duty  of  obedience  and  non- 
resistance  to  the  higher  powers,  enabling  them  to  show  their  par- 
ishioners that  those  who  "  despised  government,  presumptuous 
are  they."  The  dissenting  ministers  fought  under  the  banner  of 
Saint  John,  and  declaimed  with  equal  vehemence  against  the 
idolatrous  reverence  paid  to  tyrants.  They  did  not  hesitate  to 
draw  comparisons  between  the  king  of  England,  in  his  rage 
against  his  American  subjects,  and  that  horrible  wild  beast  with 
seven  heads  and  ten  liorns,  of  revelation,  which  was  ordained  by 
the  devil  for  the  destruction  of  mankind. 

The  attitude  assumed  by  both  clergy  and  laity  of  the  estab- 
lished church  resulted  most  disastrously  to  the  sect,  and 
throughout  the  war  its  adherents  were  ever  under  the  ban  of 
suspicion ;  the  people  of  other  denominations  maintained — to 
quote  a  writer  of  that  period — "  that  a  churchman  and  a  foe  to 
American  liberty  were  synonymous  terms."  The  effect  of  such 
a  feeling  drove  the  ministers  from  their  pulpits,  and  brought  ruin 
upon  the  congregations.  When  the  British  evacuated  Philadel- 
phia in  1778,  Doctor  William  White,  chaplain  of  congress,  and 
after  the  peace  the  first  bishop  of  Pennsylvania,  was  the  only 
Episcopal  minister  who  remained  in  that  state.  When  the  war 
was  over,  in  many  of  the  northern  states  not  a  church  was  left ; 
and  in  all  New  Jersey  Doctor  Abraham  Beach,  rector  of  Christ 
church.  New  Brunswick,  was  the  only  minister  who  had  been 
able  to  maintain  regular  services  during  the  struggle.  Through- 
out the  Revolution  the  chaplains  of  American  refugee  regiments 
were  mainly  ministers  of  the  church  of  England. 

Another  sect  that   suffered  severely  was   that  of  Methodism. 


Methodists  and  Quakers  During  the  War.         331 

Its  adherents  were  yet  a  feeble  folk  ;  they  did  not  number  at 
the  outset  of  the  war  over  one  thousand  souls,  the  American  com- 
munion having  been  established  by  Philip  Embury  in  his  own 
house  in  New  York  as  recently  as  1766.  It  is  claimed  that  pre- 
vious to  1771  there  were  not  over  fifty  Methodists  in  New  Jer- 
sey. Bishop  Asbury  records  that  in  that  year  there  were  about 
two  hundred  and  fifty  in  Philadelphia,  about  three  hundred  in 
New  York  and  a  few  between  the  Hudson  and  the  Delaware. 
Probably  the  first  church  edifice  of  that  denomination  in  New 
Jersey  was  the  one  erected  just  before  the  Revolution  on  the 
corner  of  Queen  and  Fourth  sti-eets  in  Trenton.  The  communi- 
cants of  this  sect  rapidly  increased  in  the  United  States,  and  by 
1793  numbered  sixty  thousand.  Methodists  were  objects  of 
suspicion  during  the  war,  and  it  was  not  uncommon  for  their 
preachers  and  class-leaders  to  be  tarred  and  feathered.  The 
feeling  against  them  was  due  in  a  great  measure  to  a  pamphlet 
published  by  Wesley,  entitled  "  A  Calm  Address  to  the  Ameri- 
cans." It  claimed  on  moral  and  legal  grounds  that  parliament 
had  a  right  to  tax  the  colonies,  and  it  held  that  American  sub- 
jects opposing  this  right  were  actuated  only  by  a  desii-e  to  over- 
throw the  government.  In  other  words,  the  monograph  covered 
about  the  same  ground  as  did  Doctor  Johnson's  pamphlet,  "Tax- 
ation no  Tyranny."  The  celebrated  lexicographer  was  much 
gratified  at  Wesley's  support  of  his  views,  and  wrote  him,  saying, 
"  To  have  gained  such  a  mind  as  yours  may  justly  confirm  me 
in  my  own  opinion." 

Still  another  body  of  Christians  that  sufi'ered  much  in  the  Rev- 
olution were  the  Quakers,  and  both  amusing  and  pathetic  stories 
are  told  of  their  exjieriences,  growing  out  of  their  adhering  to 
non-combatant  principles.  The  Quaker  was  ever  between  the 
upper  and  the  nether  millstone.  His  government  drafted  him  into 
the  ranks, — his  "meeting"  disciplined  him  for  either  bearing  arms 
or  procuring  a  substitute.  The  old  record-books  of  the  Society 
of  Friends  furnish  curious  information  as  to  what  was  consid- 
ered a  falling  away  from  Quaker  grace.  Benjamin  Harris 
was  cut  ofi'  from  communion  with  the  "  Plainfield  meeting" 
for  refusing  to  give  any  "  satisfaction  for  his  misconduct,"  in 
that  he  "  signed  a  paper  for  independency"  and  "  sufi'ered  his 
apprentice  to   go  in  the  army."     Another  friend — Marmadidse 


332  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

Hunt — makes  confession,  when  disciplined  by  the  "meeting," 
that  while  confined  in  Morristown  jail  his  distresses  were  so 
great  that,  as  he  says,  "liberty  was  offered  me  on  condition  of 
my  taking  the  affirmation  of  fidelity  to  the  states,  which  through 
unwatchfulness  I  submitted  to."  It  is  on  record  that  several 
Mendham  Quakers  were  summoned,  and  made  to  confess  their 
fault,  and  show  penitence  for  having  redeemed  goods  which  the 
authorities  had  taken  from  them  for  refusing  to  train  with  the 
militia. 

On  the  twelfth  of  December  there  were  tumult  and  excitement 
on  the  soiithern  border  of  the  "  Old  Farm."  Late  on  that  after- 
noon, through  the  woods  that  stretched  away  beyond  the  north 
branch  of  the  Raritan  toward  the  Bernard  hills,  could  be  heard 
the  rat-ta-ta  of  drums  and  the  shrill  cry  of  fife.  At  first  faint, 
and  in  the  distance,  but  soon  louder  and  clearer  ;  then  there  fell 
on  the  ear  the  tramp  of  troops,  the  ring  of  hoofs  on  the  frozen 
ground,  and  the  heavy  roll  of  artillery.  It  was  the  little  army 
of  General  Charles  Lee  that  Washington  was  so  impatiently 
expecting,  and  which  had  been  so  many  days  on  the  march  from 
the  Hudson.  The  men  trudged  along  the  narrow  road  in  column 
of  fours,  and  in  route  step,  each  one  canying  his  gun  as  he  liked. 
They  were  brown  and  weather-beaten  ;  their  many  bivouacs  on 
the  Westchester  and  Jersey  hills  had  left  marks  on  their  imi- 
forms  and  accoutrements  showing  the  dire  effects  of  wear,  wind 
and  weather; — more  properly  speaking  on  clothing,  not  uniforms, 
as  many  of  these  continental  soldiers  were  without  stripe,  plume 
or  color,  and  often  a  sash  or  a  corded  or  cockaded  hat  was  all 
that  distinguished  the  officer. 

The  Revolutionary  soldiers  of  "  seventy  six "  knew  little  of 
neatness  or  of  the  picturesque  in  dress.  With  the  exception  of  an 
occasional  militia  coat  of  ancient  design,  coarse  hunting  shirts  and 
rough  linsey-woolsey  suits  were  the  rule  for  the  first  year  or  so 
of  the  war.  Their  guns  were  of  various  patterns,  the  ordinary 
carbine,  fowling-piece,  and  rifle  not  being  uncommon,  all  having 
powder-pans  and  flint-locks.  Powder  was  generally  carried  in  a 
cow's  horn  swung  over  one  shoulder,  while  from  the  other  hung 
a  leather  pouch  for  bullets.  All  the  ideas  prevailing  at  the  out- 
set of  the  war  as  to  soldiers  and  weapons  were  very  crude. 
Even  the  generally  astute  Franklin  held  peculiar  views  and  gave 


The  Soldiers  of  1776.  333 

curious  advice,  as  is  shown  by  the  following  extract  from  a  letter 
written  by  him  to  General  Lee  on  the  eleventh  of  February, 
1776: 

I  still  wish  with  you  that  Pikes  could  be  introduced,  and  I  would  add  bows 
and  arrows.  Those  were  good  weapons  not  wisely  laid  aside.  First — Because  a 
man  may  shoot  as  truly  with  a  bow  as  with  a  common  musket.  Second — He  can 
discharge  four  arrows  in  the  time  of  charging  and  discharging  one  bullet.  Third — 
His  object  is  not  taken  from  his  view  by  the  smoke  of  his  own  side.  Fourth — 
A  flight  of  arrows  seen  coming  upon  them  terrifies  and  disturbs  the  enemy's  at- 
tention to  his  business.  Fifth — An  arrow  striking  in  any  part  of  a  man  puts 
him  hors  de  combat  till  'tis  extracted.  Sixth — Bows  and  arrows  are  more  easily 
provided  everywhere  than  muskets  and  ammunition. 

The  clothing  furnished  the  privates  of  the  two  battalions  form- 
ing the  first  establishment  of  the  Jersey  line,  called  out  by  reso- 
lution of  congress  of  October,  1775,  was  to  each  man  one  felt 
hat,  one  pair  of  yarn  stockings  and  one  pair  of  shoes.  The 
monthly  pay  of  the  men  was  five  dollars,  but  they  were  obliged 
to  find  their  own  arms  ;  the  enlistment  was  for  a  single  year. 
The  second  New  Jersey  enlistment,  authorized  by  congress  in 
September,  1776,  was  composed  of  four  battalions  to  serve  for 
the  war,  unless  sooner  discharged.  In  addition  to  their  monthly 
pay  the  privates  and  non-commissioned  officers  received  one 
hundred  acres  of  land,  and  an  annual  kit  of  clothing  comprising 
two  linsey  hunting  shirts,  two  pairs  of  overalls,  a  waistcoat  of 
wool  or  leather,  one  pair  of  breeches,  a  hat  or  leathern  cap,  two 
shirts,  and  two  pairs  of  hose  and  shoes.  Some  of  the  militia — 
notably  those  of  Pennsylvania — often  made  an  attempt  at  a  more 
dashing  apparel.  The  term  "  Jersey  Blues  "  had  its  origin  in  a 
volunteer  company  from  the  vicinity  of  Springfield.  Its  uniform 
furnished  by  some  patriotic  women  of  the  township  consisted 
of  tow  frocks  and  breeches  dyed  a  bright  blue.  In  the  matter  of 
arms  there  was  within  a  year  a  marked  improvement,  as  the 
agents  abroad  became  able  to  make  purchases  in  behalf  of  the 
young  republic.  When  Washington's  army  entered  Philadelphia 
in  1777,  previous  to  the  battle  of  Brandy  wine.  Gray  don  stood 
on  the  Coffee-house  corner,  and  thus  speaks  of  the  appearance  of 
the  troops  as  they  passed  down  Front  street : 

They  amounted  to  but  eight  or  nine  thousand  men;  though  indifferently 
dressed  they  held  well-burnished  arms,  carrietl  them  like  soldiers,  and  looked  in 
short  as  if  they  might  have  faced  an  equal  number  of  men  with  a  reasonable 
prospect  of  success. 


334 


The  Story  of  an  Old  Fakm. 


An  important  element  in  that  little  army  was  the  Jersey  line 
brigaded  under  General  Maxwell ;  it  opened  the  battle  of  Brandy- 
wine,  continuing  in  the  fight  the  entire  day.  The  brigade  also 
distinguished  itself  at  the  engagement  of  Grermantown,  the  1st 
Battalion  suffering  severely,  both  in  officers  and  men. 


CHAPTER     XXIV. 

The  Capture  of  General  Charles  Lee — His  Army  Encamps  on 
Peter  Melick's  Land  in  Bedminster  Totvnship — The  Battle 
of  Trenton. 

At  the  close  of  this  twelfth  day  of  December,  1776,  when 
Lee's  army  crossed  the  north  branch  of  the  Raritan  and  entered 
Bedminster,  his  battalions,  with  clank  of  arm  and  swine:  of 
sabre,  pressed  on  along  the  Lamington  highway  until  the  head 
of  the  column  had  passed  a  considerable  distance  beyond  the 
crossing  of  the  Peapack  road ;  the  troops  then  deployed  to  the 
right  and  encamped,  the  greater  part  of  them  occupying  the  lands 
of  Peter  Melick.  When  the  moon  climbed  the  heavens  thatnight 
it  illumined  with  its  mellow  gleam  a  strange  spectacle  for  this  quiet 
Bedminster  country.  The  roads  and  fields  were  encumbered 
with  cannon  and  baggage-wagons,  and  stamping  horses  were 
tethered  to  trees  and  fences.  Camp  fires  gleamed  on  the  hill- 
sides, around  which  were  stretched  tired,  bronzed-faced  men, 
with  ragged  blankets  for  a  covering,  and  with  knapsacks  and 
bundles  for  piOows.  Sorry-looking  soldiers  they  were,  with 
their  patched  clothing,  worn  shoes  cobbled  with  strings,  and 
antiquated  cross-belts  and  cartouch-boxes.  A  strange  spectacle, 
indeed,  upon  which  the  moon  looked  down,  with  naught  to  break 
the  stillness  of  the  sleeping  camp,  save  now  and  then  the  whin- 
neying  of  a  picketed  horse,  or  the  occasional  challenge  of  a 
pacing  sentinal. 

Poor  Peter's  protection  papers  proved  of  but  little  avail  at  this 
juncture.  He  had  not  anticipated  a  continental  visitation  ;  his 
fears,  and  for  these  he  had  prepared,  were  of  predatory  bands  of 
British  light-horse,  or  more  dangerous  troops  of  partisan  rangers. 
He  did  not  think  it  wise  to  remain  at   home   to  welcome  these 


336  The  Stoky  of  an  Old  Farm. 

military  guests ;  his  neighbors  did  this  for  him,  at  the  same  time 
informing  the  troops  that  the  owner  of  the  land  upon  which  they 
had  bivouacked  was  an  "  exempt."  As  was  the  fashion  of  the 
time,  vengeance  followed.  Peter's  fence  rails  fed  the  camp  fires, 
and  his  recently  filled  smoke-house  fed  the  troops,  as  did  his 
chickens,  shoats,  and  cattle.  Altogether  he  was  forced  to  make 
a  very  handsome  contribution  to  the  needs  of  the  continental 
army.  We  may  believe  that  in  later  years,  when  enjoying  all  the 
blessings  resulting  from  the  services  of  his  country's  devoted  band 
of  soldiers,  he  reflected  without  chagrin  upon  the  sacrifices  that  he 
bad  been  forced  to  make  in  those  troubled  times.  My  knowledge 
of  the  incidents  of  that  night  is  gained  from  Peter's  oldest  daughter, 
Catharine,  then  a  child  of  nearly  five.  She  afterwards  became 
the  wife  of  Enos  Mundy,  and  died  in  1863  at  the  age  of  ninety- 
two.  From  her,  many  important  facts  have  been  gleaned  as  to 
early  Revolutionary  days,  partly  di'awn  from  memory,  but 
mainly  from  what  she  had  learned  from  her  parents  and  others 
of  that  time.  Her  statement  of  the  events  preceding  and  suc- 
ceeding General  Lee's  capture  was  taken  down  in  writing  and 
preserved  by  one  of  her  descendants. 

As  is  well  known,  Lee  did  not  continue  this  far  with  his 
troops,  but  stopped  for  the  night,  with  a  small  guard  and  some 
of  his  aides,  at  a  tavern  kept  by  Mrs.  White  at  Basking  Ridge. 
It  is  probable  that  General  Sullivan,  who  was  second  in  com- 
mand, quartered  that  night  at  Aaron  Malick's  house,  as  it  was 
among  the  most  substantial  of  the  neighborhood.  At  least  famUy 
traditions  aver — they  being  corroborated  by  Mrs.  Mundy — that 
the  house  was  full  of  officers,  who  arrived  mounted.  It  is  pleas- 
ant to  learn  something  of  the  personality  of  the  leaders  of  the 
Revolution  who  campaigned  in  this  Bedminster  country.  Sulli- 
van at  this  time  was  thirty-seven  years  old ;  possessed  a  well- 
proportioned  and  commanding  figure,  animated  and  handsome 
features,  with  a  dark  complexion  illumined  by  the  ruddy  hue  of 
health.  His  voice  was  deep  and  melodious,  and  in  his  military 
career  he  used  it  to  great  advantage,  for  it  was  always  quick  to 
respond  alike  to  stern  and  gentle  emotions.  In  the  morning  an 
officer  came  in  great  haste  to  the  "  Old  Stone  House "  and 
announced  the  capture  of  the  commanding  general.  Mrs.  Mundy 
expresses  it  in  her  statement : — 


Character  of  General  Charles  Lee.     337 

There  was  a  great  fuss  made  in  the  morning,  because  a  big  officer  had  been 
captured  or  killed,  or  something  of  that  sort,  and  Grandfather  Malick  had  to  go 
to  Germantown  with  soldiers  on  horseback,  and  he  did  not  get  home  again  until 
in  the  afternoon  *  *  *  quite  a  number  of  big  officers  staid  at  Grandfather's, 
and  an  officer  came  in  the  forenoon  and  told  of  this  officer  being  captured  or 
killed. 

It  seems  almost  unnecessary  to  dwell  at  any  length  upon  so 
familiar  a  Revolutionary  incident  as  the  capture  of  General 
Charles  Lee,  and  the  causes  that  led  thereto,  but  perhaps  this 
Bedminster  story  might  not  be  considered  complete  should  all  of 
the  details  of  the  circumstance  be  omitted.  There  is  no  doubt 
that  Lee  was  a  brave  and  brilliant  officer,  possessing  superior 
mental  qualifications.  He  hated  oppression  and  scorned  mean- 
ness. Though  when  stirred  by  violent  impulses  bis  personal 
animosities  were  intense,  he  is  said  to  have  ever  been  an  open 
and  honest  enemy.  Yet  at  such  times  both  in  action  and  word  he 
was  too  often  governed  by  his  angered  passions  rather  than  by 
reason.  He  was  intemperate  in  language  and  always  over-zeal- 
ous as  to  his  personal  rights.  One  readily  discovers  from  his 
correspondence — a  mass  of  which  has  been  preserved — that  he 
was  constitutionally,  what  might  be  in  vulgar  parlance  termed,  a 
sorehead.  He  fully  coincided  with  the  assm-ances  of  his  admir- 
ers that  he  was  the  greatest  general  in  the  country,  and  the  rock 
upon  which  his  career  was  shipwrecked  was  a  headstrong  nature 
that  could  not  brook  command.  The  yellow-eyed  serpent  of 
jealousy  coiled  in  his  heart,  and  his  unceasing  vengeful  feelings 
toward  Washington  were  too  great  for  his  naturally  generous 
natura  to  overcome.  Could  he  have  brought  himself  to  the 
occupation  of  a  second  place  in  the  hearts  and  admiration  of  the 
people,  his  name  would  probably  have  been  remembered  as  one 
of  the  leading  and  successful  generals  of  the  war. 

Lee  was  at  this  time  forty-five,  and  his  years  had  been  those 
of  such  varied  experiences  as  rarely  fall  to  the  lot  of  man.  By 
birth  an  Englishman,  he  first  becomes  known  to  us  in  1757  as  a 
captain  of  grenadiers  in  Abercrombie's  fatal  assault  upon  Ticon- 
deroga.  Three  years  were  then  spent  in  campaigning  in  the 
northern  wilderness,  when,  as  a  lieutenant-colonel,  he  went  with 
Burgoyne  to  Portugal  to  aid  in  repelling  the  attacks  of  Spain, 
He  next  figures  as  an  impetuous  liberal  politician  in  England, 
and  then  for  two  years  as  a  staff-officer  of  the  king  of  Poland  at 
22 


338  The  Stoey  of  an  Old  Farm. 

Warsaw.  Then  we  find  him  with  a  company  of  Turks,  almost 
perishing  on  the  Bulgarian  mountains  while  guarding  the  Grand 
Seignior's  treasure  from  Moldavia  to  Constantinople.  For  suc- 
cessive years  he  was  on  the  Bosphorus,  at  Warsaw,  and  in  England, 
in  which  latter  country  he  grew  turbulently  indignant  on  fail- 
ing to  obtain  army  promotion.  As  a  major-general  in  the  Rus- 
sian service  he  next  campaigned  in  command  of  Cossacks  and 
Wallachs,  when  the  fighting  was  of  the  severest  character.  And 
now  we  hear  of  him  in  Hungary,  where  he  killed  an  Italian  in  a 
duel ;  and  in  the  following  winter  in  England,  deep  in  the  vor- 
tex of  politics,  and  violent  in  his  opposition  to  the  government. 
The  year  1772  was  spent  in  France  and  Switzerland.  On  leav- 
ing those  countries  he  threw  himself  body  and  soul  into  the 
vexed  question  of  the  American  colonies,  starting  in  1773  for 
this  country  to  view  for  himself  the  condition  of  affairs. 

After  reaching  America  Lee  became  a  violent  supporter  of  the 
provincial  claims  against  England,  and  his  fearless  spirit,  his 
enthusiasm  and  brilliant  wit,  together  with  the  romance  of  his 
life,  soon  gave  him  a  prominence  hardly  equalled  by  any  man  in 
the  country.  He  advised  with  members  of  congress,  and  inter- 
viewed deputies ;  always  feeding  the  flames  of  opposition  he 
finally  was  recognized  as  a  leader  in  the  Revolutionary  move- 
ment. To  more  closely  aUy  himself  with  American  interests  he 
purchased  a  Virginia  estate,  whereupon,  hostilities  having  com- 
menced, congress  commissioned  him  as  major-general  in  the  con- 
tinental ai-my.  He  was  intensely  chagrined  at  not  being  named 
for  the  chief  command.  While  probably  an  ardent  lover  of  lib- 
erty, and  apparently  whoUy  honest  in  advocating  colonial  rights, 
he  had  been  quick  to  discover  that  the  Revolutionary  move- 
ment was  to  be  one  of  the  most  important  events  of  this  or  a  past 
age,  and  he  was  ambitious  to  figure  before  the  world  as  its  leader. 
He  felt  keenly  disappointed  that  congress  should  have  failed  to 
recognize  his  superior  military  qualifications,  and  the  great 
sacrifices  he  had  made  for  the  country.  When  Washington  was 
commissioned,  Lee  naturally  scouted  the  idea  that  a  man  who 
knew  nothing  of  a  greater  campaign  than  had  been  Braddock's 
could  vie  with  him,  a  vetel-an  of  many  wars,  as  commander-in- 
chief  of  an  army.  Yet,  at  this  time  at  least,  his  love  of  liberty 
seems  to  have  overshadowed  his  ambition.     He  threw  up  his 


Lee  is  Highly  Esteemed.  339 

commission  in  the  English  army,  and  ran  the  risk  of  losing  all 
of  his  possessions  across  the  water,  which  were  considerable,  in 
order  to  accept  the  position  offered  him  by  congress.  In  the 
beginning  he  was  indefatigable  in  his  endeavors,  and  his  accom- 
plishments as  a  soldier  were  so  great  as  to  seem  to  secure  for  him 
a  brilliant  future. 

It  was  Lee  who  first  suggested  to  Washington  and  congress,  in 
1776,  the  propriety  of  occupying  Manhattan  Island  with  troops. 
This  resulted  in  his  marching  on  the  fourth  of  February  into  the 
city  of  New  York  at  the  head  of  a  force  he  had  raised  in  Con- 
necticut;  he  was  immediately  reinforced  by  Stirling's  New  Jer- 
sey regiment  and  by  Pennsylvania  troops.  This  course  was  at 
first  strongly  opposed  by  the  New  York  committee  of  safety,  who 
feared  that  garrisoning  the  city  would  provoke  the  English  ships 
to  an  attack  which  Lee's  command  would  be  too  small  to  suc- 
cessfully meet.  But  the  country  at  large  held  Lee  in  high 
esteem  and  gave  him  full  support,  which  is  shown  by  his  corres- 
pondence with,  among  others,  Washington,  Franklin,  Benja- 
min Rush,  Robert  Morris  and  John  Adams.  The  latter  wrote 
him  from  congress : — 

A  luckier,  a  happier  Expedition  than  yours  to  New  York  never  was  pro- 
jected. The  whole  Whig  world  is  blessing  you  for  it,  and  none  of  them  more 
than  your  Friend  and  Servant. 

So  it  was  when  late  in  February  he  was  appointed  to  the 
Canada  command.     Benjamin  Rush  then  wrote  him  : — 

Fortune  seems  in  a  good  humour  with  yen.  It  is  not  enough  that  you  have 
triumphed  over  external  and  internal  Enemies  at  New  York,  but  you  are  about 
to  enjoy  new  triumphs  in  another  part  of  the  continent.  *  «  *  Should  your 
blood  mingle  with  the  blood  of  Wolfe,  Montcalm  and  Montgomery,  posterity  will 
execrate  the  plains  of  Abraham  to  the  end  of  time.  Your  appointment  to  the 
Canada  expedition  gave  all  your  friends  here  great  pleasure.  *  *  »  Mr. 
Pitt  conquered  America  in  Germany.  But  who  knows  but  General  Lee  may 
conquer  Britain  in  Canada." 

Franklin  also  wrote  him  the  same  date,  February  nine- 
teenth : — 

I  rejoice  that  you  are  going  to  Canada.  God  prosper  all  your  undertakings, 
and  return  you  with  Health,  Honor  and  Happiness. 

Congress  changed  its  plans,  and  early  in  March,  Lee,  instead 
of  going  to  Canada,  was  transferred  to  the  southern    department. 


340  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

As  is  well  known,  at  Charleston  he  added  to  his  reputation, 
although  more  so  than  he  really  deserved,  and  when  he  returned 
north  to  assume  command  near  New  York  he  was  in  the  full  tide 
of  popular  favor.  But  the  disasters  of  Long  Island,  White 
Plains  and  Fort  Washington  he  falsely  ascribed  to  the  incom- 
petence of  Washington.  Upon  this  belief  he  fed  his  jealousy 
until  it  absorbed  his  whole  being  and  wrecked  his  career.  As 
has  been  shown,  while  Washington  was  making  his  heroic 
retreat  across  the  Jerseys,  Lee  not  only  failed  to  hurry  to  his 
support,  but  deliberately  disobeyed  the  commands  of  his  chief. 
While  the  army  that  was  being  pursued  by  Comwallis  was 
anxiously  looking  for  the  appearance  of  Lee's  corps,  that  general 
delayed  crossing  the  Hudson  for  several  weeks,  and  then 
advanced  in  a  most  leisurely  manner,  as  if  fearfid  of  being  a 
help  or  advantage  to  the  retreating  force.  His  dilatoriness  can- 
not be  charged  to  his  being  lukewarm  in  the  cause,  or  to  an  alto- 
gether determined  disobedience  on  his  part.  He  builded  on  the 
hope  that  the  continued  delay  might  furnish  him  with  an  oppor- 
tunity for  striking  a  blow  on  the  flank  of  the  enemy  independent 
of  his  chief,  and'  thus  perform  a  service  that  would  redound  to 
his  individual  honor.  Like  too  many  men  before  and  since,  who 
have  occupied  public  trusts,  his  patriotism  was  dwarfed  by  per- 
sonal ambition. 

Lee's  force  at  Newcastle  had  been  about  seven  thousand  men, 
but  owing  to  the  expiration  of  terms  of  enlistment,  when  he 
crossed  the  Hudson  on  the  second  of  December  his  command  was 
but  twenty-seven  hundred  strong.  His  troops  took  up  their  line 
of  march  in  a  column  of  four  files  front,  Nixon's  brigade  furnish- 
ing an  advance  guard  of  thirty  men,  and  Glover's  brigade  consti- 
tuting a  reserve  corps,  ready  as  circumstances  required  to  draw 
out  of  the  line  and  form  one  hundred  yards  in  the  rear.  Flankers 
marched  in  single  file  on  either  side,  and  so  the  column  moved 
slowly  on,  reaching  Pompton  on  the  seventh,  and  Morristown  on 
the  eighth,  from  where  Lee  wrote  Washington  that  the  militia 
had  increased  his  force  to  four  thousand  men.  He  rested  at 
Morristown  for  several  days,  camping  on  the  night  of  the 
eleventh  on  a  little  plain  southwest  of  the  Ford  mansion,  now 
known  as  "  Washington's  Headquarters."  Early  in  the  following 
morning  he  continued  across  the  country  by  way  of  New  Vernon 


Lee  at  Basking  Ridge.  341 

and  Vealtown,  and  so  on  to  where  his  troops  encamped  for  the 
night,  on  the  Melick  farm,  the  present  site  of  the  village  of  Bed- 
minster,  a  distance  of  about  thirteen  miles.  On  the  way,  Lee, 
turning  over  his  command  to  Sullivan,  left  his  troops,  and,  as  the 
historian  Headley  expresses  it,  "  governed  by  some  freak  or 
whim, or  still  baser  passion, "took  up  his  quarters  at  Mrs.  White's 
tavern  at  the  village  of  Basking  Ridge.  He  retained  with  him 
Major  William  Bradford  of  his  personal  staff,  several  other  mem- 
bers of  his  military  family,  and  a  small  guard. 

At  four  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  thirteenth  there  arrived 
at  White's  tavern  one  Major  James  Wilkinson,  a  staff  officer  of 
another  continental  general,  who  felt  sorely  because  of  Wash- 
ington's superior  position — Horatio  Gates.  The  sudden  and 
unexpected  retreat  of  Sir  Guy  Carleton  from  before  Ticonderoga 
to  Canada  had  enabled  General  Schuyler  to  send  several  regiments 
to  aid  Washington.  This  force  having  entered  New  Jersey,  Wilk- 
inson, who  was  barely  nineteen  years  old,  had  been  dispatched 
by  its  commandant.  Gates,  with  a  letter  announcing  his  prox- 
imity, but  on  learning  that  the  commander-in-chief  was  already 
beyond  the  Delaware,  the  major  had  turned  aside  and  taken  it 
to  Lee  as  next  in  rank.  Lee  received  the  letter  in  bed,  promis- 
ing to  give  an  answer  after  breakfast,  whereupon  WUkiuson  lay 
down  on  his  blanket  before  a  comfortable  fire  until  daylight. 
The  general  remained  in  bed  until  eight  o'clock,  when  he  came 
down  stairs,  half  dressed  and  in  his  slippers.  Major  Scammel 
of  Sullivan's  staff,  a  brave  officer  who  afterwards  fell  before 
Yorktown,  called  to  obtain  orders  for  the  morning  march.  After 
a  map  had  been  spread  on  the  table  and  examined,  Lee  said, 
"  Tell  General  Sullivan  to  move  down  towards  Pluckamin." 
The  general  then  spent  some  time  in  listening  to  complaints  from 
soldiers  of  his  command.  He  was  indignant  at  many  of  their 
demands,  especially  at  those  coming  from  members  of  Colonel 
Sheldon's  Connecticut  light-horse,  whom  he  charged  with  the 
desire  to  go  home.  These  militia  troopers  were  without  doubt  but 
poor  apologies  for  soldiers.  They  were  dressed  in  antiquated 
state  uniforms,  much  the  worse  for  long  service,  wore  old-fash- 
ioned, full-bottomed  wigs,  often  awry,  and  all  their  accoutrements 
were  of  a  most  ancient  and  obsolete  order.  Many  of  their  horses 
had  left   the  plough  to  enter  service,   and,  together   with  their 


342  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

trappings,  presented  anything  but  a  military  appearance.  One 
of  these  "nutmeg"  horsemen  being  captured  at  the  battle  of 
Long  Island  some  British  officers  amused  themselves  by  forcing 
him  to  canter  up  and  down  in  front  of  their  quarters,  whQe  they 
made  merry  over  his  ridiculous  appearance  and  quaint  replies  to 
their  questions.  On  being  asked  what  especial  service  had  been 
required  of  his  troop  by  the  Americans,  he  answered,  "  to  flank 
a  little  and  carry  tidins." 

Lee  did  not  breakfast  before  ten,  and  then  sat  down  to  write 
to  Gates.  A  single  quotation  from  this  letter  will  show  its  gen- 
eral tone,  and  the  attitude  assumed  by  its  writer  toward  Wash- 
ington :  "  Entre  nous  a  certain  great  man  is  most  damnably 
deficient."  Meanwhile,  Major  Wilkinson  had  his  horse  saddled 
and  brought  to  the  door,  and  then  sat  down  at  a  window  and 
awaited  with  patience  the  letter.  At  about  high  noon  he  sud- 
denly saw  a  troop  of  dragoons  turn  from  the  highway  and  dash 
down  the  lane  toward  the  house,  which  in  a  few  seconds  they 
reached  and,  having  opened  files,  surrounded.  "  Here,"  cried 
the  major,  "  are  the  British  cavalry  !  "  "  Where  is  the  guard," 
exclaimed  Lee,  "  why  don't  they  fire  ?  Do,  sir,  see  what  has 
become  of  the  guard  ! "  As  careless  as  the  general,  the  guards, 
with  arms  stacked,  were  sunning  themselves  on  the  south  side  of 
the  house.  They  were  soon  overcome,  two  brave  fellows  who 
resisted,  being  killed  by  sabre  strokes.  A  very  short  but  spirited 
defence  was  made  by  Lee's  suite,  who,  firing  from  the  windows, 
killed  several  of  the  dragoons,  including  a  comet.  So  near  was 
Harcourt,  their  commander,  to  being  killed  that  a  ball  carried 
away  the  ribbon  of  his  queue.  Among  Lee's  officers  was  a 
Frenchman,  M.  Jean  Louis  de  Virnejoux,  who  acted  with  the 
greatest  bravery  in  defending  the  house,  but  it  was  soon  seen  to 
be  useless  to  continue  the  defense.  The  British  called  upon  Lee 
to  surrender,  threatening  that  five  minutes  delay  would  insure 
the  burning  of  the  building.  The  discomfited  officer  almost 
immediately  appeared  at  the  open  door,  saying  :  "  Here  is  the 
general,  he  has  surrendered ! "  He  was  hastily  placed  on 
Wilkinson's  horse,  his  legs  being  firmly  bound  to  the  stirrup 
leathers ;  the  trumpet  sounded  assembly,  and  just  as  he  was, 
without  a  hat,  and  in  slippers  and  dressing-gown,  they  hurried 
liim  off  to  New  Brunswick. 


An  Historical  Ekror.  343 

The  British  also  carried  with  them,  strapped  on  a  trooper's 
horse,  M.  de  Gaiant,  a  French  officer  who  had  just  arrived  at 
Boston  to  offer  his  services  to  the  country.  Being  on  his  way 
to  pay  his  addresses  to  Washington,  he  had  joined  Lee's  column 
as  a  means  of  safe  transit.  History  affords  but  few  examples  of 
a  general  officer  presenting  a  meaner  appearance  than  did  Lee, 
as  surrounded  by  his  exultant  captors  he  clattered  through  Som- 
erset. His  small  and  restless  eyes  had  lost  their  haughty  glances 
— his  usually  satirical  mouth  drooped  at  its  corners  with  humili- 
ation— his  large  nose  was  red  with  cold — his  long,  lank,  thin 
body  shivered  in  the  December  blasts — while  his  soiled  shirt  and 
fluttering  dressing-go^^Ti  gave  him  an  air  quite  opposed  to  that 
of  a  military  chieftain. 

Historians  generally  agree  that  Lee's  army  halted  and  rested 
the  night  preceding  his  capture  at  Vealtowu,  now  Bernardsville. 
From  Morristown  this  would  have  been  a  march  of  but  seven 
miles  ;  his  men  would  fairly  have  had  to  crawl  to  make  only  that 
distance  since  early  morning,  as  the  road  in  use  at  that  time  was 
well  worked  and  travelled.  In  face  of  the  evidence  that  can  be 
adduced  to  the  contrary,  before  accepting  this  general  belief  that 
the  army  lay  at  Vealtown,  it  may  be  well  for  us  to  ascertain  on 
what  original  authority  this  opinion  is  based.  In  all  the  writ- 
ings of  those  living  at  that  time  the  only  work  I  can  find  that 
definitely  locates  Lee's  encampment  that  night  is  the  "Memoirs"  of 
General  James  Wilkinson.  This  seems  to  be  the  sole  authority 
from  which  historians  have  drawn  their  conclusions.  Nowhere 
does  Wilkinson  mention  in  his  book  that  he  visited  the  army — 
or  that  he  knew  of  his  own  knowledge  the  location  of  the  encamp- 
ment— nor  does  he  say  from  whom,  or  in  what  manner,  he 
obtained  his  information.  In  estimating  the  historical  value  of 
his  "  Memoirs "  we  may  remember  that  they  have  not  passed 
imscathed  the  test  of  criticism.  Numerous  defects  can  be 
pointed  out  in  the  pages  relating  his  experiences  during  the 
earlier  years  of  the  Revolutiob.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that 
at  the  time  he  witnessed  Lee's  misfortune  he  was  but  nineteen 
years  old,  and  that  sixty  years  elapsed  before  the  work  narrating 
the  capture  was  ])ublished.  It  is  not  strange  that  errors  should 
have  crept  in,  and  altogether  we  may  fairly  question  the  value 
of  such  testimony.      From  the  facts  heretofore  given,  together 


344  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

with  the  traditions  of  the  neighborhood,  we  are  justified  in 
reaching  the  conclusion  that  the  encampment  on  the  night  of  the 
twelfth  of  December  was  in  Bedminster,  and  not  in  Bernards, 
township. 

Lee  had  supposed  himself  to  be  at  least  twenty  miles  distant 
from  the  enemy,  and  much  surprise  was  felt  that  his  proximity  had 
been  discovered  by  the  British.  On  the  previous  afternoon  Aaron 
Malick  had  occasion  to  visit  New  Germantown,  probably  on  bus- 
iness connected  with  the  Lutheran  church,  and  did  not  return 
till  late  in  the  evening.  This  was  a  time  when  no  one  was 
above  the  suspicion  of  disloyalty.  When  Wilkinson,  or  some 
other  oiHcer,  reached  the  ''  Stone  House"  on  the  morning  of  the 
thirteenth  and  found  that  Aaron  had  been  absent  the  previous 
night,  he  was  at  once  suspected  of  having  informed  the  enemy  of 
Lee's  whereabouts.  He  was  placed  under  arrest  and  rigidly 
examined,  and  was  finally  sent  under  guard  to  New  Germantown 
to  prove  himself  clear  of  any  conspiracy,  and  to  show  that  it  was 
there  he  had  been,  rather  than  in  the  direction  of  the  enemy.  He 
had  no  difficulty  in  doing  this,  and  was  consequently  released. 
On  his  way  home,  at  the  "  round  hill,"  about  half  a  mile 
west  of  the  Larger  Cross  Roads,  he  met  what  was  now  Sulli- 
van's command,  pushing  on  towards  the  Delaware.  While 
talking  with  some  of  the  officers,  the  discharge  of  cannon  was 
plainly  heard  which  announced  the  arrival  of  Lee  at  New 
Brunswick.  It  was  evidently  late  in  the  day  before  Sullivan 
had  put  his  column  in  motion.  The  excitements  incidental  to 
the  announcement  of  the  capture  of  Lee  had  probably  necessi- 
tated consultation  and  delay.  When  again  on  the  march  he  did 
not  foUow  the  instructions  brought  from  Lee  by  Major  Scammel 
as  to  the  route,  and,  instead  of  turning  south  toward  Pluckamin, 
piu'sued  a  westerly  course.  He  encamped  that  night  —  the 
thirteenth — at  New  Germantown,  where  he  rested  till  eleven 
o'clock  the  next  morning.  From  there  no  time  was  lost  in 
marching  to  Pennsylvania,  where  he  joined  Washington,  moving 
by  way  of  Pittstown  and  Phillipsburg,  the  latter  place  being^ 
reached  on  the  night  of  the  fifteenth  at  ten  o'clock. 

The  capture  of  Lee  was  discovered  later  to  have  been  in  a 
measure  accidental.  It  seems  that  Elder  Muklewrath,  of  the 
Mendham  Presbyterian   church,  had  been  with  the  general  the 


The  16th  British  Light  Dragoons.  345 

night  before  complaining  that  the  troops  had  stolen  one  of  his 
horses.  On  the  following  morning  he  fell  in  with  a  detachment 
of  the  16th  British  light  dragoons,  under  the  command  of 
Lieutenant-Colonel,  the  Honorable  William  Harcourt,  afterwards 
the  third  Earl  Harcourt,  G.  C.  B.,  which  was  reconnoitering  in 
the  neighborhood.  In  some  manner  the  elder  divulged  the 
projcimity  of  Lee,  and,  it  is  said,  either  voluntarily  or  involun- 
tarily, guided  the  enemy  to  the  general's  quarters.  Presbyter- 
ianism  and  patriotism  were  in  such  close  alliance  during  the  war 
that  we  are  loth  to  believe  that  the  elder  willingly  contributed  to 
this  catastrophe.  This  regiment  of  Harcourt's  —  called  the 
Queen's  Own — was  considered  the  crack  cavalry  corps  of  the 
British  forces.  The  men  were  mounted  on  tine  horses  sixteen 
hands  high,  and  in  addition  to  sabres  were  armed  with  carbines, 
the  muzzles  of  which  were  thrust  in  a  socket  at  the  stirrup. 
Uniformed  in  scarlet  coats  faced  with  white,  bright  yellow  buck- 
skin breeches,  black  boots  and  jangling  spurs,  their  dashing  and 
formidable  appearance  was  heightened  by  polished  brass  helmets, 
from  which  chestnut  hair  flowed  to  the  shoulders. 

When  Lord  Cornwallis  failed  to  tind  boats  with  which  to  cross 
the  Delaware  and  continue  his  pursuit  of  the  American  army,  he 
marched  to  Pennington,  where  he  arrived  on  December  tenth, 
remaining  there  four  days.  While  at  that  place  he  was  informed 
that  troops  under  the  command  of  General  Lee  were  reported  to 
be  crossing  Morris  county  on  their  way  to  reinforce  the  main 
army.  He  at  once  decided  to  dispatch  a  mounted  patrol  to  gain 
intelligence  of  the  strength  and  locality  of  this  corps.  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Harcourt  applied  for  the  direction  of  the  detachment, 
and  a  volunteer  for  the  expedition  was  Cornet  Banastre  Tarleton, 
afterwards  famous — or  infamous — in  the  southern  campaigns. 
The  infinite  address  with  which  Harcourt  conducted  this  enter- 
prise to  so  brilliant  an  issue  won  for  him  high  enconiums  from  his 
army  and  government. 

Washington's  magnanimous  sold  could  not  see  in  Lee  either  a 
rival  or  an  enemy.  He  had  great  confidence  in  his  talents  as  a 
soldier,  and  deeply  deplored  his  capture,  deeming  it  a  serious 
loss  to  the  country.  Many  of  the  people  also  held  extravagant 
notions  as  to  Lee's  merits,  and  the  affair  altogether  was  consid- 
ered a  public  calamity.     His  exchange  and  subsequent  downfall 


346  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

are  well  known.  As  he  and  his  affairs  have  no  further  relations 
with  Somerset  county,  the  only  additional  reference  I  shall  make 
to  this  singular  man  wUl  be  to  cite  the  following  extraordinary 
clause  found  in  his  will  at  his  death,  seven  years  later : — 

I  desire  most  earnestly  that  I  may  not  be  buried  in  any  church,  or  church- 
yard, or  within  a  mile  of  any  Presbyterian  or  Anabaptist  Meeting  House ;  for 
since  I  have  resided  in  this  country  I  have  kept  so  much  bad  company  when  liv- 
ing, that  I  do  not  choose  to  continue  it  when  dead. 

Perhaps  Lee  had  the  Mendham  elder  in  mind. 

As  the  close  of  the  year  1776  drew  near,  our  state's  cup  of  mis- 
fortune would  seem  to  have  been  full  and  overflowing.  Its  leg- 
islatiu'e  had  been  driven  by  an  approaching  enemy  from  Prince- 
ton to  Trenton,  from  Trenton  to  Bordentown,  then  on  to  Pitts- 
town,  and  from  there  to  Haddonfield  where  it  had  dissolved 
on  the  second  of  December.  The  army,  almost  destroyed,  had 
abandoned  the  state  ;  a  general,  high  in  the  estimation  of  the  peo- 
ple, had  been  captured,  and  the  citizens  in  great  numbers  were 
going  over  to  the  enemy.  We,  whose  patriotism  and  love  of 
country  have  been  fed  by  the  inheritance  of  over  a  centmy  of 
national  feeling,  can  have  but  a  small  appreciation  of  the  doubts 
and  uncertainties  that  attacked  our  forefathers  in  those  darkest 
days  of  the  Revolution.  That  so  few  made  their  submission  to 
the  Crown  is  the  wonder,  not  that  so  many  should  have  proved 
faint-hearted,  and  lost  faith  in  the  cause  that  seemed  so  promising 
but  a  short  year  before.  It  must  be  remembered  that  in  the 
bays  and  harbors  rode  a  lordly  fleet,  flying  the  flag  that  had 
been  an  object  of  affection  and  reverence  to  the  colonists.  Dis- 
tributed throughout  New  Jersey  was  a  thoroughly  equipped  and 
disciplined  army,  officered  by  veteran  soldiers  and  supported  by 
the  prestige  of  a  stable  and  powerful  government.  And  upon 
what  opposing  powers  and  resoui'ces  were  our  New  Jersey  ances- 
tors leaning  !  Upon  a  continental  congress  that  was  totaUy  with- 
out power  or  authority  of  enforcing  its  own  edicts  ;  upon  a  col- 
lection of  petty  provinces  inexperienced  in  self-rule,  none  of 
which  possessed  armories,  strong  fortresses,  or  works  of  any  char- 
acter for  furnishing  the  munitions  of  war  ;  upon  the  ragged  rem- 
nant of  an  army  that  had  been  driven  across  the  state  by  a  vic- 
torious   enemy,  an  undisciplined    force    of  raw    recruits,   com- 


The  Equipoise  of  Washington's  Character.        347 


manded  by  a  man  better  known  in  Virginia  than  in  New  Jersey, 
who  was  entirely  without  experience  in  the  handling  of  large 
bodies  of  men,  and  who,  since  leaving  Boston,  had  been  defeated 
in  all  of  his  military  enterprises.  Time,  the  great  average- 
adjuster,  had  not  yet  declared  the  retreat  from  Long  Island  to 
equal  some  of  the  most  important  victories  in  history. 

But  the  people  believed  in  Washington.  It  was  one  of  the 
peculiar  attributes  of  the  character  of  this  remarkable  man  that 
throughout  his  entire  career  his  mere  presence  invariably  pro- 
duced a  feeling  of  confidence.  And  now,  notwithstanding  the 
repeated  defeats  of  the  continental  army,  hardly  an  eye  rested 
on  his  distinguished  form  but  that  reflected  trust  and  veneration. 
Best  of  all,  Washington  believed  in  himself!  During  this  period 
of  gloom  and  perplexity  the  hopeful  mind  of  the  commander-in- 
chief  was  never  more  harassed  with  embarrassments.  Yet,  in 
the  face  of  the  fearful  discouragements  of  the  hour,  he  was  firm 
in  faith,  and  undaunted  in  his  belief  in  the  ultimate  triumph  of 
the  American  cause.  The  magnificent  equipoise  of  such  a  char- 
acter was  not  easily  disturbed.  Even  at  this  time,  the  serenity 
of  his  countenance  gave  no  sign  of  the  stupendous  mental  exer- 
tions he  was  making  in  order  to  triumph  over  seemingly  over- 
whelming adversities.  Two  days  after  crossing  the  Delaware 
the  number  of  his  men  was  reduced  to  seventeen  hundred,  of 
whom  hardly  more  than  one  thousand  could  be  relied  upon  for 
effective  service.  But  at  once,  with  apparently  unabated  ardor, 
and  by  the  most  indefatigable  exertions,  Washington  proceeded 
to  build  upon  this  nucleus  of  an  army.  By  the  twentieth  of 
December  his  force  had  been  augmented  to  nearly  six  thousand 
men.  Proffered  bounties,  and  personal  solicitation  and  influence, 
had  retained  in  the  service  soldiers  whose  time  had  expired  ;  the 
Pennsylvania  militia  had  turned  out  in  force ;  regiments  from 
Ticonderoga  united  with  the  army,  and  General  Sullivan  had 
brought  up  Lee's  division. 

The  crying  evil  that  attached  to  the  continental  army  dm-ing 
the  first  year  of  the  war  was  the  short  term  of  enlistment.  When 
hostilities  actually  commenced  the  people  failed  to  realize  that 
they  were  involved  in  a  prolonged  struggle,  but  thought  a  few 
mouths  campaigning  would  result  in  the  adjustment  of  all  diffi- 
culties.    At  the  beginning  of  the  Revolution  it  was   said   that 


348  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

forty  thousand  armed  men  could  be  brought  to  Boston  within 
twenty-four  hours,  by  the  displaying  of  a  light  on  Beacon  hill  ; 
and  when  Washington  took  command  at  Cambridge,  it  was  of  an. 
undisciplined  force  nearly  fifteen  thousand  strong.  One  year 
later,  as  we  have  seen,  it  was  with  difficulty  that  the  general  in 
his  retreat  across  the  Jerseys  could  keep  together  a  mere  hand- 
ful of  men.  Soldiers  whose  time  had  expired  were  too  disheart- 
ened by  hardships  and  repeated  defeats  to  re-enlist ;  while  new 
recruits  were  not  inclined  to  connect  their  fortunes  in  midwinter 
with  an  ill-clad,  dispirited  wreck  of  an  army,  which,  without 
tents  and  much  of  the  time  without  food,  had  just  been  driven 
from  the  Hudson  to  the  Delaware  by  an  exultant  foe.  In  this 
matter  of  short  enlistments  we  can  hardly  condemn  the  want  of 
forethought  in  our  forefathers,  when  we  reflect  that  in  the  pres- 
ent generation  the  same  error  was  committed  at  the  breaking  out 
of  the  late  war. 

We  left  Washington  in  Pennsylvania  repairing  damages. 
The  English  commanders,  Howe  and  Cornwallis,  considered 
the  war  at  an  end,  and  the  latter  was  preparing  to  sail  for  Eng- 
land on  a  furlough.  The  British  were  distributed  in  cantonments 
from  the  Earitan  to  the  Delaware,  luider  command  of  General 
Grant,  New  Brunswick  being  his  headquarters  and  base  of  sup- 
plies. About  fifteen  hundred  Germans  and  a  squadron  of  Eng- 
lish cavalry  were  posted  at  Trenton  under  command  of  Colonel 
Rail,  *  and  another  body  of  Hessians  was  stationed  at  Bordentown 
under  Count  von  Donop.  No  fears  were  entertained  of  the 
Americans,  and  the  foreign  officers,  jubilant  over  recent  successes, 
were  preparing  to  spend  the  Christmas  holidays  with  great  jollity. 
And  now,  happily,  a  rift  appears  in  the  black  cloud  of  disaster 
that  has  so  long  enveloped  the  American  arms,  and  a  bright 
gleam  is  about  to  illumine  the  page  which  records  the  close  of  the 
first  year  of  our  national  independence.  On  the  cold  and  sleety 
night  of  the  twenty-fifth  of  December,  when  the  Delaware  was 
choked  with  ice,  Washington  crossed  the  river  with  twenty-five 
hundred  men  and  twenty  field-pieces.     A  patriot  army,  whose 


*  This  ofiBcer's  name  is  commonly  given  in  histories  as  Rahl,  but  the  autograph 
collection  of  Dr.  T.  Addis  Emmet  of  New  York  contains  the  signature  of  the 
Hessian  colonel,  wherein  the  name  is  plainly  spelled  Rail. 


The  Affair  at  Trenton.  349 

achievements  of  that  nio-ht  and  morning  have  been  celebrated  by 
poet,  painter  and  historian  !  The  command  was  divided  into 
two  divisions  under  Generals  Sullivan  and  Green,  which  took 
up  their  line  of  march  for  Trenton,  eight  miles  away.  On 
reaching  Birmingham,  distant  from  the  town  about  four  miles 
and  a  half,  Sidlivan's  column  continued  down  the  river  road,  the 
other,  under  Green,  filed  to  the  left,  and  followed  the  Scotch  road, 
which  joined  the  Pennington  road  about  a  mile  from  Trenton. 
Washington  was  with  the  latter  division. 

Owing  to  delays  occasioned  by  the  ice  in  the  river  and  the 
slipperiness  of  the  roads,  it  was  eight  in  the  morning  before 
Greene  reached  the  outposts  of  the  enemy.  They  were  soon 
driven  in  by  the  advance  brigade  under  Lord  Stirling,  their 
commanding  officer,  a  lad  of  but  eighteen,  being  wounded. 
Sullivan's  division,  which  had  been  guided  by  Captain  Mott  of 
the  3d  New  Jersey  battalion,  entered  the  westerly  part  of  the 
town  about  the  same  time,  and  both  commands  pushed  foi-ward, 
keeping  up  a  running  fire  on  the  retreating  outposts.  The  sur- 
prise was  complete.  The  Hessian  officers,  still  in  the  midst  of 
their  Christmas  festivities,  were  hardly  in  a  condition  to  repel  so 
sudden  an  attack.  Colonel  Rail  had  been  engaged  in  playing 
cards  with  a  convivial  party  of  officers  at  the  residence  of  a  rich 
merchant,  Abraham  Hunt,  on  the  northwest  corner  of  King 
(Warren)  and  Second  streets.  A  short  time  before  the  attack 
he  had  returned  to  his  quarters  considerably  the  worse  for  his 
night's  festivities.  On  being  aroused  by  his  aide  and  apprised 
of  the  approach  of  the  enemy  the  dumbfomided  colonel  was 
quickly  in  the  saddle  and  at  the  head  of  his  troops,  but  before 
they  coidd  be  completely  formed  the  Americans  were  on  them 
with  cannon  and  bayonet.  A  short  and  decisive  engagement 
resulted  in  a  complete  success  for  Washington's  army.  His 
troops  were  so  disposed  as  to  surround  the  enemy,  who  had 
no  choice  between  being  cut  to  pieces  or  surrender.  The 
British  light-horse  made  their  escape,  but  the  less  fortunate 
Hessians  grounded  their  arms.  According  to  an  account  pub- 
lished in  the  ''Philadelphia  Post,"  of  the  twenty-eighth  of  Decem- 
ber, the  capture  included  one  colonel,  two  lieutenant-colonels, 
three  majors,  four  captains,  eight  lieutenants,  twelve  ensigns,  two 
surgeon-mates,    ninety-nine    sergeants,    twenty-five    drummers, 


350         The  Story  of  an  Old  Fakm. 

nine  musicians,  twenty-five  servants,  and  seven  hundred  and 
forty  privates.  In  addition,  the  victorious  Americans  carried 
back  with  them  to  Pennsylvania  three  captured  standards,  six 
fine  brass  cannon,  and  about  one  thousand  stand  of  arms.  The 
continental  forces  had  but  four  casualties,  while  the  enemy's 
dead  amounted  to  thirty  men  and  six  officers.  The  colonel  com- 
manding, who  was  badly  wounded,  was  placed  on  parole  ;  he 
died  a  few  days  later  at  the  residence  of  Stacy  Potts,  on  Warren 
street,  at  the  head  of  Perry  street,  the  grandfather  of  the  late 
Judge  Joseph  C.  Potts  of  Jersey  City.  The  foi'tunes  of  war 
bring  about  strange  contrasts.  Among  the  Trenton  captives 
was  the  Hessian  band  of  music.  On  Christmas  night,  to 
heighten  the  pleasures  of  the  foreign  officers'  festivities,  it  had 
played  loud  and  long,  confusion  to  all  rebels.  Six  months  later 
the  same  band  furnished  the  music  at  the  dinner  given  by 
congress  at  Philadelphia,  celebrating  the  first  anniversary  of 
American  independence.  After  each  toast  the  German  musicians 
were  called  upon  for  patriotic  airs  breathing  a  love  of  liberty 
and  fi'eedom  ;  their  fine  performances  contributed  greatly  to  the 
enjoyment  of  the  occasion. 

It  was  intended  that  Colonel  Cadwalader,  who  commanded  a 
brigade  of  Pennsylvania  Associators,  and  General  Ewing  with 
his  division,  should  also  have  crossed  the  Delaware, but  they  were 
prevented  by  the  ice.  Otherwise  there  is  but  little  doubt  that 
the  capture  of  von  Donop  and  his  force  would  have  been  added 
to  the  brilliant  achievements  of  this  memorable  December  morn- 
ing. This  affair  of  Trenton  was  considered,  and  properly  so,  a 
great  victory.  That  at  a  time  when  the  fortunes  of  Washington 
were  at  so  low  an  ebb  he  should  have  been  able  to  achieve  so 
signal  a  triumph,  had  a  marked  influence  on  the  army  and 
country,  animating  the  people,  and  inspiring  the  troops  with 
fresh  courage.  This  was  especially  felt  by  the  New  Jersey  citi- 
zens and  militia,  who  to  a  certain  extent  had  been  witnesses  of 
both  the  misfortunes  and  glories  of  the  past  thirty  days.  The 
effect  upon  the  citizens  was  to  again  instil  a  belief  in  the  availa- 
bility of  their  army  and  the  ability  of  its  commanding  general. 
Again  they  grew  confident  in  the  ultimate  success  of  the  Ameri- 
can arms,  and  lost  the  foreboding,  by  which  they  had  been 
attacked,  that  the  contest   in  which   their  country  was  engaged 


The  Countey  Encouraged. 


351 


was  about  hopeless.  Surely  the  entire  people  had  great  cause 
for  rejoicing,  after  the  gloomy  and  trying  experiences  of  their 
army  since  its  first  disaster  on  Long  Island. 


CHAPTER     XXV. 

The  Hessians  in  New  Jersey — Just  a  Little  in  Their  Favor — 
A  Correction  of  Some  False  Traditions  That  Have  Been 
Fostered  by  Prejudiced  Historians. 

On  that  cold  day  after  Christmas,  when  the  story  of  the  battle 
of  Trenton  went  flying  from  hamlet  to  farm  over  the  hills  and 
valleys  of  Somerset,  the  startling  news  was  a  matter  of  peeidiar 
interest  to  the  members  of  the  family  at  the  "  Old  Stone  House." 
Their  rejoicing  over  the  victory  of  the  Americans  was  tempered 
somewhat  by  the  knowledge  that  the  vanquished  were  Germans, 
and  that  some  of  them  with  but  little  doubt  had  been  Aaron's 
fellow-townsmen  in  the  old  country. 

In  a  former  chapter  we  have  learned  from  a  letter  of  the 
"  Herr  Praceptor "  that  previous  to  the  year  1749,  Bendorf 
was  transferred  from  the  sovereignty  of  its  former  owners  to 
that  of  Margrave  Karl  Wilhelm  Fredrich  of  Anspach.  Charles 
Alexander,  the  son  of  this  murdering  margrave,  in  1791  sold  all 
his  territory  to  Prussia  for  a  pension.  He  it  was  who,  when 
George  III.  applied  to  the  princes  of  Germany  for  troops  to  aid 
him  in  subduing  his  revolted  American  colonies,  supplied  the 
English  government  with  three  regiments,  aggregating  2,353 
men,  for  which  he  received  over  five  hundred  thousand  dollars. 
Among  the  enemy  captured  at  Trenton  was  a  portion  of  one  of 
these  regiments,  and  its  flag  taken  on  that  day  was  afterwards 
deposited  in  the  museum  at  Alexandria,  Virginia.  When  this 
museum  building  was  burned,  a  few  years  ago,  the  flag  was 
destroyed  together  with  that  of  Washington's  life-guard  and 
other  interesting  Revolutionary  relics  that  had  been  placed  there 
by  G.  W.  P.  Custis.  It  was  the  custom  for  German  princes,  in 
£lling  the  ranks  of  battalions  intended  to  be  bartered  to  foreign 


German  Auxiliaries  Enumerated.  353 

governments,  to  secure  recruits  when  possible  from  their  outlying 
possessions  rather  than  from  their  home  dominions ;  it  is  fair  to 
presume,  then,  that  Bendorf  was  obliged  to  furnish  its  full  quota 
to  the  forces  destined  for  America.  Aaron  was  probably  well- 
informed  of  these  facts  by  his  correspondents  abroad,  and 
though  the  news  of  the  affair  at  Trenton  may  have  added  much 
to  the  happiness  of  the  holiday  season,  yet  he  would  have  been 
quite  wanting  in  sensibility  had  he  reflected  without  concern 
upon  the  possibility  of  there  being  among  the  unfortunates  who 
had  been  killed,  wounded  or  captured,  men  who  in  their  youth 
had  been  his  playniates  on  the  streets  of  his  native  town. 

When  the  British  ministers  learned  that  an  American  revenue 
could  only  be  collected  by  force  of  arms,  they  had  but  little 
difficulty  in  finding  German  rulers  who  were  willing  to  sacrifice 
their  troops  in  a  quarrel  that  did  not  concern  them,  provided  they 
were  well  enough  paid.  Duke  Ernest,  the  prince  ruling  Saxe- 
Gotha  and  Altenburg,  though  a  relative  of  England's  king, 
declined  peremptorily  the  ofter  of  the  British  ministers  for 
troops.  Bancroft  tells  us  that  when  England  applied  to  Frederic 
Augustus  of  Saxony,  the  prince  promptl}'  answered  through 
his  minister  that  the  thought  of  sending  a  part  of  his  army  to 
the  remote  countries  of  the  new  world  touched  too  nearly  his 
paternal  tenderness  for  his  subjects,  and  seemed  to  be  too  much 
in  contrast  with  the  rules  of  a  healthy  policy.  Charles  Augustus 
of  Saxe- Weimar  declined  to  permit  any  of  his  subjects  to  recruit 
for  service  in  America  except  vagabonds  and  convicts.  This 
ruler,  who  was  but  nineteen  years  old,  was  doubtless  influenced 
by  the  broad  and  generous  spirit  animating  the  counsels  of  his 
minister  Goethe.  Frederick  the  Great,  also,  to  his  credit  be  it 
said,  condemned  the  practice  of  putting  armies  in  the  market, 
but  other  princes  were  only  too  glad  to  swell  their  treasuries 
at  the  cost  of  the  loss  of  a  few  subjects. 

From  Edward  K.  Lowell's  valuable  w^ork  "The  Hessians  in  the 
Revolutionary  War,"  we  learn  that  the  English  government  secured 
soldiers  from  five  German  rulers,  besides  that  of  Anspach-Bey- 
reuth  ;  Frederic  II.,  Landgrave  of  Hesse-Cassel,  furnished 
16,992,  of  whom  10,492  returned  home  after  the  war ;  from 
Charles  I.,  Duke  of  Brunswick,  were  obtained  5,723,  of  whom 
returned  2,708  ;  William,  Count  of  Hesse-Hanau,  2,422,  returned 
23 


354  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

1,441 ;  Frederic,  Prince  of  Waldeck,  1,225,  returned  505  ; 
Frederic  Augustus,  Prince  of  Anhalt-Zerbest,  1,152,  returned 
984. 

Of  the  troops  furnished  by  the  margrave  who  owned  Bendorf, 
less  than  one-half  again  saw  G-ermany.  Jones,  the  tory  histor- 
ian, avers  that  the  British  ministry  stipulated  to  pay  the  German 
princes  ten  pounds  for  each  man  that  did  not  return  home  at  the 
close  of  the  war ;  for  each  wounded  soldier,  however  slight  the 
injury,  five  pounds  were  to  be  paid.  Commandants  were  careful 
to  report  even  the  scratch  of  a  finger,  consequently,  in  1786, 
when  the  bills  came  in  from  the  German  powers,  the  English 
were  obliged  to  pay  four  hundred  and  seventy-one  thousand 
pounds  in  settlement.  Karl  Schnizlein,  ''  Royal  Bavarian 
Director  of  the  General  Court  of  Justice,  and  Secretary  of  the 
Historical  Society  for  Mittelfranken,  Germany,"  in  a  letter 
dated  the  twenty-eighth  of  September,  1887,  assures  me  that 
the  treaty  between  the  British  government  and  the  Margrave 
Charles  Alexander  of  Anspach  differed  materially  from  those 
made  with  the  other  German  princes.  This  was  especially  so  as 
to — as  he  expresses  it — "  paying  premiums  for  perished  soldiers." 
Furthermore,  that  the  money  allowed  for  the  Anspachian- 
Beyreuthian  troops  by  the  British  ministry  was  not  to  the  per- 
sonal advantage  of  the  margrave,  but  was  paid  into  the  treasury 
and  used  for  the  redemption  of  the  indebtedness  of  the  country. 
Mr.  Schnizlein  also  states  in  his  letter  that  while  he  does  not 
know  of  any  archives  from  which  information  can  be  obtained 
regarding  enlistments  in  the  troops  that  went  to  America,  it  is 
probable  that  among  the  subsidiary  forces  of  the  margrave  there 
were  men  liable  to  serve  as  soldiers  from  the  margraviate  of 
Sayn-Altenkirchen  (Bendorf). 

Just  here  it  would  seem  eminently  proper  to  say  a  few  words 
in  vindication  of  the  memory  of  these  over-maligned  Hessians. 
It  may  fairly  be  considered  within  the  scope  of  this  work,  which, 
after  all,  is  the  story  of  a  German  ancestry  whose  place  of  nativ- 
ity presumably  furnished  men  to  swell  the  ranks  of  the  so-called 
mercenaries.  The  descendants  of  such  an  ancestry  will  surely 
acquiesce  in  an  effort  to  relieve  these  people  from  a  long-standing 
and  unmerited  obloquy.  It  is  quite  time  that  the  name  of  the  Ger- 
man auxiliaries  of  the  English  army  in  America  was  severed  from 


The  Jersey  People  Hate  the  Hessians.  355 

the  odium  attached  to  it  for  over  a  century  past.  Most  of  the 
barbarities  and  cruelties  practiced  upon  the  citizens  of  New  Jer- 
sey by  the  entire  British  forces  have  been  charged  against  the 
so-called  Hessian  troops,  and  it  is  only  within  a  few  years  that 
some  disposition  has  been  shown  to  deal  justly  with  the  record  of 
the  conduct  of  the  German  soldiery. 

Hessians  !  how  they  have  been  hated  by  the  Jersey  people  ! 
the  very  name  is  still  spoken  by  many  with  a  prolonged  hiss-s. 
For  generations  the  word  has  been  used  even  as  a  bug-a-boo 
with  which  to  frighten  children,  and  by  the  imperfectly  read  the 
German  troops  have  been  stigmatized  as  "  Dutch  robbers !" 
"  Blood-thirsty  marauders  !"  and  "  Foreign  mercenaries  !"  Why 
blame  these  tools?  While  many  of  them  were  not  saints, 
neither  were  they  the  miscreants  and  incendiaries,  bent  on 
excursions  of  destruction  and  rapine,  that  the  traditions  fostered 
by  prejudiced  historians  would  have  us  believe.  Many  of  these 
Germans  were  kindly  souls,  and  probably  the  best-abused  people 
of  the  time.  Individually  they  were  not  mercenaries,  and  a 
majority  of  the  rank  and  file  without  doubt  objected  as  strongly 
to  being  on  American  soil  fighting  against  liberty,  as  did  their 
opponents  to  have  them  here.  Some  idea  may  be  obtained  of 
their  repugnance  to  coming  to  this  country  from  Schiller's  pro- 
test against  the  custom  of  his  countrymen's  being  sent  across  the 
seas  in  exchange  for  the  gold  of  foreign  governments.  He  tells 
how  on  one  occasion  upon  orders  being  published  directing  a 
regiment  to  embark  for  the  colonies,  some  privates,  stepping  out 
of  the  ranks,  protested  against  crossing  the  ocean,  and  demanded 
of  their  colonel  for  how  much  a  yoke  the  prince  sold  men? 
Whereupon,  the  regiment  was  marched  upon  the  parade,  and  the 
malcontents  there  shot.     To  quote  Schiller  : — 

We  heard  the  crack  of  the  rifles  as  their  brains^spattered  tlie  pavement,  and 
the  whole  army  shouted,  "  Hurrah  for  America  !" 

Germany's  despotic  princes  justified  their  human  traffic  with  the 
specious  plea  that  it  is  a  good  soldier's  duty  to  fight  when  his' 
country  requires  his  services — that  whether  it  is  against  an 
enemy  of  his  own  government  or  that  of  another,  should  not  be 
considered  or  enter  into  his  conception  of  allegiance.  They 
argued  that  there  is  no  boon  so  great  as  a  full  treasury,  and 
when  a  subject  contributed  by  enlistments  to  that  end,  he  was 


356  The  Stoby  of  an  Old  Farm, 

fulfilling  the  highest  duty  of  citizenship.  Their  people,  unfor- 
tunately, did  not  respond  to  such  views  of  patriotism  ;  conse- 
quently, in  securing  recruits  the  most  severe  measures  were  nec- 
essary-. Impressing  was  a  favorite  means  of  filling  the  regi- 
mental ranks ;  strangers  as  well  as  citizens  were  in  danger  of 
being  arrested,  imprisoned,  and  sent  off  before  their  friends  coiJd 
learn  of  their  jeopardy,  and  no  one  was  safe  fi-om  the  grip  of  the 
recruiting  ofiicer.  This  is  illustrated  by  an  interesting  account 
given  by  Johann  Gottfried  Leume,  a  Leipsic  student,  who  was 
kidnapped  while  travelling,  forced  into  the  ranks  of  a  moving 
regiment,  and  dispatched  to  America  to  fight  England's  battles. 
As  every  conceivable  method  of  escape  was  devised  by  con- 
scripts, desertions  were  punished  with  great  severity,  though,  as 
a  rule,  not  with  death,  as  the  princes  found  that  their  private 
soldiers  had  too  high  a  monetary  value  in  European  markets  to 
be  sacrificed  by  the  extreme  penalty. 

In  many  principalities  the  laws  obliged  the  towns  and  villages 
in  which  soldiers  escaped, to  supply  substitutes  from  among  the  sons 
of  their  most  prominent  citizens,  and  anyone  aiding  a  fugitive 
was  imprisoned  at  hard  labor,  flogged,  and  deprived  of  his  civil 
rigrhts.  Bancroft  states  that  the  heartless  meanness  of  the  Bruns- 
wick  princes  would  pass  belief  if  it  was  not  officially  authenti- 
cated. On  learning  of  Burgoyne's  surrender,  they  begged  that 
their  captured  men  might  be  sent  to  the  West  Indies  rather  than 
home,  fearing  that  on  reaching  Germany  their  complaints  would 
prove  a  damage  to  the  government  trade  in  soldiers.  Notwith- 
standing the  severe  penalties  visited  on  deserters,  yet  when  the 
Anhalt-Zerbst  regiments  on  their  way  to  embark — 1228  strong 
— passed  near  the  Prussian  frontier,  over  three  hundred  deserted 
in  ten  days.  In  1777,  when  the  margrave  of  Anspach-Beyreuth 
wished  to  forward  some  recruits  to  America  he  was  obliged  to 
march  the  detachment  unarmed  to  the  point  of  embarkation  on 
Jhe  Main,  and  while  on  the  way  the  recruits  were  guarded  by  a 
trusted  troop  of  yagers.  In  spite  of  these  precautions  many 
escaped,  and  several  were  shot  while  making  the  endeavor. 

The  late  Frederick  Kapp  has  contributed '  greatly  to  our 
knowledge  of  Hessian  and  Anspach  soldiery.  In  regard  to 
recruiting,  he  informs  us  that  an  officer  in  charge  of  a  detach- 
ment of  newly-enlisted  men  was  directed,  when  on  the  march  in 


HsssASS  Object  to  Fightixg  the  Amesica>;s.      357 

the  old  caaabrj,  to  aroid  i»Tge  towns,  also  the  vicinitv  of  the 
jdace  where  any  of  the  recniits  had  Kred,  or  had  been  formeHy 
stationed.  So  great  precaatHms  were  considered  necessarr  to 
jmivent  escape,  that  it  was  the  datr  of  an  ofiBcer  when  billetiiig 
at  night  with  strangers  to  room  with  his  men,  and,  afi:er 
nndresdng,  to  ddirer  his  weapons  and  the  chxhing  of  the  entire 
pattj  to  the  landlord  or  host.  In  the  nHHooing  the  men's  cloth- 
ing was  not  to  be  brought  in  antH  the  officer  was  completely 
dressed  and  he  had  loaded  and  primed  his  pistols.  While  en 
rotde  ^oidd  a  recndt  grow  restive,  or  show  signs  of  insabordi- 
natkm,  the  instroctions  were  to  cut  the  bottons  and  straps  firom 
his  trousers,  fartiag  him  to  h(4d  them  np  in  walking,  thus 
rendering  flight  impossible.  Lieotenant  Thomas  Anbnrev.  a 
British  officer  captured  with  Bnrgojne,  in  a  hotii  descriptive  of 
his  e^eriences  in  America,  has  much  to  tell  regarding  the 
Hessian  contingent  of  the  northern  armj.  We  maj  suppose  that 
his  fcdlowing  recital  as  to  the  manner  of  foreign  enlistments  was 
based  on  informatioD  gained  from  German  officers : — 

The  Prince  caosed  evetr  place  of  wiMdiip  to  be  saanooaded  dhiring  ss-rke.  and 
took  eretir  nmi  vho  had  been  a  soldiei',  and  to  eaibodj  these  into  regimait.^  he 
afifHiintediddafiiceis  who  had  been  BanrTeaisopon  half-{)arr,  to  mmmand  them, 
or  on  lefiEal  of  scning  to  fixleit  their  half^r.  Hub  veze  these  regim.encs 
lused,  offieeied  viifa  oU  Teteians  vho  had  serred  with  credit  and  refiatatioa  in 
their  Toothfid  da;^  and  who  had  letiied,  as  ther  imasined.  ta  ealoy  some  com- 
ftit  in  the  dedine  of  life. 

This  American  service  was  especiaDv  objectionable  to  the 
Germans  because  of  their  knowledge  that  our  coontrr  was  the 
home  of  many  of  their  nationaEtv.  They  did  not  wish  to  tight 
friends.  Nor  were  their  fears  groimdlessj  for  in  their  iirst 
oigagement  a&er  land  my — the  battle  of  Long  Island — among 
Lord  Stirling's  troops  opposed  to  them  were  three  battalions, 
mostly  composed  of  Pennsylvania  Germans.  These  American 
troops  were  well  imiformed  and  equipped,  and  looked  so  much 
like  the  mercenaries  that  at  one  time  the  En^sh  thought  them 
to  be  Hessians,  which  error  cost  the  British  a  colonel  and  eighty 
privates.  That  was  not  the  first  time  that  princely  avarice  had 
been  the  means  of  causing  men  from  the  valleys  of  the  Rhine 
and  its  tributaries  to  contend  with  each  other.  Lowell  recotmts 
that  in  1743  Hessians  stood  against  Hessians^  six  thousand  men 


358  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

serving  in  tte  army  of  King  George  II.,  and  six  thousand  in  the 
opposing  force  of  the  Emperor  Charles  VII. 

When  the  news  of  the  capture  of  the  Hessians  at  Trenton 
spread  through  New  Jersey  and  Pennsylvania,  the  inhabitants 
thronged  fi'om  every  direction  to  view  these  beings  whom  they 
had  been  led  to  believe  were  monsters ;  they  were  very  much 
astonished  to  tind  them  like  ordinary  men  of  German  extraction. 
The  people  were  tilled  with  wonder,  however,  at  their  strangely 
martial  appearance.  Their  otficers,  with  embroidered  coats  and 
stiff  carriages,  were  in  strong  contrast  to  the  easy-going  com- 
manders of  the  continental  forces,  while  the  men  in  their  dj'ess 
and  accoutrements  presented  a  very  different  appearance  from  that 
of  the  generally  poorly  clad  and  equipped  soldiers  of  the  young 
republic.  This  was  especially  true  of  the  grenadiers.  They 
wore  very  long-skirted  blue  coats  which  looked  fine  on  parade, 
but  were  ill  calculated  for  rapid  marching  ;  a  yellow  waistcoat 
extended  below  the  hips,  and  yellow  breeches  were  met  at  the 
knee  by  black  gaiters.  A  thick  paste  of  tallow  and  flour 
covered  the  hair,  which  was  drawn  tightly  back  and  plaited  into 
a  tail  which  hung  nearly  to  the  waist.  Their  moustaches  were 
fiercely  stiffened  w^th  black  paste,  while  above  all  towered  a 
heavy  brass-fronted  cap.  When  in  fuU  marching  order  they 
must  needs  have  had  stout  legs  and  broad  backs  to  have  sus- 
tained the  weight  they  were  forced  to  carry.  In  addition  to 
cumbersome  belts,  a  cartouche  box,  and  a  heavy  gun,  each  man's 
equipment  included  sixty  romads  of  ammunition,  an  enormous 
sword,  a  canteen  holding  a  gallon,  a  knapsack,  blanket,  haver- 
sack, hatchet,  and  his  proportion  of  tent  equipage.  Max  von 
Eelking,  in  his  "  Memoirs"  of  von  Riedesel,  translated  by  W.  L. 
Stone,  writes  that  the  English  officers  said  the  hats  and  swords 
of  the  Brunswick  dragoons  were  as  heavy  as  the  whole  equip- 
ment of  a  British  soldier.  , 

These  Trenton  captives  were  sent  over  the  Delaware  into 
Pennsylvania  and  quartered  at  Newtown.  Lord  Stirling,  who 
was  there,  received  the  officers  with  much  consideration,  saying, 
''  Your  General  de  Heister  treated  me  like  a  brother  when  I  was 
a  prisoner,"  [after  the  battle  of  Long  Island]  ;  and  so,  gentle- 
men, will  you  be  treated  by  me."  Corporal  Johannes  Reuber, 
one  of  the  captives,  writes  in  his  journal  that  in  passing  through 


The  Courtesy  of  German  Officers.  359 

the  towns  and  villages  the  Germans  were  upbraided  and  treated 
with  contumely  by  the  populace,  which  continued  until  Wash- 
ington caused  notices  to  be  posted  throughout  the  vicinity,  saving 
that  the  Hessians  had  been  compelled  to  become  combatants,  and 
should  be  treated  with  kindness  and  not  with  enmity.  The 
prisoners  were  very  grateful  to  Washington  for  being  allowed  to 
retain  their  baggage,  and  for  their  generally  kind  treatment. 
In  their  gratitude  for  conduct  so  opposed  to  what  they  had 
expected,  they  called  their  illustrious  conqueror  "  a  very  good 
rebel." 

General  de  Heister,  referred  to  by  Lord  Stirling,  was  an  old 
man  who,  after  fifty  years  of  service,  yielded  to  the  earnest 
entreaty  of  his  personal  friend,  the  landgrave  of  Hesse-Cassel, 
and  consented  to  command  the  eighty-seven  hundred  Hessians 
who  came  to  America  to  join  Howe's  army.  During  the  pro- 
longed voyage  the  old  gentleman  exhausted  his  whole  stock  of 
tobacco  and  patience.  From  his  transport  he  thus  wrote  to  Sir 
George  Collier  of  H.  M.  S.  Rainbow,  who  commanded  the  con- 
voying war-ships  : — 

I  have  been  imposed  on  and  deceived,  for  I  was  assured  the  voyage  would  not 
exceed  six  or  seven  weeks,— it  is  now  more  than  fourteen  since  I  embarked,  and 
full  tliree  months  since  I  left  England,  yet  I  see  no  more  prospect  of  landing 
than  I  did  a  week  after  our  sailing.  I  am  an  old  man,  covered  with  wounds,  and 
imbeeilitated  by  age  and  fatigues,  and  it  is  impossible  I  should  survive  if  the 
voyage  continues  much  longer. 

Sir  George  visited  the  veteran  on  his  ship  and  raised  his 
spirits  by  plentifully  supplying  him  with  fi-esh  provisions  and 
tobacco,  and  by  assuring  him  that  the  voyage  would  soon  termi- 
nate. The  old  German  called  upon  his  band  to  play,  brought 
out  some  old  hock,  and  Sir  George  left  him  quite  exhilarated 
after  drinking  in  many  potations  the  health  of  the  king,  the 
landgrave,  and  many  other  friends. 

Of  the  German  officers,  Revolutionary  literature  teems  with 
testimony  as  to  their  courtesy  and  good  breeding  ;  and  numerous 
instances  could  be  given  going  to  show  that  they  often  endeared 
themselves  to  the  people  that  they  were  here  ostensibly  to  sub- 
due. Among  those  of  leading  rank,  de  Heister,  von  Riedesel,  von 
Donop,  and  von  Knyphausen  left  on  the  communities  most  agree- 
able impressions.  The  latter  was  a  man  of  honor,  possessed  a 
most  kindly  nature,  and   while  stationed  in  Philadelphia  won  the 


360  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

favorable  consideration  of  the  citizens.  In  appearance  he  was 
rather  distinguished,  erect  and  slender  in  figure,  with  sharp 
martial  features.  He  was  very  polite,  bowing  to  all  respectable 
persons  met  on  the  street,  and  was  fair  and  honorable  in  his 
dealings.  In  May,  1782,  when  this  general  in  company  with 
Sir  Henry  Clinton  embarked  fi-om  New  York  for  England,  a 
diarist  of  that  time  recites  :  "  Knyphausen  has  the  good  wishes 
of  all  people,  but  Sir  Henry  leaves  a  poor  character  behind  him." 
Bancroft  characterizes  von  Riedesel  as  a  man  of  honor  and  activ- 
ity ;  and  the  same  historian  speaks  of  de  Heister  as  a  brave  old 
man,  cheerful  in  disposition,  good-natured,  bluntly  honest  and 
upright.  Stone  in  his  preface  to  von  Eelking's  "  Memoirs"  of  von 
Riedesel  says  that  the  general  "  possessed  aU  the  qualities  of  a 
good  and  brave  soldier,"  that  "  his  love  of  justice  was  well- 
known,"  and  that  "  his  name  honors  not  only  his  own 
state  but  also  his  common  fatherland."  Colonel  von  Donop 
it  was  who  fell  in  the  glacis  of  Fort  Mei'cer,  amid  the 
great  slaughter  which  the  gallant  but  rash  charge  led 
by  him  had  ensured.  Colonel  Greene,  who  displayed  much 
bravery  in  repulsing  the  enemy,  was  most  humane  in  his  treat- 
ment of  the  wounded  that  his  cannon  balls  and  grape  shot  had 
left  piled  in  front  of  the  fortification's  double  abattis.  Among 
von  Donop's  last  words  before  his  death,  which  occurred  a  few 
days  after  the  action,  were  : — 

I  fall  a  victim  to  my  own  ambition,  and  to  the  avarice  of  my  prince  ;  but  full 
of  thankfulness  for  the  good  treatment  I  have  received  from  my  generous  enemy. 

As  to  the  Hessian  officers  of  lesser  rank,  equally  good  tidings 
have  come  down  to  us.  Mr.  De  Lancey,  in  his  paper  on  Mount 
Washington  and  its  capture,  published  in  the  first  volume  of  the 
"  Magazine  of  American  History,"  avers  that  the  Hessian  officers 
in  America  were  polite,  courteous  and  almost  without  exception 
well  educated  ;  he  recites  that  as  far  as  birth  was  concerned  the 
English  officers  of  Howe's  army  were  much  inferior  in  social 
rank  to  those  of  the  Germans.  Any  rich  Englishman  could 
make  his  boy  a  gentleman  by  buying  him  a  commission,  but  in 
Germany  it  was  necessary  for  a  youth  to  be  one  b}'  birth  if  he 
aspired  to  be  an  officer.  When  the  British  army  in  1776  occu- 
pied Manhattan  Island,  the  troops  were  to  a  large  extent  biUeted 
on  the  citizens.     Mrs.  Lamb  recounts,  in   her   "  Histoiy  of  the 


Citizens  Well-Treated  by  Hessun  Soldiers.      361 

City  of  New  York,"  that  Mrs.  Thomas  Clark,  a  widow  ladj, 
owned,  and  occupied  with  her  daughters,  an  attractive  country 
seat  near  Twenty-fifth  street  and  Tenth  avenue.  She  was 
greatly  distressed  because  some  Hessians  were  quartered  on  her 
property.  Like  every  one  else  at  that  time  she  supposed  them 
to  be  iniquitous  persons,  who  would  visit  upon  her  family  all 
manner  of  indignities.  To  Mrs.  Clark's  great  relief,  she  found 
her  apprehensions  groundless ;  nothing  was  disturbed,  and  the 
commanding  officer  proved  not  only  to  be  a  gentleman,  but  so 
considerate  and  agreeable  that  he  became  a  favorite  both  with 
herself  and  her  daughters.  Early  in  the  war,  experiences  of 
a  like  character  were  frequent.  Mrs.  Ellet's  "  Domestic 
History"  tells  that  after  Howe's  army  had  advanced  into  West- 
chester county  a  Mrs.  Captain  Whetten,  living  near  New 
Rochelle,  noticed  one  day  that  a  black  flag  had  been  set  up  near 
her  house.  Upon  asking  an  English  officer  its  meaning,  she  was 
much  distressed  by  his  replying  ; — "  Heaven  help  you,  madame, 
a  Hessian  camp  is  to  be  established  here."  Her  fears  were 
unnecessary,  as  when  the  Germans  arrived  good  feeling  soon 
existedHbetween  them  and  the  family.  One  of  the  officers  was 
quartered  in  the  house  ;  when  night  came  Mrs.  Whetten  was 
about  sending  to  some  distance  for  clean  sheets  for  his  bed,  when 
he  protested  against  her  inconveniencing  herself  on  his  account, 
saying,  "  Do  not  trouble  yourself,  madame,  straw  is  good 
enough  for  a  soldier." 

Graydou,  in  his  "  Memoirs,"  gives  an  account  of  his  spending 
the  winter  of  1778,  in  Reading,  Pennsylvania.  There  were 
there  a  number  of  officers,  prisoners  on  parole,  of  whom  he  thus- 
speaks  : — 

Among  them  were  several  Germans  who  hail  really  the  appearance  of  being 
what  you  would  ciU  down-right  men.  One  old  gentleman,  a  colonel,  was  a  great 
professional  reader,  whom  on  his  application  I  accommodated  with  books  such  as 
I  had.  Another  of  them,  a  very  portly  personage,  was  enthusiastically  devoted 
to  music,  in  which  he  was  so  much  absorbed,  as  to  seldom  go  abroad.  But  of  all 
the  prisoners,  one  Graff,  a  Brunswick  officer,  taken  by  General  Gates'  army,  was 
admitted  to  the  greatest  privileges.  Under  the  patronage  of  Dr.  Potts,  who  had 
been  principal  surgeon  in  tlie  Northern  Department,  he  had  been  introduced  to- 
our  dancing  parties,  and  being  always  afterward  invited,  he  never  failed  to 
attend.  lie  was  a  young  man  of  mild  ami  pleasing  manners.  There  was  also  a 
Mr.  Stulzoe  of  the  Brunswick  dragoons,  than  whose,  I  have  seldom,  seen   a  figure- 


362  The  Story  of  an  Old  FakiM. 

more  martial,  or  a  manner  more  indicative  of  that  manly  openness  which   is  sup- 
posed to  belong  to  the  cliaracterof  a  soldier.  * 

It  would  be  interesting  to  learn  just  how  so  deep-seated  an 
aversion  to  the  Hessians  first  became  planted  in  the  minds  of  the 
people,  particularly  in  those  of  Pennsylvania  and  New  Jersey. 
It  could  not  have  been  because  of  their  nationality,  as  among  the 
populations  of  those  states  were  many  Germans  who  had  always 
been  appreciated  as  a  worthy  folk,  quiet  rather  than  bellicose  in 
character.  Yet,  for  some  mysterious  reason,  these  Teuton 
soldiers  were  looked  upon  with  great  dread  by  the  inhabitants, 
especially  by  those  who  knew  the  least  of  them.  The  terror 
they  inspired  was  often  dissipated  by  a  better  acquaintance,  as 
the  private  soldiers  were  found  to  be — with  of  course  individual 
exceptions — simple-minded  souls,  and  more  afraid  of  their  officers 
than  of  anything  else.  Mr.  Onderdonk,  in  his  *'  Revolutionary 
Incidents,"  speaks  of  them  as: — 

A  kind,  peaceable  people,  inveterately  fond  of  smoking  and  of  pea  coffee; 
their  offences  were  of  the  sly  kind,  such  as  stealing  at  night,  while  the  British 
and  new  raised  corps  were  insolent,  domineering,  and  inclined  to'  violence  and 
bloodshed. 

Gouverneur  Morris  in  1777  was  ordered  by  the  convention  of 
the  state  of  New  York  to  prepare  a  narrative  of  the  conduct  of 
the  British  toward  American  prisoners.  Among  the  jjapers  sub- 
mitted was  the  affidavit  of  Lieutenant  Troop  of  the  militia,  which 
recited  that  "  he  and  other  officers  confined  on  Long  Island  were 
much  abused  by  nearly  all  of  the  British  officers  and  in  their 
presence  by  the  soldiers ;  they  were  insulted  and  called  rebels, 
scoundrels,  villains  and  robbers : "  that  when  imprisoned  at 
Flatbush  they  were  given  so  short  allowance  of  biscuits  and  salt 
pork  "  that,"  to  use  his  own  words,  "  several  of  the  Hessian  sol- 
diers took  pity  on  their  situation  and  gave  them  some  apples,  and 
at  one  time  some  fresh  beef,  which  much  relieved  them."  The 
following  extract  is  from  a  letter  written  by  Washington  at  Mor- 
ristown  on  the  fifth  of  February,  1777,  to  Samuel  Chase,  one  of 


*  Tlie  "  Graff"  spoken  of  by  Graydon  was  Cornet  Auguste  Ludwig  Lucas 
Grilfe  of  the  Brunswick  dragoons  ;  after  the  peace  he  remained  a  year  in  America, 
when  he  returned  to  Germany  where  he  died  as  governor  of  Mecklenberg-Stre- 
litz.  The  Mr.  Stulzoe  of  the  Brunswick  dragoons  was  Cornet  Johann  Balthasar 
Stutzer,  who  died  at  Brunswick,  Germany,  in  1821,  as  a  pensioned  lieutenant- 
colonel. 


Good  Hearted  German  Soldiers.  363 

a  committee  of  seven  appointed  by  congress  to  inquire  into  the 
conduct  of  the  British  and  Hessian  officers  toward  American 
soldiers  and  toward  the  citizens  of  New  York  and  New  Jersey : — 

I  shall  employ  some  proper  person  to  take  the  depositions  of  people  in  the  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  province  of  New  Jersey,  who  have  been  plundered  after  hav- 
ing taken  protection  and  subscribed  the  Declaration.  One  thing  I  must  remark 
in  favor  of  the  Hessians,  and  that  is,  that  our  people,  who  have  been  prisoners, 
generally  agree  that  they  received  much  kinder  treatment  from  them  than  from 
the  British  officers  and  soldiers.  The  barbarities  at  Princeton  were  all  commit- 
ted by  the  British,  there  being  no  Hessians  there. 

Max  von  Eelking,  in  his  "Die  Deutschcn  Hulfstruppen  in 
Nordamcrikanischen  Befremngskriege,  1776  bis  1783,"  speaks  of 
the  effect  that  the  landing  of  the  Hessians  on  Long  Island  had 
upon  the  inhabitants.  After  telling  that  they  were  in  great  awe 
of  the  Germans  and  that  many  fled  on  their  approach,  he  goes  on 
to  say  : — 

When  the  first  fear  and  excitement  among  the  population  had  subsided,  and 
people  had  become  aware  that  after  all  they  had  not  to  de.al  with  robbers  and 
anthroi>ophagi,  they  returned  to  their  homes,  and  were  not  a  little  surprised  to 
find  not  only  their  dwellings  as  they  left  them,  but  also  the  furniture,  their 
effects,  aye,  even  their  money  and  trinkets.  The  fact  was  that  the  Germans,  used 
to  discipline,  did  not  ask  for  more  than  they  were  entitled  to.  Their  mutual 
relations  now  took  a  more  friendly  form,  and  it  was  not  a  rare  case  that  a 
thorough  republican  would  treat  the  quartered  soldier  like  one  entitled  to 
his  hospitality,  and  carefully  nurse  the  sick  or  wounded  one. 

During  the  winter  of  1776,  there  was  living  at  Burlington,  a 
Mrs.  Margaret  Morris,  who  recorded  her  experiences  in  a  journal 
of  which  a  few  copies  were  printed  for  private  circulation.  When 
Count  von  Donop's  command  penetrated  as  far  as  Mount  Holly, 
she,  in  common  with  every  one  else,  was  at  first  much  exer- 
cised over  the  proximity  of  the  abhorred  Hessians.  On  the  sevr 
enteenth  of  December  the  following  entry  was  made  in  her 
diary  : — 

A  friend  made  my  mind  easy  by  telling  me  that  he  had  passed  through  the  town 
where  the  Hessians  were  said  to  be '  playing  the  very  mischief  ;  it  is  certain  there 
were  numbers  of  them  at  Mount  Holly,  but  they  behaved  very  civilly  to  the 
people,  excepting  only  a  few  persons  who  were  actually  in  rebellion,  as  they 
termed  it,  whose  goods,  etc.,  they  injured. 

In  the  "  Personal  Recollections  of  the  American  Revolution," 
edited  by  Sidney  Barclay,  there  appears  the  journal  of  a  lady 
who  made  her  home  with  her  father,  a  clergyman,  in  the  centre  of 


364  The  Stoey  of  an  Old  Farm. 

Long  Island,  while  her  husband   was   with  Washington's  array. 
An  entry  of  January,  1777,  recites  : — 

The  soldiers  [Hessian]  take  so  much  notice  of  the  children  that  I  fear  lest 
they  should  contract  evil,  especially  Charles.  They  have  taught  him  to  speak 
their  language,  he  understands  nearly  all  their  conversation.  They  make  pretty 
willow  baskets  for  Marcia  and  Grace,  and  tell  them  of  their  own  little  ones  at 
home,  over  the  stormy  ocean.  The  children  are  fond  of  them,  and  they  feel  no 
enmity  toward  them.  What  is  more  melancholy  than  the  trade  of  a  hired 
soldier  !     I  deeply  commiserate  their  wretched  lot. 

This  little  domestic  scene  hardly  pictures  the  Germans  in  the 
guise  of  wicked  marauders.  The  same  diarist,  in  writing  in 
1783  of  the  evacuation  of  the  island  by  the  Hessians,  says 
further : — 

Many  of  the  poor  creatures  have  formed  attachments,  and  the  ties  of  kindness 
and  gratitude  are  hard  to  break.  Many  of  them  begged  to  be  permitted  to  remain 
in  some  menial  capacity,  but  the  ties  of  kindred  prevailed  with  the  greater  part. 

The  journal  of  Captain  Pausch,  chief  of  the  Hesse  Hanau 
artillery  during  the  Burgoyne  campaign,  thus  speaks  of  the 
behaviour  of  the  privates  of  that  command  : — 

They  never  fail  after  reveille  and  tatoo,  to  make  their  offerings  to  their  God  by 
singing  morning  and  evening  hymns;  one  hour  afterwards  they  give  themselves 
up  to  enjoyment,  but  in  such  a  manner  as  to  never  give  cause  for  complaint  or 
punishment. 

The  journal  of  John  Charles  Philip  von  Krafft,  free  corporal 
in  Lieutenant-Colonel  Hinter's  company  in  von  Donop's  regi- 
ment of  Hesse-Cassel  musketeers,  furnishes  a  most  interesting 
glimpse  of  the  daily  inside  life  in  a  Clerman  regiment  which 
served  in  America  as  a  contingent  to  the  British  army.  Von 
Krafft  makes  many  comments  on'  Hessian  forbearance  as  com- 
pared with  British  marauding.  In  speaking  of  the  march  across 
the  Jerseys  in  1778,  he  tells  of  entering  a  house  near  Freehold 
when  he  was  informed  by  its  occupants  that  some  English 
soldiers  had  just  stripped  them  of  everything,  even  taking  the 
silver  buckles  from  a  woman's  shoes.  This  woman  said  to  him 
that  "  she  saw  very  plainly  there  was  no  truth  in  what  people 
had  told  her  of  the  Hessians,  namely,  that  they  were  cruel.  She 
saw  that  it  was  the  English  alone."  These  people  gave  von  Krafft 
some  fresh  provisions,  including  a  rooster  and  three  chickens 
which  had  been  concealed  in  an  oven.  They  would  not  name  a 
price,  but    he  gave  them    one    shilling  and  ten-pence   English 


Hessian  Excesses  have  been  Exaggerated.        365 

money,  for  which  they  wished  him  many  blessings,  and  begged 
him  to  pick  some  cherries  from  the  trees  in  the  dooryard.  On 
the  twenty-sixth  of  June  he  reached  Freehold  and  found,  to 
quote   from  the  journal : — 

Every  place  here  was  broken  into  and  plundered  by  the  English  soldiers. 
The  church,  which  was  made  of  wood  and  had  a  steeple,  was  miserably 
demolished. 

He  recites  that  his  regiment  halted  for  an  hour  and  a  half,  on 
the  main  street  of  Freehold,  during  which  time  the  English 
soldiers  had  : — 

Been  breaking  and  destroying  everything  in  t)ie  city  hall  house,  even  tearing 
down  the  little  bell  in  the  steeple.  No  Hessian  was  to  be  seen  among  them, 
the  commanders  of  regiments  not  allowing  it. 

He  acknowledges,  however,  that  some  abuses  were  secretly 
practised  by  his  countrymen.  In  September,  ]  778,  in  wi'iting  of 
his  experiences  while  on  a  foraging  party  near  the  twenty- 
mile  stone  in  Westchester  coimty.  New  York,  von  Krafft 
says : — 

We  were  not  forbidden  to  get  provisions,  but  very  strictly  admonished  not  to 
take  anything  from  the  people  in  their  houses.  *  *  *  For  a  few  days  we  had 
an  abundance  of  food,  and  this  was  my  only  booty. 

Did  space  permit,  much  further  of  interest  could  be  drawn 
from  the  journal  of  thi.s  Hessian  soldier.  It  can  be  found  among 
the  collections  of  the  New  York  Historical  society. 

The  Marquis  de  Chastellux,  in  writing  of  the  capitulation  at 
Yorktown,  speaks  of  the  contemptuous  attitude  of  the  captured 
British  soldiers  toward  the  Americans.  They  made  friends 
with  the  French,  but  in  their  chagrin  and  disappointment  held 
aloof  from  the  hated  rebels.     Says  Chastellux  : — 

After  the  surrender  the  English  behaved  with  the  same  overbearing  insolence 
as  if  they  had  been  conquerors  ;  tlie  Scots  wept  bitterly,  while  the  Germans  only 
conducted  themselves  decently,  and  in  a  manner  becoming  prisoners. 

The  bitter  feeling  evinced  by  the  people  toward  the  subsidiary 
troops  of  the  English  army  was  probably  engendered  by 
their  conduct  at  the  battle  of  Long  Island.  Their  excesses 
have  been  greatly  exaggerated  by  early  historians  in  accounts 
of  that  action ;  it  is  gratifying,  therefore,  to  read  in  one 
of  Professor  John  Fiske's   latest  historical  contributions,  refer- 


366  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

ring  to  this  battle,  that  "  the  stories  of  a  wholesale  butchery 
by  the  Hessians  which  once  were  current  have  been  completely 
disproved."  There  is  no  doubt,  however,  that  during  that 
engagement  the  Germans  were  guilty  of  some  unnecessary 
cruelties,  but  any  fair-minded  person  familiar  with  all  the  facts 
must  admit  that  the  circumstances  of  ignorance  and  false  teach- 
ing palliate  to  a  certain  extent  their  behavior  on  that  occasion. 
The  Long  Island  Historical  Society,  in  its  account  of  the  battle, 
publishes  the  letter  of  an  officer  in  Fraser's  Scotch  battalion, 
from  which  I  make  the  following  extract : — 

The  Hessians  and  our  brave  Highlanders  gave  no  quarter,  and  it  was  a  fine 
sight  to  see  with  what  alacrity  they  dispatched  the  rebels  with  bayonets  after  we 
had  surrounded  them  so  that  they  could  not  resist.  We  took  care  to  tell  the 
Hessians  that  the  rebels  had  resolved  to  give  no  quarter  to  them  in  particular: 
which  made  them  fight  desperately,  and  put  all  to  death  who  fell  into  their 
hands. 

The  statement  of  this  bloodthirsty  Highland  officer  is  corrob- 
orated by  the  before  referred  to  historian,  Max  von  Eelking. 
He  records : — 

That  the  Hessians  were  very  much  exasperated  and  furious,  is  not  to  be  denied ; 
*  *  *  the  course  pursued  by  the  Hessians  was  urged  upon  them  by  the  Brit- 
ons. Colonel  von  Heeringen  says  on  this  subject,  in  his  letter  to  Colonel  von 
Lossburg :  "  The  English  soldiers  did  not  give  much  quarter  and  constantly 
urged  our  men  to  follow  their  example." 

Another  officer,  who  was  present  at  that  time,  narrates  that 
the  Germans  early  learned  enough  English  to  beg  for  quarter 
from  the  savage  rebels,  of  whom  they  stood  in  great  fear.  They 
acted  as  if  they  were  going  to  be  eaten,  and  some  of  them  when 
taken,  bawled  out  as  best  they  could,  "  Oh !  good  rebel  man, 
don't  kill  poor  Hessian  !  " 

That  the  heart  of  the  Hessians  was  not  in  the  work  of  aiding 
in  the  subjugation  of  Great  Britain's  colonists  is  proven  by  the 
fact  of  their  frequent  desertions.  It  is  estimated  that  of  the 
nearly  thirty  thousand  German  troops  brought  to  America  by 
the  English,  more  than  five  thousand  deserted,  many  of  them 
becoming  valued  citizens  of  the  country  ;  and  frequent  instances 
can  be  shown  of  their  descendants  ranking  among  the  leading 
people  of  the  United  States.  Judge  Jones,  in  his  "  History  of 
New  York,"  avers  that  Henry  Ashdore  was  the  first  in  America 
of  the  name  now  so  well  known  under  its  anglicized  form  of 


Hessian  Deserters.  367 

Astor.  He  was  a  peasant  from  AValdorf  in  Baden,  who  came  to 
this  country  with  the  British  during  the  Revolutionary  war,  but, 
after  a  short  period  managed  to  escape  their  service,  and  entered 
into  that  of  the  "Art  and  Mystery  of  Butchering."  Upon  the 
cessation  of  hostilities  he  induced  his  yoimgest  brother — then  a 
youth  of  twenty — to  come  to  New  York.  This  was  John  Jacob 
Astor,  who  died  in  1848  the  richest  man  of  his  day  in  America. 
J.  G.  Rosengarten,  in  a  paper  read  before  the  Newport  His- 
torical Society  in  1886  informs  us  that  the  ancestor  of  General 
George  A.  Custer  was  a  German  soldier,  named  Kuster,  who 
was  among  those  captured  by  Gates  in  1777.  He  settled  in 
Pennsylvania,  but  subsequently  removed  to  Maryland,  where  the 
distinguished  general's  father  was  born  in  1806. 

John  Conrad  Dochlar,  an  Anspach  sergeant,  in  enumerating 
in  his  diary  the  German  troops  made  prisoners  at  Yorktown, 
mentions  the  "  Prince  Royal "  regiment  of  Hesse-Cassel,  as 
having  once  been  strong,  "  but  now  a  great  sufferer  fi-om  death 
and  desertion";  and  the  Anspach-Beyreuthian  regiments  as 
having  had  "  about  forty  killed  and  wounded,  besides  losing  fifty 
deserters."  While  Burgoyne's  captured  army  was  quartered 
at  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  in  1778,  many  of  von  Riedesel's 
soldiers  deserted,  and  enlisted  in  Armand's  light-corps  then  being 
recruited  at  Boston.  During  the  month  of  April  forty-five 
men  escaped,  while  in  May  the  Brunswickers  lost  seventy-two 
soldiers.  When  the  convention  army  started  for  Virginia  in 
November  fifty  Germans  deserted  before  reaching  the  Hudson. 
The  auxiliary  troops,  while  en  rmde  south,  entered  New  Jersey  on 
the  fourth  of  December,  halting  for  the  night  of  the  fifth  at  Sussex 
Court-house.  While  marching  through  Stillwater  township,  in  Sus- 
sex county, a  dozen  or  more  "Hessians"  escaped  and  hid  until  all 
the  prisoners  and  their  guards  had  passed  by.  They  settled  per- 
manently in  the  township,  and  several  well-known  families  in  that 
neighborhood  are  the  posterity  of  these  German  soldiers.  In  Mor- 
ris county  also,  there  are  a  number  of  resident  families  descended 
from  thirty  Hessians  who  at  one  time  during  the  Revolution 
were  employed  at  the  Mount  Hope  mine.  Lieutenant  Anburey 
of  Burgoyne's  army — before  quoted — in  describing  the  march 
of  the  captured  troops  to  Virginia,  thus  speaks  of  Germans  who 
deserted : — 


368  The  Stoky  of  an  Old  Farm. 

Seeing  in  what  a  comfortable  manner  their  countrymen  lived,  thev  left  us  in 
great  numbers  as  we  marched  through  New  York,  New  Jersey  and  Pennsylvania. 

Washington,  in  a  letter  from  Englishtown  on  the  dav  after  the 
battle  of  Monmouth,  writes  that  thus  far  Sir  Henry  Clinton  in 
his  march  through  the  Jerseys  had  lost  by  desertion  five  or  six 
hundred  men,  "  chiefly  foreigners."  Six  days  later  General 
Arnold,  who  had  been  left  in  command  at  Philadelphia,  reported 
that  five  hundred  and  seventy-six  deserters  had  reached  that 
city,  of  whom  four  hundred  and  forty-six  were  Germans. 
The  journal  of  von  KrafFt  recites  that  there  were  so  many 
desertions  aimong  his  countrymen  during  the  retreat  across  the 
Jerseys  that  General  von  Knyphausen  announced,  through  his 
regimental  commanders,  that  the  men  must  not  beUeve  the 
"  statements  in  circulation  that  the  rebels  would  give  plantations 
and  houses  to  those  who  remained  behind."  This  general,  as  a 
warning  to  the  troops,  as  they  marched  by  caused  a  deserter  to  be 
hanged  on  a  tree  by  the  road,  "  which  caused  a  dreadful  uproar." 
When  the  English  marched  out  of  Philadelphia  they  were  but 
eleven  thousand  strong.  When  Howe  lauded  at  the  head  of  Elk 
he  had  eighteen  thousand  men.    As  a  writer  of  that  time  says  : — 

This  terrible  diminution  can  be  only  accounted  for  by  the  spirit  of  desertion, 
which,  among  the  Hessians,  prevailed  to  a  very  great  degree. 

General  Greene,  in  a  letter  to  John  Adams  written  from 
Basking  Eidge  in  March,  1777,  thus  speaks  of  the  Germans 
captured  at  Trenton  : — 

The  mild  and  gentle  treatment  the  Hessian  prisoners  have  received  since  they 
have  been  in  our  possession  has  produced  a  great  alteration  in  their  dispositions. 
Desertions  prevail  among  them.  One  whole  brigade  refused  to  fight  or  do  duty, 
and  were  sent  prisoners  to  New  York.  Rancor  and  hatred  prevail  between  them 
and  the  British  soldiery. 

From  Lossing  we  learn  that  of  the  officers  captured  at  Tren- 
ton, Ensign  Carle  Fried  Frurer,  of  the  Knyphausen  regiment, 
and  Ensign  Kleinsmith,  joined  the  American  army ;  ajid  the  his- 
torian Onderdonk  claims  that  many  leading  families  of  Long 
Island  trace  their  descent  from  deserters  from  the  ranks  of  the 
mercenary  troops.  Von  Eelking  mentions  by  name  twelve  offi- 
cers of  the  Brunswick  contingent  who  settled  jjermanently  in 
America.  Among  them  were  six  who  remained  by  permission 
after  the  peace,  two  who  returned  home  but  came    back  to  this 


An  Astute  German  Baker.  369 

country,  and  four  who  deserted  during  the  war.  The  latter 
included  Chaplain  Carl  Melsheimer  of  the  dragoon  regi- 
ment. On  the  Sunday  after  the  battle  of  Princeton,  Gene- 
ral Maxwell  with  some  Jersey  militia  came  out  of  the  Short 
Hills,  and  tailing  suddenly  ou  the  British  post  at  Elizabethtowu, 
made  prisoners  of  fifty  VValdeckers  and  forty  Highlanders.  A 
writer  who  describes  this  aftair  in  a  letter  dated  at  Philadelphia 
on  the  sixteenth  of  January,  recites  : — 

The  English  troops  at  Elizabethtown  would  not  suffer  the  Waldeckers  to  stand 
sentry  at  the  outposts,  several  of  them  having  deserted  and  come  over  to  us. 

At  the  time  of  the  battle  of  Germantown  there  was  living  in 
that  place  a  rich   German  baker,  named   Christopher  Ludwick. 
Having   learned    that    among    the  prisoners  taken   during  that 
engagement  were  eight  Hessians,  this  patriotic  baker  conceived 
the  idea  of  putting  his  unfortunate   countrymen  to  a  more  valu- 
able service  than  that  of  being  guarded  or  paroled.     He  went  to 
headquarters  and  induced  the  commander-in-chief  to  place  these 
men  completely  in  his  hands,  the  only  proviso   being  that  there 
should  come  to  them  no  bodily  harm.     He  then  constituted  him- 
self their  host  and  guide,  and  taking  them  all  about  Philadelphia 
and  its  vicinity,  showed  them  how  the  Germans  were  prospering 
in  this  country  ;  how  comfortably   they  were  housed,  what  fine 
churches  they  had,   with  what   freedom   and  independence  they 
followed  their  avocations,  and  with  what  happiness  those  in  the 
humbler  pursuits  of  life  were  living.     This  wise  custodian  then 
dismissed  his  prisoners,  charging  them  to  return  to  their  regi- 
ments and  inform  their  fellow-soldiers  of  all  that   they  had   seen, 
and  explain  to  them   the   happiness  awaiting  those   who  would 
desert  and  settle  in  Pennsylvania.     The  seed  thus  planted  bore 
rich  fruit.     It  is  said  that  among  the   deserters   resulting  from 
this    action,  numbers   afterward  became  prosperous   citizens  of 
Philadelphia.     Ludwick's  success  in  this  enterprise   encouraged 
him  to  further  endeavors  in   the  same   direction ;  he   visited  a 
Hessian  camp  on  Staten  Island,  and  without  detection  succeeded 
in  causing  several  soldiers  to  flee  to  Pennsylvania.     This  honest 
German  afterward  became  baker-general  to  the  American  army. 
He  is  said  to  have  often  been  a  visitor  at  headquarters,   where 
Washington  recognized  his  worth,  and  appreciated  to  the  full  the 
value  of  his  services. 
24 


370  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

Speaking  of  General  Washington  brings  to  mind  the  fact  that, 
while  living  in  Philadelphia  as  chief  magistrate  of  the  nation,  his 
coachman  was  an  ex-Hessian  soldier.  It  was  one  of  the  events 
of  the  week  to  see  ''  Fritz,"  seated  on  the  box  of  the  executive's 
carriage,  drawing  up  his  four  bright  bays  on  Sunday  morning  in 
front  of  Christ  church.  He  was  tall  and  muscular,  looking  the 
soldier,  his  long  aquiline  nose  pressing  closely  down  over  a 
fierce  moustache.  In  a  livery  of  white,  touched  with  red,  he 
carried  himself  with  an  important  air,  showing  a  severe  coun- 
tenance under  his  cocked  hat,  which  was  worn  square  to  the 
front,  but  thrown  a  little  back  on  his  queue.  Washington's 
arrival  at  chiu-ch  was  always  the  occasion  of  an  enthusiastic  but 
a  quiet  and  respectful  ovation.  Long  before  the  hour  he  was 
expected  Second  street  would  be  packed  with  a  patient  throng 
of  citizens.  On  the  approach  of  the  well-known  white  coach, 
ornamented  with  medallions,  the  crowd  silently  opened  a  narrow 
way  or  lane  from  the  curb  to  the  church  door,  and,  as  the  presi- 
dent stepped  with  calm  dignity  from  the  carriage,  profound  sil- 
ence reigned,  every  eye  being  riveted  on  the  distinguished  form. 
As  Washington,  stately  in  person  and  noble  in  demeanor,  slowly 
moved  across  the  pavement  toward  the  sacred  edifice,  it  was  an 
impressive  spectacle.  From  the  dense  crowd  there  came  not  a 
sound,  but  the  respectful  silence  in  which  the  assembled  multi- 
tude stood  in  the  presence  of  the  "father  of  his  country,"  testi- 
fied more  strongly  than  would  have  the  bravest  shouts,  or  the 
loudest  acclamations,  to  the  admiration  and  veneration  with 
which  they  viewed  this  "  greatest,  purest,  most  exalted  of 
mortals." 


CHAPTER     XXVI. 

Washington'' s  March  from  Trenton  to  Morristown — The  Battles 
of  AssunpinJc  and  Princeton  —  The  American  Army 
Encamped  at  PlucJcamin — Death  and  Burial  of  Captain 
William  Leslie. 

With  the  turn  of  the  year  1776-'77  important  events  rapidly 
succeeded  each  other.  Naturally  one  woidd  say  that  the  history 
of  this  time  will  make  trite  reading,  but  the  occurrences  of  the 
next  few  weeks  are  too  closely  identified  with  the  experiences 
of  Bedmiuster  people  to  be  passed  over  without  a  somewhat 
extended  notice.  In  addition,  an  endeavor  will  be  made  in  this 
chapter  to  present  some  facts  and  incidents  that  iiave  hitherto 
escaped  the  attention  and  knowledge  of  the  ordinary  Revolution- 
ary student.  It  is  not  my  purpose  to  teU  over  again  the  well- 
known  stories  of  Assunpink  and  Princeton,  but  rather  to  dwell 
on  the  many  minor  scenes  and  events  connected  with  the  march 
of  the  continental  army  from  the  second  to  the  sixth  of  January, 
1777  ;  to  relate  some  details  of  interest  that  historians  generallj^ 
have  been  forced  to  pass  by,  in  order  to  dilate  on  the  two  noted 
engagements  which  at  that  time  entirely  altered  the  current  of 
American  history.  While  the  foundation  and  continuity  of  the 
narration  cannot  be  preserved  without  mentioning  these  actions, 
yet,  whatever  of  interest  and  value  may  follow  will  be  due  to  the 
lesser  historical  gleanings  presented,  which  may  be  said  to  be,  to 
some  extent,  the  result  of  an  intimate  knowledge  of  the  locality  in 
which  the  scenes  are  depicted,  and  a  lifelong  acquaintance  with 
its  people. 

The  Christmas  holidays  of  the  year  1776,  which  wiU  ever  be 
considered  one  of  the  great  epochs  in  American  history,  com- 
pletely changed  the  aspect  of  the   Revolutionary  contest.     Sir 


372  The  Stokt  of  an  Old  Farm. 

William  Howe  and  Lord  Cornwallis,  astounded  at  the  news  from 
Trenton,  were  at  once  alive  to  their  error  in  thinking  that  Amer- 
ican independence  was  a  matter  of  the  past.  Abandoning  his 
proposed  home  voyage,  Cornwallis  hastily  marched  his  troops 
toward  the  Delaware,  being  joined  on  the  way  by  Count  von 
Donop's  force  from  Bordentown.  The  British  column,  five 
thousand  strong,  reached  Trenton  late  on  the  afternoon  of  the 
second  of  January.  Washington  was  already  there  with  nearly 
an  eqiial  number  of  men,  although  his  army  was  largely  com- 
posed of  undisciplined,  ununiformed  militia.  Intent  on  reoccupy- 
ing  if  not  recajJturing  New  Jersey,  he  on  the  thirteenth  of 
December  had  again  crossed  the  Delaware. 

Cornwallis  on  reaching  Princeton  had  with  him  about  eight 
thousand  men.  Leaving  fifteen  hundred  there  under  Lieutenant 
Colonel  Mawhood,  and  dispatching  General  Leslie  with  fifteen 
hundred  more  to  llaidenhead,  he  marched  with  the  remainder  on 
the  morning  of  the  second,  intent  on  annihilating  Washington's 
ragged  army.  The  American  general,  to  check  this  advance,  on 
the  evening  of  New  Year's  day  sent  out  a  strong  force  of  rifle- 
men and  artiUery  under  Generals  de  Fermoy  and  Adam  Stephen. 
They  met  the  enemy  on  the  following  morning,  arresting  their  prog- 
ress for  nearly  two  hours,  then  falling  back  toward  the  Delaware 
continued  harassing  and  impeding  the  hostile  mai'cli,  until  it  was 
nearly  dark  before  the  British  faced  the  main  body  of  the  Amer- 
icans at  Trenton.  After  sunset  the  enemy  advanced  in  two 
heavy  bodies  to  the  north  side  of  Assunpink  creek  in  order  to 
force  the  bridge,  but  from  the  opposite  shore  the  American  dogs 
of  war  barked  from  their  iron  throats  a  dubious  welcome.  The 
enemy's  attempt  to  force  a  passage  of  the  stream  was  defeated 
by  the  efi'ective  manner  in  which  General  Knox  handled  his 
artillery,  which  was  advantageou.sly  planted  on  the  high  southern 
bank  of  the  creek.  Owing  to  the  lateness  of  the  hour  Cornwallis 
retired  to  the  rear  of  the  town,  on  the  Princeton  road,  deciding 
to  await  daylight  before  renewing  the  attack,  and  when,  as  he 
boasted,  "  he  would  catch  that  old  fox  Washington."  The 
British  general's  confidence  in  what  the  morrow  would  bring 
forth  proved  to  be  misplaced.  From  time  immemorial  a  fox  has 
been  the  most  uncertain  of  all  game,  and  Lord  Cornwallis  had 
quite    neglected    to    remember    that    it   was  not  uncommon  for 


The  Night  of  Asscnpink,  373 

that  wary  animal,  when  just  about  trapped,  to  quietly  steal 
away. 

Frederick  the  Great,  on  being  told  that  a  distinguished  gen- 
eral had  never  made  a  mistake,  replied,  "  then  he  must  have 
fought  very  few  campaigns."  If  Washington  could  ever  be 
charged  with  alack  of  military  judgment  it  was  when  he  placed 
his  army  in  the  position  it  occupied  on  this  night  of  the  second 
of  January.  Realizing  his  dangerous  situation  he  was  full  of 
anxiety.  Should  an  engagement  follow  the  dawn,  defeat  would 
mean  the  destruction  or  capture  of  the  entire  continental  force, 
the  troops  being  so  disposed  as  to  render  a  retreat  impracticable. 
An  engagement  was  certainly  to  be  expected,  the  chances  of  suc- 
cess lying  almost  wholly  with  the  enemy,  as  opposed  to  the  raw 
levies  of  the  Amei-icans  was  the  flower  of  the  British  armj'. 
Washington's  decision  was  promptly  reached,  a  decision  that 
was  probably  as  important  in  its  immediate  results  and  in  its 
future  effect  upon  the  destinies  of  the  country,  as  was  any  he  was 
called  upon  to  make  during  his  entire  career.  The  British 
had  left  at  Princeton  the  17th,  40th  and  55th  Regiments  of 
infantry  and  three  squadrons  of  dragoons.  They  were  to  join 
Cornwallis  in  the  morning,  but  could  they  be  reached  by  the 
Americans  before  that  time  their  destruction  was  not  impossible. 
Washington,  calling  his  generals  together,  disclosed  his  plan, 
which  was  to  move  quietly  around  the  enemy's  flank,  and  march- 
ing rapidly  on  Princeton,  strike  a  telling  blow  in  that  unexpected 
quarter. 

It  has  been  said  that  this  strategy  was  the  suggestion  of 
General  St.  Clair,  but  Stryker,  in  his  ''  Princeton  Surprise," 
contributed  to  the  "  Magazine  of  American  Histor\-,"  has 
concljisively  proved  this  claim  to  be  groundless,  and  such 
excellent  authorities  as  Goi-don  and  Bancroft  insist  that  the 
idea  was  the  conception  of  the  chief.  Be  this  as  it  mav, 
the  movement  was  quickly  executed  Silently  sending  off  the 
imimJimenfa  in  the  direction  of  Bordentown,  the  canip-flres  were 
brightened,  and  pacing  sentinels  were  left  on  guard,  whose  fre- 
quent challenges  deluded  the  outposts  of  the  enemy.  Soon  after 
midniglit  the  ragged  but  heroic  army  broke  camp,  St.  Clair's 
brigade  leading  the  way.  The  other  commands  following,  they 
pushed  out  far  east  of  and  around  the  sleeping  British  soldiers  ; 


374  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

in  the  deep  stillness  of  the  niglit,  along  a  narrow  new  road 
through  the  woods,  the  troops  silently  defiled  over  the  frozen 
ground,  their  departure  entirely  unsuspected  by  the  enemy. 

In  speaking  of  Revolutionary  armies  such  terms  as  corps, 
divisions  and  brigades  are  not  always  applied  in  the  sense  of  their 
present  uses.  To  mention  a  division  does  not  imply  a  command 
made  up  of  the  full  number  of  regiments  and  brigades.  When 
Baron  Steuben  assumed  the  duties  of  inspector-general  at  Valley 
Forge,  in  March,  1778,  he  found  that  the  term  division,  brigade, 
and  regiment  did  not  convey  an  idea  upon  which  a  calculation 
could  be  based  as  to  the  strength  of  the  army.  In  some  instances 
a  regiment  was  stronger  than  a  brigade.  Disorder  and  con- 
fusion reigned  supreme,  and  the  continual  coQiing  and  going  of 
men  enlisted  for  three,  six  and  nine  months  made  it  impossible 
to  preserve  intact  either  a  company  or  a  battalion.  To  quote 
his  own  words  :  "  I  have  seen  a  regiment  consisting  of  thirty 
men  and  a  company  of  one  corporal."  There  was  no  uniformity 
of  formation  except  in  the  line  of  march,  and  as  to  manual,  each 
colonel  had  a  system  of  his  own.  With  this  little  force  that  was 
stealing  through  the  dark  gloom  of  the  forests  toward  Prince- 
ton there  were  at  least  eleven  generals,  although  the  entire  army 
barely  aggregated  a  modem  brigade.  The  number  of  commis- 
sioned officers  was  also  out  of  all  proportion  to  the  non-commis- 
sioned officers  and  enlisted  men.  As  a  rule,  the  line,  field  and 
staff  of  a  regiment  or  battalion  had  under  them  but  a  handftd  of 
soldiers. 

So  far  as  I  can  learn,  of  this  devoted  band  but  few  organiza- 
tions of  foot  were  completely  u^niformed  and  equipped.  One  was 
the  Dover  light-infantry,  clad  in  green  faced  with  red,  which 
was  a  mUitia  company  raised  in  the  northern  district  of , Kent 
county,  Delaware,  and  commanded  by  Captain  Thomas  Rodney; 
the  second  was  four  light-infanti-y  companies  of  Philadelphia 
militia  under  Captain  George  Henry.  A  third  uniformed  organi- 
zation was  Colonel  William  SmaOwood's  battalion,  a  mere 
fragment — barely  seventy  men — of  what  in  the  preceding  June 
had  been  a  noble  regiment,  eleven  hundred  strong,  composed  of 
the  finest  youth  of  Maryland.  On  the  twenty-seventh  day  of  the 
preceding  August,  at  a  point  in  Brooklyn  where  now  Fifth 
avenue    and  Tenth   street   intersect,  the   men  of  this   command, 


The  Brave  Colonel  Haslet.  375 

together  with  Colonel  Haslet's  Delaware  regiment,  held  the 
enemy  in  check  at  a  severe  loss  to  themselves,  while  the  rest  of 
the  regiments  of  Lord  Stirling's  division  were  making  their 
escape  from  a  most  dangerous  position.  Three  times  they 
rallied  and  charged  the  enemy,  knowing  the  residt  must  be  their 
own  sacrifice,  yet  willing  to  suffer  at  so  great  a  cost  in  order 
that  while  holding  the  British  at  bay  their  comrades  could 
make  good  their  retreat.  The  combat  over,  two  hundred  and 
fifty-six  of  these  Maryland  lads  were  either  lying  among  the 
dead  and  dying,  or  with  their  general,  Loi-d  Stirling,  were  in 
the  hands  of  the  enemy.  The  carnage  had  not  been  in  vain,  as 
the  flying  Americans  were  saved  from  complete  destruction. 
Washington,  choking  with  emotion,  witnessed  this  bravery  fi'om 
a  little  redoubt  within  the  present  boundaries  of  Court,  Clinton, 
Atlantic  and  Pacific  streets,  and  the  courage  and  self-devotion  of 
this  handful  of  young  soldiers  were  the  admiration  of  both  armies. 
The  battalions  now  marching  toward  Princeton  were  all 
similarly  reduced.  The  Rhode  Island  and  Virginia  regiments 
had  been  greatly  depleted ;  of  the  latter.  Colonel  Scott's  com- 
mand was  but  a  corporal's  guard,  while  Weedon's,  which  was 
probably  the  strongest  battalion  with  the  army,  had  less  than 
one  hundred  and  forty  men  tit  for  duty. 

The  1st  Delaware  regiment,  under  the  brave  Colonel  Haslet, 
also  made  a  name  for  itself  at  the  battle  of  Long  Island,  but  at  a 
fearful  cost.  Its  strength,  which  at  the  outset  had  been  a  full 
thousand,  mustered  during  the  retreat  across  the  Jerseys  but 
one  hundred  and  five  men.  The  time  for  which  this  command 
was  enlisted  expired  on  the  first  of  January,  and  most  of  the 
officers  and  men  returned  home  in  the  hope  of  securing  positions 
in  the  new  continental  regiments  that  were  there  forming.  Six 
of  them,  however,  refused  to  overlook  the  necessities  of  the  situ- 
ation and  abandon  the  continental  army  on  the  eve  of  an  engage- 
ment. On  the  night  march  we  are  describing  this  1st  Delaware 
regiment  had  consequently  dwindled  to  Colonel  Haslet,  Captain 
Holland,  Doctor  Gilder,  Ensign  Wilson  and  two  privates.  The 
colonel  was  made  second  in  command  of  General  Mercer's 
brigade  which  numbered  all  told  about  four  hundred  men.  As 
this  spirited  and  distinguished  young  officer  rode  by  the  side  of 
his  troops,  encouraging  the  soldiers  in  their  hurried  march,  he 


376  The  Stoky  of  an  Old  Farm. 

little  thought  that  in  a  few  short  hours,  with  the  coming  of  the 
dawn,  lie  would  be  called  upon  to  lay  his  young  life  on  the  altar 
of  his  country. 

The  only  mounted  force  then  with  the  army  was  the  1st 
Troop  of  Philadelphia  light-horse,  commanded  by  Captain 
Morris.  It  was  a  militia  company  composed  of  twenty-one 
gentlemen  of  independent  fortunes,  whose  services  during 
their  torn*  of  duty  were  invaluable  to  the  commander-in-chief. 
They  furnished  him  with  couriers,  guards,  patrols  and  videttes, 
and  when  discharged  on  the  twenty-third  of  January  Washing- 
ton ^tendered  them  his  sincere  thanks  for  the  effective  aid  "they 
had  rendered  the  army.  With  each  discharge  was  a  testimonial 
which  asserted  that  though  the  members  were  gentlemen  of 
wealth  they  had  shown  a  noble  example  of  discipline  and  sub- 
ordination, and  in  several  actions  had  manifested  a  spirit  and 
bravery  which  would  ever  do  honor  to  themselves,  and  be  grate- 
fully remembered  by  their  chief. 

Among  the  artillery  that  was  jolting  and  rumbling  over  the 
stumps  and  frozen  ruts  on  this  cold  January  night  was  a  New 
Jersey  command  known  as  the  "  Eastern  Battery"  of  state  troops, 
which  a  month  before  had  been  assigned  to  Colonel  Procter's 
artillery  regiment  in  General  Knox's  brigade.  Early  in  the  war, 
owing  to  the  exposed  situation  of  New  Jersey,  and  to  its  lying 
between  the  two  prominent  cities  that  were  likely  to  be  the 
strongholds  of  the  enemy,  it  was  found  necessary  to  organize  a 
force  for  the  protection  of  the  inhabitants.  These  troops  were 
volunteers  from  the  county  militia,  and  were  known  as  "  New 
Jersey  Levies  "  and  "  State  Troops."  Though  primarily  intended 
for  home  protection,  they  were  required,  when  called  upon,  to 
serve  beyond  the  borders  of  the  state.  The  first  organization  of 
these  lines  authorized  by  the  provincial  congress  were  sta- 
tioned in  the  eastern  and  western  divisions  of  the  state.  Among 
the  officers  of  the  Eastern  Battery  were  Captain  Frederick  Fre- 
linghuysen  and  Second-Lieutenant  John  Van  Dyke.  This  bat- 
tery did  excellent  service  on  the  banks  of  the  Assunpink  and  at 
Trenton  on  the  morning  after  Christmas.  Its  men  also  won  the 
commendation  of  their  general  for  the  manner  in  which  they 
served  their  guns  at  the  battles  of  Princeton  and  Monmouth. 
Lieutenant  Van  Dyke  of  this  command  was  a  native  of  Eliza- 


The  Battle  of  Princeton.  377 

bethtown,  and  his  war  experiences  were  rich  and  varied  in  char- 
acter. When  the  time  of  service  of  this  New  Jersey  battery 
expired  he  became  an  officer  in  Colonel  Lamb's  artillery  regi- 
ment of  the  New  York  line.  While  taking  a  short  sea  voyage, 
when  on  a  furlough  owing  to  illness,  he  was  captured  by  the 
enemy  and  spent  some  time  on  the  prison  ship,  "Jersey."  He  was 
one  of  the  officers  who  walked  with  Andre  to  the  gallows,  and 
his  pen  has  furnished  us  with  a  very  full  account  of  the  incidents 
of  that  unhappy  expiation. 

Captain  Frelinghuysen  retired  from  the  artillery  in  May, 
1776,  being  succeeded  in  the  command  of  the  battery  by 
Captain  Daniel  Neil,  which  otficer,  like  Colonel  Haslet,  was 
now  marching  to  his  death.  Frelinghuysen  was  still  with 
the  array  and  participated  in  this  Princeton  surprise,  hav- 
ing in  November  been  appointed  brigade-major  on  the  staff  of 
General  Dickinson  of  the  New  Jersey  militia.  He  was  cam- 
paigning in  a  familiar  country,  having  graduated  from  the  college 
of  New  Jei'sey  six  years  before  at  the  early  age  of  sixteen. 
There  were  other  "  Princeton  men  "  with  the  continental  troops, 
among  them  Surgeon  Benjamin  Rush  of  the  class  of  1760,  and 
Colonel  Joseph  Reed — a  native  of  Trenton — whose  parchment 
was  dated  in  1757.  The  latter  was  a  member  of  Washington's 
military  tamily.  Doctor  Rush,  who  was  a  well-known  physician 
of  Philadelphia,  was  serving  as  a  volimteer  surgeon  with  the 
Pennsylvania  militia.  Von  Moltke  claims  geography  to  be  the 
most  important  factor  in  the  science  of  war.  These  two  staff 
officers,  because  of  their  local  knowledge  of  the  vicinity,  are 
said  to  have  contributed  greatly  to  the  brilliant  success  of  that 
momentous  winter's  day,  which  a  rising  sun  and  this  little  army 
were  about  to  make  historic. 

The  morning  of  the  third  of  January  was  clear  and  cold.  A 
white  hoar-fi'ost  sparkled  and  glittered  on  the  fields,  and  the 
branches  of  the  trees  were  gemmed  with  buds  of  ice.  Soon 
after  daybreak  the  people  in  the  vicinity  of  Princeton  were 
awakened  by  the  noise  of  musket-shots.  File-firing  commenced 
pattering  like  drum-beats,  followed  by  a  regular  fusillade  of 
platoons ;  then  came  the  roaring  of  cannon.  The  citizens  soon, 
discovered  that  war  in  its  full  flower  was  at  their  very  doors. 
General   Mercer  with   his  brigade,  which   on   nearing  the  town. 


378  The  Story  of  ax  Old  Farm. 

had  been  detached  from  the  main  column,  came  upon  the  British 
advance  at  Samuel  Worth's  mill,  near  where  the  King's  highway 
crosses  Stony  brook,  about  one  mile  southwest  of  Princeton.  He 
would  have  been  overwhelmed,  but  Washington  with  the  conti- 
nentals and  militia  promptly  came  to  his  support ;  a  sharp  and 
decisive  engagement  followed  ;  in  less  than  thirty  minutes  vic- 
tory perched  upon  the  American  banners,  and  the  enemy,  horse 
and  foot,  were  in  full  retreat. 

I  do  not  propose  to  weary  the  patience  of  my  readers  with  an 
accoimt  of  this  famous  battle.  Able  historians  have  made,  us  all 
familiar  with  the  miraculous  escape  of  Washington  when  exposed 
to  a  cross-fire  of  friend  and  foe ;  have  told  over  and  over  again 
of  General  Mercer's  having  been  pinned  to  the  earth  by  the 
fatal  thrusts  of  British  bayonets  ;  of  how  the  smoke  rose  above 
the  combatants  and  hung  in  air,  a  clear,  white,  cumulus  cloud,  as 
if  weighted  with  the  souls  of  those  who  had  just  closed  their  eyes 
on  the  radiance  of  that  winter  morn  ;  of  the  appearance  pre- 
sented by  the  British  commander,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Mawhood, 
who  in  the  heat  of  the  action  rode  at  the  head  of  his  men  on  a 
little  brown  pony,  with  two  springing  spaniels  playing  before 
him  ;  of  Knox's  training  his  artillery  on  Nassau  Hall  to  dislodge 
a  portion  of  the  40th  Regiment  which  had  taken  refuge  in  the 
college  building ;  and  of  the  many  other  incidents  crowded 
within  the  short  space  of  time  occupied  in  completely  routing 
the  British  forces.  Taking  into  consideration  the  number  of 
troops  engaged,  no  action  dm'ing  the  war  was  so  fatal  to  Ameri- 
can officers.  One  general,  one  colonel,  three  captains,  one  lieu- 
tenant and  an  ensign  were  killed  ;  but  then,  as  has  been  learned, 
officers  were  so  numerous  in  this  little  army  that  even  in  so  short 
an  exposure  to  the  enemy's  fire  that  number  of  casualties  was 
fairly  to  be  expected.  All  told,  the  American  loss  was  but 
thirty,  while  the  British  left  one  hundred  dead  on  the  field  and 
nearly  three  hundred  men  in  our  hands  as  prisoners,  including 
fourteen  officers.  Fifty  of  the  captives  were  sent  into  Pennsyl- 
vania, the  rest  being  brought  along  with  the  army. 

Among  the  enemy's  fatally  wounded  was  a  young  Scotchman, 
William  Leslie,  a  son  of  the  Earl  of  Leven  and  a  captain  in  the 
17th  Regiment  of  foot.  He  was  of  a  military  line,  being  a  descend- 
ant of  that  old  Earl  of  Leven  who  was  a  soldier  under  Gustavus, 


Captain  Leslie's  Death-Wound.  379 

and  who  at  the  battle  of  Marston  Moor  boldly  rode  at  the  head 
of  his  tough  Scotch  covenanters  to  oppose  the  cavalier  troopers, 
massed  by  the  thousands  under  the  silken  standard  of  Prince 
Rupert.  It  is  a  singular  circumstance  that  when  Captain  Leslie 
received  his  death-wound,  so  far  from  iiome  and  kindi-ed,  the 
only  two  Americans  knowing  of  him  and  his  people  were  in  the 
immediate  vicinity,  one  being  in  the  army  against  which  he  was 
contending.  He  fought  his  last  battle  almost  within  the  shadows 
of  the  walls  of  a  college  whose  president,  John  Witherspoon, 
was  the  lifelong  friend  of  his  parents.  Before  being  called  to 
America  Doctor  Witherspoon  had  been  a  prominent  Presbyterian 
minister  at  Paisley,  a  Scottish  town  not  far  from  Melville  House, 
the  seat  of  the  Earl  of  Leven.  Captain  Leslie's  mother,  the 
countess,  was  a  devout  adherent  to  the  kirk  of  Scotland,  and  had 
the  interests  of  Presbyterianism  much  at  heart.  That  she  might 
keep  informed  as  to  its  progress  in  America,  for  a  number  of 
years  after  her  old  friend  had  been  called  to  the  presidency  of 
the  college  of  New  Jersey  she  continued  with  him  a  religious  and 
friendly  correspondence,  and  ever  held  him  in  high  esteem. 

Strange  as  it  may  appear,  when  Leslie  fell  he  almost  at  once 
received  aid  from  another  friend  of  his  parents.  Surgeon  Benja- 
min Eush,  before  mentioned,  had  gained  his  medical  education 
at  the  University'  of  Edinburgh.  While  in  Scotland  he  became 
acquainted  with  the  family  of  the  Earl  of  Leven.  The  young 
student's  reiined  and  polished  manners,  together  with  the 
peculiarly  fascinating  conversational  powers  with  which  he  was 
endowed,  made  his  frequent  visits  to  Melville  House  always 
welcome.  After  his  return  to  America  he  was  ever  held,  espe- 
cially by  the  countess,  in  affectionate  remembrance  ;  this  feeling 
was  heightened  to  a  tender  and  grateful  regard  by  the  doctor's 
attention  and  services  to  her  wounded  son.  When  the  heat  of 
the  engagement  at  Princeton  was  over,  Washington  and  his  staff 
while  crossing  some  fallow  ground  discovered  a  party  of  soldiers 
supporting  an  injured  officer.  Upon  enquiring  and  learning  his 
name  and  rank.  Surgeon  Rush,  who  was  in  the  general's  suite, 
thus  addressed  his  chief:  "I  beg  your  excellency  to  permit  this 
wounded  officer  to  be  placed  under  my  care,  that  I  may  return, 
in  however  small  a  degree,  a  part  of  the  obligations  I  owe  to  his 
worthy   father   for  the   many  kindnesses   received  at  his  hands 


380  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

while  I  was  a  student  at  Edinburgh."  The  request  was, 
of  course,  granted  ;  Rush  was  quickly  out  of  the  saddle,  and 
with  the  aid  of  an  orderly  placed  Leslie  in  a  farmer's  wagon 
that  was  collecting  the  wounded.  The 'young  soldier  at  once 
received  surgical  treatment,  and  every  care  and  attention  was 
bestowed  on  him  until  his  death,  which  occurred  during  the 
following  afternoon. 

The  Americans  had  no  cavalry  to  follow  the  fleeing  enemy, 
and  the  foot  soldiers  were  in  anything  but  a  condition  for  pursuit. 
After  the  fight  Washington  was  sorely  tempted  to  push  on  to 
New  Brunswick  in  the  hope  of  securing  the  British  stores.  It 
was  impossible,  owing  to  the  condition  of  his  men ;  for  much  of 
the  past  thirty-six  hours  they  had  been  marching  and  fighting, 
many  of  them  had  had  neither  breakfast  nor  dinner,  and  the 
entire  army  were  completely  exhausted.  He  was  thus  forced  to 
seek  the  hill  country  where  his  victorious  troops  could  without 
molestation  obtain  the  rest  and  refreshment  they  so  much  needed. 
Re-forming  his  column,  the  general  pressed  on  along  the  King's 
highway  to  Van  Tilburgii's  inn,  at  Kingston,  which  stood,  and 
vintil  lately  was  still  standing,  on  the  north  side  of  that  thorough- 
fare. Here,  turning  to  the  left  on  the  narrow  Rocky  Hill  road, 
he  marched  his  way-worn  soldiers  down  the  valley  of  the  Mill- 
stone. 

The  first  information  that  Cornwallis  had  of  the  affair  at 
Princeton  was  the  booming  of  cannon  on  the  break  of  that  cold 
day  which  he  had  expected  to  .devote  to  catching  "the  old  fox." 
He  was  much  chagrined  at  Washington's  escape,  but  was  soon 
in  full  pursuit,  the  rear-guard  under  General  Leslie,  whicli  had 
rested  at  Maidenhead,  being  in  the  van.  A  stern  chase  is 
always  a  long  one.  Much  time  was  lost  in  crossing  Stony 
brook,  the  bridge  having  been  destroyed.  On  nearing  Prince- 
ton a  cannon-shot  from  a  small  redoubt  brought  the  British  to  a 
halt,  their  generals  thinking  that  the  Americans  had  fortified 
themselves  in  the  town.  This  gun  was  fired  by  a  few  militia- 
men who  had  then  hastily  retired,  but  an  hour  was  lost  before 
Cornwallis  discovered  this,  and  was  again  on  the  march.  Having 
great  fears  for  his  military  chest  and  supplies  at  New  Brunswick, 
he  hurriedly  passed  on  through  Princeton  and  Kingston  without 
learning  that  at  the  latter  place  his  foes  had  filed  to  the  left. 


Marching  Down  the  Millstone,  381 

Meanwhile,  let  us  follow  Washington,  who  was  for  the  first 
time  penetrating  Somerset  county.  An  auspicious  advent ! 
Arrayed  in  the  continental  blue  and  buff,  as  he  sat  his  horse 
with  all  that  martial  dignity  peculiar  to  himself,  he  came  as  a 
conqueror,  welcomed  by  the  enthusiastic  greetings  of  the  popu- 
lace. The  little  army  toiled  along  the  east  bank  of  the  Mill- 
stone, the  men  in  high  spirits  over  the  experiences  of  the  past 
twenty-four  hours,  but  yet,  so  weak  from  cold,  hunger  and 
fatigue  that  they  defiled  along  in  dispersed  order,  with  heavy 
steps,  guns  carried  in  whatever  way  was  easiest,  and  their  eyes 
almost  glued  with  sleep.  Many  fell  out  by  the  way,  and  stretch- 
ing themselves  on  the  frozen  ground  sought  that  repose  which 
exhausted  nature  refused  longer  to  await.  But  few  of  the  men 
were  decently  clad,  much  less  amply  protected  from  the  wintry 
air,  while  sad  to  relate  some  were  without  covering  for  their 
feet.  It  is  told  that  Washington  while  riding  by  the  side  of  his 
troops  noticed  that  William  Lyon,  a  continental  soldier  from 
Middlesex  county,  was  without  stockings,  and  almost,  if  not 
entirely,  without  shoes.  As  he  trudged  sturdily  along,  his  bare 
and  bloody  feet  left  their  marks  on  the  ice  and  gravel  of  the 
roadway.  The  general,  checking  his  horse,  tapped  Lyon  gently 
on  the  shoulder  and  said  :  "  My  brave  boy  you  deserve  a  better 
fate."  "  Ah,"  replied  the  plucky  young  soldier,  "  there  is  no 
danger  of  my  feet  freezing  as  long  as  the  blood  runs."  This 
Revolutionary  hero  survived  that  hardship  and  many  others,  not 
dying  till  1841.  Rumbling  along  in  the  midst  of  the  column 
were  country  carts  containing  that  sad  contingent  of  all  victorious 
armies,  the  wounded — poor  wretches  who  rested  wearily  against 
the  sides  of  the  wagon  bodies,  their  countenances  making  mute 
appeals  for  human  sympathy  ;  some  wdth  arms  in  slings,  some 
with  heads  bandaged,  some  with  limbs  and  jaws  shattered,  while 
others  lying  in  the  straw  were  pale  and  wan,  with  eyes  fast 
glazing. 

Much  of  interest  appertaining  to  this  march  to  Morristown  is 
to  be  learned  fi-om  the  manuscript  diary  of  Captain  Thomas 
Rodney  of  the  Dover  light-infantry,  which  is  preserved  by  his 
descendants.  This  officer's  company  was  embodied  into  a  regi- 
ment with  the  four  companies  of  the  Philadelphia  light-infantry, 
imderthe  commandof  the  senior  captain,  George  Henry.  When 


382  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

the  van  of  the  American  army  reached  the  bridge  which  then 
spanned  the  Millstone  in  front  of  the  residence  of  Christopher 
Hoagland,  near  Griggstown,  British  cavalry  appeared  inconsider- 
able force  on  the  opposite  bank.  Just  then  the  condition  of  Wash- 
ington's men  was  such  that  he  desired  neither  to  pursue  nor  to 
be  pursued,  so,  riding  forward,  he  ordered  Rodney  to  halt  and 
break  up  the  bridge.  The  captain  recites  that  on  this  being  done 
the  enemy  were  forced  to  retire  ;  this  would  lead  one  to  suppose 
that  the  river's  depth  at  that  time  was  much  greater  than  now,  as 
the  present  volume  of  water  would  hardly  prove  a  bar  to  the  pas- 
sage of  mounted  men.  Commissaries  were  sent  forward  to  notify 
the  inhabitants  of  the  coming  of  the  troops,  and  to  direct  that  food 
be  prepared  for  their  reft-eshment.  It  is  said  that  this  demand 
met  with  a  fair  response,  and  when  the  army  at  dusk  reached 
Somerset  Court-house — Millstone — where  it  encamped  for  the 
night,  a  considerable  number  of  rations  were  in  readiness. 

Washington  and  some  of  his  staff  quartered  at  the  residence 
of  John  Van  Doren,  just  south  of  the  village  ;  the  house  is  still 
standing,  as  is  the  barn  in  which  the  general's  horse  was  stabled. 
Mr.  Van  Doren's  military  guests  were  not  always  of  so  distin- 
guished a  character.  Some  months  later  it  was  soldiers  of  the 
enemy  that  took  possession  of  this  old  homestead.  Upon  their 
approach  the  men  of  the  household  thought  it  wise  to  disappear, 
but  old  Mrs.  Van  Doren  pluckily  stood  her  ground  and  defied 
the  intruders.  She  refused  to  give  up  her  keys  or  tell  whei-e 
the  family  treasures  were  secreted,  whereupon  the  brutal  sol- 
diers, after  ransacking  the  house,  hung  her  up  by  the  heels  in 
the  cellar.  After  their  departure  she  was  released  by  her  neigh- 
bors, but  not  until  black  in  the  face,  and  almost  lifeless. 

During  the  night  many  laggards  came  into  camp,  and  in  the 
morning  the  column  was  again  pushing  northward,  crossing  the 
Raritan  at  Van  Veghten's  bridge,  near  the  present  Finderne 
railway  station.  Here,  as  Rodney  states,  Washington  was  again 
tempted  to  march  on  New  Brunswick,  but  realizing  that  his 
troops  must  have  repose  he  finally  abandoned  the  jjroject.  Mov- 
ing up  the  river,  at  Tunison's  tavern — now  Fritt's — the  army 
filed  to  the  right  and  continued  over  the  hills  to  Pluckamin, 
which  place  was  reached  during  the  afternoon.  The  wounded 
were   distributed    in  the   houses  of  the    village ;  the    Lutheran 


A  GuEAT  Day  fok  Pluck amin.  383 

church  as  a  temporary  prison  received  the  captured  men,  while 
in  the  Matthew  Lane  house — now  owned  by  John  Fenner,  Jr. — 
it  is  said  that  the  thirteen  captured  officers  were  placed  under 
guard.  Poor  Leslie  was  no  longer  a  prisoner,  his  soul  having 
taken  flight  while  the  wagon,  in  which  he  and  other  wounded 
men  were  carried,  was  descending  the  hill  below  Chamber's 
brook,  at  the  outskirts  of  the  village.  The  troops  encamped  on 
the  bleak  hillside  just  south  of  Pluckamin,  the  top  of  which,  as 
Rodney  writes,  was  covered  with  snow.  Torn  with  the  shock 
of  conflict,  weak  from  need  of  nourishment,  and  enfeebled  by 
cold  and  exhaustion,  this  place  of  security,  together  with  the 
prospect  of  rest,  was  most  grateful  to  the  little  army.  Commis- 
saries had  been  busy  ;  within  a  few  hours  the  camp  was  pretty 
well  supplied  with  provisions,  and  before  the  drums  beat  tattoo 
nearly  one  thousand  men,  who  had  been  unable  to  keep  up  on 
the  march,  rejoined  their  commands.  When  the  darkness  of 
night  closed  aromid  Pluckamin  mountain,  the  ruddy  glow  of 
camp  fires  shone  among  the  trees  near  the  foot  of  its  northern 
sloj)e.  The  flames,  flashing  up,  illumined  groups  of  soldiers, 
stacks  of  arms,  and  tethered  horses ;  near  by,  baggage-wagons, 
caissons,  and  cannon  were  parked  in  military  lines,  while  here 
and  there  the  shadowy  forms  of  sentinels  could  be  distinguished. 
There  is  no  such  comfort  as  fullness  and  warmth  after  cold  and 
hunger.  It  was  not  long  before  most  of  the  tired  men  were  full- 
length  at  the  foot  of  the  trees,  foi-getting  the  travail  of  a  soldier's 
life  in  needful  sleep. 

Sunday  the  fifth  of  January  was  a  great  day  for  Pluckamin. 
The  news  of  Washington  being  in  Bedminster  had  raf)idly 
spread,  and  while  it  was  yet  early,  on  the  roads' and  lanes  lead- 
ing to  the  village  numerous  parties  of  country  people  could  be 
seen,  all  hurrying  to  visit  the  soldiers  and  learn  for  themselves 
the  latest  news  of  the  campaign.  Throughout  the  entire  day  the 
place  was  astir  with  an  animated  nndtitude,  and  excitements  of 
all  kinds  ruled  the  hour.  Squads  of  infantry  and  artillerymen 
were  everywhere.  Farmers'  wagons  laden  with  provisions  came 
rolling  in  from  the  neighborhood  of  Peapack,  Lamington  and  the 
valley.  Stern,  brown-visaged  officers,  in  heavy  boots  and  tar- 
nished uniforms,  were  mounting  here,  dismounting  there,  and 
clattering    through  the  streets   in    every    direction.       Foraging 


384  The  Story  of  an  Old  Fakm. 

parties  were  being  dispatched ;  couriers  and  express  messengers 
rode  off  in  hot  liaste ;  horses  neighed,  men  shouted,  and  on  all 
sides  were  hand-shakings  and  congratulations.  The  martial 
instinct  of  the  people  seemed  alert ;  eyes  sparkled  and  all  hearts 
beat  quickly.  Every  little  while  brought  new  arrivals  of  coun- 
try people,  and  the  details  of  the  famous  victory  must  be  gone 
over  again  and  again.  Although  the  war  was  yet  young  the 
soldiers  had  plenty  to  teU  of  marches  and  counter-marches,  of 
camp  life  and  bivouacs,  of  attacks,  routs,  wounds  and  hard- 
ships. And  then  the  new-comers  were  carried  off  to  the 
Lutheran  church,  which  was  surrounded  by  a  cordon  of  sentinels. 
And  through  its  doors  and  windows,  what  a  brave  show ! — two 
hundred  and  thirty  British  soldiers ;  broad-shouldered,  big- 
boned  Scotchmen,  stalwart  grenadiers,  and  dragoons  brilliant 
with  color — caged  lions,  who  looked  with  gloomy  stares  upon 
the  inquisitive  and  rejoicing  Americans,  whom  the  experiences 
of  the  past  few  days  had  taught  them  to  better  appreciate  ■  as 
soldiers  and  freemen. 

And  so  the  day  wore  on  !  Everywhere  were  motion  and  con- 
fusion. Eoff's  tavern  kept  open  table,  and  on  its  porch  conti- 
nental and  militia  officers  of  all  grades  mingled.  It  was  ding- 
clang!  ding-clang !  all  that  Sunday  on  the  anvil  of  the  village 
forge,  for  from  sunrise  to  the  gloaming  honest  John  Wortuian 
and  his  brawny  assistants  were  busy  with  hammer,  sledge,  and 
tongs,  shoeing  army  horses  and  repairing  army  wagons.  "Cap- 
tain Bullion,"  too — John  Boylan,  Pluckamin's  first  storekeeper — 
was  robbed  of  his  usual  Sunday  quiet,  being  obliged  to  expose 
his  wares  for  the  benefit  of  impatient  soldiers  and  visitors.  Sur- 
geons hurried  from  house  to  house,  drums  beat  for  guard-mount,' 
subalterns  marched  reliefs  to  the  different  sentry-posts,  and  the 
din  of  war  was  in  the  very  air.  Amid  the  bustle  and  animation, 
in  fancy,  I  can  see  Aaron  Malick,  clad  in  his  Sunday  breeches 
of  blue  cloth,  his  red  waistcoat  with  flapping  pockets  showing 
from  under  an  amply  skirted  coat  adoxnied  with  metal  buttons. 
He  had  come  down  from  the  "Old  Stone  House"  with  the  hope 
of  learning  something  of  his  boy  John,  but  that  poor  lad  was 
still  in  the  grip  of  Provost  Cuningham,  and  knew  nothing  of  the 
happy  close  of  a  campaign  which  had  commenced  for  him  rather 
ingloriously.    In  after  years  Aaron  often  told  of  the  aspect  Plucka- 


The  Burial  of  Captain  Leslie.  385 

mill  presented  on  tliose  memorable  days  when  it  was  occupied  by 
the  heroes  of  Trenton  and  Princeton.  He  especially  delighted  in 
reminiscences  of  the  generals  whose  names  grew  greater  as  the 
war  progressed — of  Greene,  tall  and  vigorous,  with  the  air  of 
one  born  to  command;  of  Sullivan,  alert  and  soldierly;  of  Knox, 
whose  broad,  full  face  beamed  with  satisfaction ;  but,  above  all,  of 
the  conspicuous  figure  of  Washington,  who  seemed  a  king  among 
men  as  he  moved  amid  the  throng,  with  high-born  eye,  lofty  but 
courteous  port,  and  a  calm,  strong  face  reflecting  a  mind  full  of 
the  tranquillity  of  conscious  power.  Tradition  mentions  the 
Fenner  house,  before  referred  to  as  still  standing,  as  having  been 
the  headquarters  of  the  commander-in-chief.  He  spent  much  of 
the  early  part  of  this  Sunday  in  preparing  his  report  of  the  battle 
of  Princeton,  and  of  the  movements  of  the  army  since  crossing 
the  Delaware.  Upon  the  completion  of  the  dispatch,  Captain 
Henry  was  detailed  to  carry  it  at  once  to  congress  at  Philadel- 
phia ;  this  left  Captain  Rodney,  as  next  senior  in  rank,  in  com- 
mand of  the  light-infantry  regiment. 

Visitors  to  Pliickamin  on  that  eventfid  Sunday  were  treated  to 
an  unexpected  affair  of  ceremony.  About  midday  a  detachment 
of  forty  men  from  Rodney's  regiment  marched  into  the  vnllage, 
and  drew  up  in  line  with  its  centre  opposite  the  entrance  to  the 
building  in  which  lay  the  dead  body  of  Captain  Leslie — proba- 
bly Eoff's  tavern.  The  young  British  officer  was  about  to  be 
buried  with  the  honors  of  war,  the  light-infantry  being  selected 
as  escort  because  of  their  soldierl}'  appearance  and  superior  uni- 
form. The  detachment  was  commanded  by  Captain  Humphries, 
it  having  been  turned  over  to  him  by  Rodney,  who  had  not  con- 
sidered himself  sufficiently  familiar  with  the  details  of  a  burial 
ceremony.  At  the  beat  of  muffled  drum  and  wail  of  fife  the 
men  presented  arms,  as  the  corpse  was  borne  from  the  house  to 
the  flank  of  the  line.  The  escort  then  broke  into  column  of 
fours,  and,  reversing  arms,  marched  in  slow  time  and  with 
solemn  step  to  the  Lutheran  churchyard,  where  they  filed  to  the 
left,  forming  in  line  opposite  an  open  grave  which  had  been  dug 
near  the  head  of  that  of  Johannes  Moelich. 

There  were  wet  eyes  and  true  grief  at  that   sepulchre,  for 

Doctor  Rush  was  not  the   only  mourner  present.     Among  the 

citizens  and  military  clustering  about  the  bier  were  the  captured 
25 


386  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

British  officers,  whom  Washington  had  generously  permitted  to 
be  present  in  order  that  they  might  bid  a  final  adieu  to  a  com- 
rade in  arms  who  had  been  much  beloved.  And  then  the  solemn 
hush  was  broken  by  the  deep  voice  of  the  chajdain,  saying,  "  I 
am  the  Resurrection  and  the  Life,  saith  the  Lord."  As  the 
simple  service  continued,  the  body  of  the  young  warrior  slowly 
descended  to  its  gravelly  bed,  the  troops,  meanwhile,  resting  their 
bent  heads  on  the  butts  of  their  muskets,  the  muzzles  being 
pressed  to  the  ground.  When  the  icy  clods  fell  on  the  rude  cof- 
fin the  escort  fired  three  volleys  over  the  open  grave,  and  then, 
shouldering  arms,  marched  away,  the  drums  and  fifes  striking  up 
a  lively  tune  on  reaching  the  highway.  The  prisoners  were 
returned  to  their  quarters,  the  crowd  dispersed  and  again  contri- 
bixted  to  the  village  tumults,  leaving  Leslie  to  sleep  in  his  remote 
and  retired  tomb  until  its  deep  silence  shall  be  broken  by  a  maj- 
estic reveille,  ushering  in  that  eternal  day  which  shall  proclaim 
the  full  brotherhood  of  man,  and  in  which  such  distinctions  as 
friend  and  foe  shall  be  no  more,  forever. 

Captain  Rodney  tells  us  that  these  high  military  honors  were 
accorded  because  of  the  desire  of  the  American  army  to  pay 
"  due  respect  to  bravery,  tho'  in  an  enemy."  Leslie's  gallantry 
in  action  at  Princeton  had  won  the  admiration  of  his  opponents  ; 
indeed,  this  may  be  said  as  of  the  entire  17tli  British  regiment.  In 
the  height  of  the  engagement,  Washington,  on  witnessing  the  cour- 
age and  discipline  of  this  command,  could  not  forbear  exclaiming 
to  his  officers,  "  See  how  those  noble  fellows  fight!  Ah!  gentle- 
men, when  shall  we  be  able  to  keep  an  army  long  enough 
together  to  display  a  discipline  equal  to  our  enemy's  V  The 
attention  of  Surgeon  Benjamin  Rush  to  the  son  of  his  friends  in 
Scotland  did  not  end  with  the  funeral.  He  marked  the  grave 
with  a  brown  headstone  inscribed  : — 

In  memory  of  the  Hon.  Captain  William  Leslie  of  the  17tli  British  Regiment, 
son  of  the  Earl  of  Leven  in  Scotland.  He  fell  January  3d,  1777,  aged  26  years, 
at  the  battle  of  Princeton.  His  friend  Benjamin  Rush  M.D.  of  Philadelphia, 
caused  this  stone  to  be  erected  as  a  mark  of  his  esteem  for  his  worth,  and  respect 
for  his  noble  family. 

This  headstone  stood  for  nearly  sixty  years  before  it  suc- 
cumbed to  the  gnawing  tooth  of  time.  About  the  year  1835 
Professor  John  D.  Ogilby  of  Rutgers  college,  when  in   Scotland, 


Doctor  Benjamin  Rush.  387 

was  requested  by  the  then  Earl  of  Leven  to  find  and,  if  neces- 
sary, re-mark  the  grave.  Upon  the  professor's  return  to  America 
he  applied  to  the  wT-iter's  father  for  information  as  to  where  the 
officer  was  buried.  Together  they  visited  Pluckamin  and  had 
the  present  stone  set  up,  reproducing  the  original  inscription. 

This  soldier's  grave  is  a  connecting  link  between  our  quiet 
Somerset  village  and  the  busy  life  of  one  of  the  most  gifted 
Americans  of  the  last  century.  When  Doctor  Rush  died  at  the 
age  of  sixty-eight,  few  men  in  the  United  States  were  better 
known,  were  held  in  higher  esteem  for  genius  and  learning,  or 
were  more  sincerely  beloved  for  philanthropy  and  good  works. 
When  at  Pluckamin  with  Washington's  army  he  was  thirty-one 
years  old,  his  Princeton  degree  having  been  gained  at  the  early 
age  of  fifteen.  In  person  he  was  above  middle  stature,  with  a 
slender  but  well-proportioned  figure.  His  combined  features 
bespoke  a  strong  and  an  active  intellect,  and  though  his  whole 
demeanor  was  thoughful  and  grave,  expressive  blue  eyes 
illumined  a  highly  animated  countenance.  Doctor  Rush  was  a 
man  of  wide  and  varied  knowledge,  with  a  talent  for  imparting 
it  to  others  that  was  singularly  felicitous.  It  is  claimed  that  no 
one  long  remained  in  his  presence  without  feeling  conscious  of 
an  intellectual  refreshment ;  and  a  contemporaneous  writer  has 
recorded  tliat  "  his  convei-sation  was  an  attic  repast,  which,  far 
from  cloying,  invigorated  the  appetite  of  those  who  partook  of 
it."  This  distinguished  surgeon  must  have  left  Pluckamin 
immediately  after  the  burial  of  Captain  Leslie,  as  on  the  follow- 
ing day  he  dated  a  letter  from  Bordentown,  and  on  the  same 
afternoon  was  summoned  and  went  to  Princeton  to  attend  upon 
the  dying  General  Mercer.  Before  the  end  of  the  month  he  had 
taken  his  seat  in  congress,  which  was  then  sitting  at  Baltimore. 
His  figure  soon  became  a  familiar  one  to  Somerset  people,  as  in 
April  he  received  the  appointment  of  surgeon-general  of  the 
hospital  in  the  middle  department,  and  in  Jidy  was  made  physi- 
cian-general of  the  army. 

Another  interesting  incident  connected  with  the  stay  of  the 
army  at  this  time  in  Pluckamin,  was  the  arrival  in  camp  of  the 
gallant  Captain  John  Stryker's  troop  of  Somerset  horse,  laden 
with  spoils  from  the  enemy.  Cornwallis  in  his  hurried  march 
toward  New  Brunswick  was  so  unfortunate  as  to  disable  a  num- 


388  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

ber  of  his  baggage-wagons.  He  left  thein  at  the  side  of  the 
road  in  charge  of  a  quartermaster  with  a  guard  of  two  hundred 
men.  Captain  Stryker,  though  having  with  him  but  twenty- 
troopers,  resolved  upon  the  capture  of  these  stores.  In  the  dark- 
ness of  night  he  distributed  his  small  force  in  a  circle,  completely 
surrounding  the  camp.  The  guard  were  suddenly  astounded  by 
a  volley  of  musket-shots  and  the  whistling  of  bidlets,  while  from 
under  the  black  arches  of  the  bordering  trees  came  loud  and 
repeated  shouts,  as  if  from  a  countless  host.  Demoralized  by 
recent  defeats  the  men  incontinently  fled,  thinking  that  they  had 
been  attacked  by  a  large  force  of  the  Americans.  Their  fright 
was  not  so  much  caused  by  the  roar  of  musketry  as  by  the 
unearthly  veUs  of  the  lusty  troopers  which  so  suddenly  broke  the 
stilhiess  of  the  night.  Captain  Stryker  was  not  long  in  so  repair- 
ing the  wagons  that  they  could  be  hauled  to  a  place  of  safety  ; 
he  lost  no  time  in  making  his  way  to  Washington's  camp  with 
his  treasures.  The  joy  of  the  troops  was  unbounded  when  it  was 
discovered  that  the  wagons  contained  woollen  clothing,  of  which 
the  men  stood  in  sore  need. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  sixth  of  January,  Pluckamin  lost, 
as  suddenly  as  it  had  gained,  the  distinction  of  being  the  head- 
quarters of  Washington's  army.  Soon  after  sounding  reveille 
the  drums  beat  assembly,  and  the  men  were  under  arms.  The 
different  commands  filed  out  of  camp,  and  forming  into  column 
passed  through  the  village,  taking  up  their  line  of  marcli  north- 
ward. Our  ofi-quoted  diarist  has  given  us  the  formation.  A 
small  advance-guard  led  the  way,  followed  by  the  humbled  Eng- 
lish officers ;  then  came  the  light-infantry  regiment,  swinging 
along  in  column  of  fours  ;  next,  the  prisoners,  marching  in  a 
long  thin  line  and  flanked  by  Colonel  Edward  Hand's  Pennsyl- 
vania riflemen.  This  young  officer — he  was  then  thirty-two — 
always  presented  a  tine  military  appearance,  as  he  had  a  splen- 
did figure  and  was  considered  one  of  the  best  horsemen  in  the 
army.  He  was  an  Irish  surgeon  who  had  settled  in  Pennsyl- 
vania in  1774.  At  the  outset  of  the  Revolution,  abandoning  his 
profession,  he  ofi'ered  his  services  to  the  country.  He  served 
with  credit  during  the  war,  attaining  the  rank  of  brigadier-gen- 
eral, and  in  later  years  was  a  member  of  congress  and  filled 
other    honorable    civic    positions.      After    the     riflemen    rode 


Washington  Marches  Theough  Bernards.         389 

the  doughty  and  intrepid  Knox,  sitting  squarely  on  his  horse, 
and  followed  hy  his  artillery  brigade  as  the  van  of  the  main 
column.  Distributed  alongside  the  extended  line  were  the 
mounted  general  and  staff  officers. 

Rested  and  refx-eshed,  it  was  probably  the  most  peacefid  and 
satisfactory  march  experienced  by  the  continental  army  since 
leaving  Hackensack,  three  months  before,  with  Comwallis  at  their 
heels.  We  may  presume  that  precautions  to  guard  against 
surprise  were  not  considered  necessary  ;  it  is  not  probable  that 
squads  of  men  were  thrown  out  ou  the  flanks,  or  that  scouts  and 
skirmishers  ranged  fixr  in  advance.  Secure  from  pursuit,  the 
little  army  in  good  heart  trailed  slowly  along  the  narrow  road, 
breaking  in  upon  the  country  quiet  with  rattle  of  scabbard  and 
snort  of  charger,  with  champ  of  bit  and  jingle  of  harness,  with 
rumble  of  baggage  and  gun  wagons,  and  the  crunch  on  the  frozen 
ground  of  thousands  of  marching  feet.  On  reaching  Peter 
Melick's  farm  at  the  "  Cross  Roads,"  the  advance  turned  to  the 
right.  Passing  over  the  north  branch  of  the  Karitan  river  the 
army  climbed  the  Bernards  hills,  awakening  the  echoes  of  their 
shaggy  woods  with  the  imaccustomed  sound  of  di'um  and  bugle. 
With  frequent  halts  the  column  moved  on  through  Vealtown 
(BernardsviUe)  and  New  Vernon,  until  just  before  sunset  it 
reached  Morristown,  where  we,  after  having  piloted  Washington 
and  his  men  in  safety  through  Somerset  county,  may  leave  them 
to  go  into  winter  quarters. 


CHAPTER     XXVII. 

Washington's  Army  at  Morristown  in  the   Winter  and   Spring 
of  1777 — The  "Old  Farm"  on  a   Military  Thoroughfare. 

In  ringing  up  the  curtain  on  the  next  act  of  our  local  drama,  a 
scene  is  disclosed  very  diflferent  from  any  heretofore  shown  on 
these  Bedminster  boards.  In  life,  as  on  the  mimic  stage,  start- 
ling and  unexpected  changes  are  not  only  always  in  order  but 
frequently  come  as  unannounced  surprises.  And  so  it  is  with 
the  era  we  have  reached  in  telling  the  story  of  the  "  Old  Farm." 
Its  familiar  environment  of  country  quiet  is  transformed — its 
accessories  are  all  of  a  different  pattern.  In  the  place  of  the  fir 
tree  and  the  mj-rtio  have  come  the  thorn  and  the  bramble ; 
ploughshares  and  pruning-hooks  have  literally  been  beaten  into 
swords  and  spears.  Though  war  and  rumors  of  war  had  now 
long  been  rife,  its  alarms  and  incidents  had  not  been  a  portion 
of  the  daily  life  of  this  agricultural  community. 

When  Breeds'  Hill  trembled  under  its  cannonade  Bedminster 
repose  was  not  disturbed,  and  when  the  battle  of  Long  Island 
raged,  the  family  in  the  ''  Old  Stone  House "  was  affected 
thereby  only  as  it  touched  its  members  personally  in  their  love 
of  country,  or  in  their  anxiety  for  those  engaged  in  the  conflict. 
Even  when  the  tide  of  combat,  crossing  the  Hudson,  rolled  over 
the  level  plains  of  the  Jerseys,  and  the  American  army,  sullen 
and  dispirited,  fell  back  to  the  Delaware  before  an  exultant 
enemy,  Bedminster  was  too  far  distant  to  have  the  spell  of  war 
overturn  its  usual  routine  of  existence.  At  times  during  the 
month  of  the  year  just  gone  its  rural  calm  had  been  broken  by 
military  turmoil,  as,  for  instance,  when  SuUivan  came  marching 
through  with  Lee's  division.     But  such  occasions  had  not  been 


Washington  at  the  Old  Stone  House.  391 

many,  nor  for  long,  and  the  homesteads,  fields,  and  folds  had 
quickly  relapsed  to  their  accustomed  quiet.  Now,  however,  all 
this  was  to  be  changed,  and  the  beat  of  drum  and  blare  of  trum- 
pet were  to  become  familiar  sounds.  The  "  Old  Farm " 
bordered  a  military  thoroughfare,  for  in  establishing  the  Ameri- 
can camp  at  Morristown  for  the  winter  other  cantonments  had 
been  located  in  the  south,  east  and  west.  There  was  constant 
going  and  coming  between  the  different  posts,  and  the  highways 
and  byways  were  alive  with  soldiers.  Farmer-lads  on  their  way 
to  mill  with  sacks  of  corn  athwart  their  horses'  backs,  rode  cheek 
by  jowl  with  spurred  and  booted  troopers,  and  listened  with 
open-eyed  wonder  to  their  warlike  tales.  The  rattle  of  farm- 
wagons  was  supplemented  by  the  heavj^  roll  of  artillery  trains, 
and  squads  of  infantry  were  met  at  evei'y  hand. 

At  this  time  many  a  continental  officer  whose  name  now 
ornaments  the  pages  of  history  dismounted  at  the  "  Old  Stone 
House"  for  rest  and  refreshment,  or  for  a  drauglit  from  the  deep 
well  of  its  Hanking  dooryard,  whose  waters  then  as  now  had 
great  repute,  the  wide  country  'round.  This  dwelling  lays  no 
claim  to  the  possession  of  a  bed  upon  which  Washington  has 
slept ;  exhibits  no  chair  upon  which  he  has  sat  ;  or  table  at 
which  he  has  dined  ;  but  it  is  fair  to  presume  that  more  than 
once  its  walls  have  reflected  that  august  presence.  As  at  that 
time  this  house  ranked  among  the  most  important  of  the  town- 
ship it  is  not  probable  that  the  commander-in-chief  could  always 
have  passed  it  by.  His  papers  and  correspondence  show  him  to 
have  been  that  winter  constantly  on  the  road,  visiting  the  difier- 
ent  outposts  and  making  the  acquaintance  of  the  comitry  and 
people.  We  shall,  therefore,  not  be  charged  with  trespassing 
beyond  the  boundary  line  of  possibility,  wlien,  in  fancy,  we  see 
him  giving  a  dignity  and  grandeur  to  the  homely  interior  of  the 
old  house,  as  he  stands,  erect,  serene,  majestic,  before  the  great 
fireplace  in  the  living-room.  He  is  questioning  Aaron,  perhaps, 
as  to  the  character  of  some  of  the  inhabitants  thereabouts,  or 
receiving  at  the  hands  of  Charlotte  a  hospitable  mug  of  cider  or 
a  cup  of  cream  ;  while  the  family  and  friends  look  with  love  and 
respect  upon  the  illustrious  man  who  has  retrieved  the  honor  of 
the  country,  and  won  the  approbation  and  esteem  of  every  grate- 
ful American. 


392  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

Washington  had  great  fondness  for  horses.  Having  from  boy- 
hood been  at  home  in  the  saddle  he  presented  when  mounted  a 
singularly  graceful  appearance.  During  the  winter  and  spring 
of  which  we  are  now  writing  he  was  frequently  seen  trotting 
along  the  Bedminster  highways,  accompanied  by  members  of 
his  staff  and  a  small  guard.  A  chronicler  thus  describes  his 
impressions,  received  a  few  years  afterwards,  on  unexpectedly 
coming  upon  the  general  riding  over  the  Somerset  hills : — 

As  I  walked  on,  ascending  a  liill  suddenly  appeared  a  brilliant  troop  of 
cavaliers.  The  clear  sky  behind  them  equally  relieved  the  dark  blue  uniforms, 
the  buff' facings  and  glittering  military  appendages.  All  were  gallantly  mounted 
— all  were  tall  and  graceful,  but  one  towered  above  the  rest.  I  doubted  not  an 
instant  that  I  saw  the  beloved  hero.  *  *  *  Although  all  my  life  used 
to  the  pride,  pomp,  and  circumstance  of  glorious  war,  to  gay  and  gallant 
EngUslimen,  the  tartaned  Scot,  and  the  embroidered  German  of  every  mili- 
tary grade,  I  still  think  the  old  blue  and  biifT  of  Washington  and  his  aids,  their 
cocked-hats  worn  sidelong,  with  the  union  cockade,  their  whole  equipment,  as 
seen  at  that  moment,  was  the  most  martial  of  anything  that  I  ever  saw. 

And  we  may  readily  believe  that  the  inhabitants  looked  with 
delight  on  these  chance  meetings  with  the  commander-in-chief. 
Since  the  affairs  of  Trenton  and  Princeton  his  praises  were  in. 
everyone's  mouth  and  he  was  fully  believed  to  have  established  a 
reputation  for  generalship  unequalled  in  that  age.  As  the  years 
have  gone  by,  this  verdict  has  stood  the  test  of  time — not  with 
Americans  only,  but  with  the  world  at  large.  Von  Bulow  the 
German,  Botta  the  Italian,  Walpole  the  Englishman,  Gruizot, 
the  Frenchman,  have  all  aided  ia  building  for  him  a  temple  of 
immortality. 

We  may  suppose  that  Aaron  journeyed  frequently  to  Morris- 
town  during  the  winter  ;  visitors  were  made  very  welcome  at  the 
American  camp,  especially  if  they  brought  supplies.  Farmers 
soon  found  that  they  had  an  excellent  market  near  at  home,  and 
that  commissaries  were  eager  to  pay  fifteen  cents  for  beef,  forty- 
five  cents  for  butter,  and  eight  shillings  for  geese  and  turkeys. 
The  main  part  of  the  army  lay  in  the  Lowantica,  or  Spring, 
valley,  which  stretches  from  Morristown  toward  Green  Village. 
The  camp  was  laid  out  on  what  have  since  been  known  as  the 
Treadwell  and  Muchmore  farms.  The  main  street  of  this  mili- 
tary village,  which  was  about  eighty  feet  wide  and  bordered 
with  large  officers'  tents,   occupied  the   slope  just  west  of  the 


The  Country  Jubilant.  393 

dwelling  of  the  late  A.  M.  TreadweU.  It  was  well  graded  and 
used  as  a  parade-ground,  a  large  liberty-tree  being  planted  in 
its  centre.  On  parallel  streets,  about  forty  feet  wide,  were  the 
soldiers'  huts  built  in  blocks  of  four  or  five  together,  and,  in 
addition,  there  were  log  store-houses  and  large  cabins  for  the  use 
of  sutlers  and  commissaries.  Both  officers  and  men  were  in 
splendid  spirits,  and  the  sentiments  of  all  had  undergone  a  mar- 
vellous change,  an  almost  jubilant  confidence  having  taken  the 
place  of  the  despondency  of  the  close  of  the  year.  As  Washing- 
ton wrote  to  Governor   Cook,   on  the   twentieth  of  January : — 

Our  afiairs  here  are  in  a  very  prosperous  train.  Within  a  montli  past,  in 
several  engagements  with  the  enemy,  we  have  killed,  wounded,  and  taken  pris- 
oners beween  two  and  three  thousand  men. 

A  week  later  he  \VTote   in  the   same  strain : — 

Our  affairs  at  present  are  in  a  prosperous  way.  The  country  seems  to  enter- 
tain an  idea  of  our  superiority.  Recruiting  goes  on  well,  and  a  belief  prevails 
that  the  enemy  are  afraid  of  us. 

It  was  even  so !  The  pendulum  of  pidjlic  opinion  had 
swung  to  the  other  extremity  of  its  arc.  The  people  expected 
that  the  American  army,  small  in  numbers,  poorly  clad,  badly- 
fed,  and  with  but  little  training,  would  prevail  against  Howe's 
well-appointed  force  of  veteran  soldiers.  Strange  as  it  may 
appear,  this  expectation  was  not  altogether  without  realization- 
That  at  times  the  Americans  did  successfully  cope  with  the 
enemy,  and  that,  though  often  suflering  privations  hitherto  almost 
unknown  in  the  annals  of  warfare,  they  continued  to  harass  the  foe, 
and  ultimately  triumphed,  can  largely  be  charged  to  the  fact  of 
superior  generalship.  In  addition,  the  extent  and  variety  of  the 
country,  with  its  inimical  population  and  alert  militia,  made  a 
British  success  barren  of  results.  There  always  remained  an 
army — though  a  ragged  one — in  the  field.  It  was  not  like 
European  fighting  where  often  one  great  action  woidd  be  decisive 
and  end  the  war.     As  General  Greene  wrote  at  this  time  : — 

We  cannot  conquer  the  British  force  at  once,  but  they  cannot  conquer  us  at  all. 
The  limits  of  the  British  government  in  America  are  their  out-sentinels. 

Tolstoi  claims  that  the  real  problem  of  the  science  of  war  is  to 
ascertain  and  formulate  the  value  of  the  spirit  of  the  men,  and 
their  willingness  and  eagerness  to  fight.     The  Russian  author  is 


394  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

right.  Could  this  always  be  done  it  would  often  be  found  that 
large  armies,  thorough  equipment,  and  perfection  of  discipline  do 
not  always  carry  with  them  assurances  of  successful  campaigns. 
Greater  than  these,  greater  than  the  genius  of  generals,  is  that 
element  of  personal  spirit  pervading  the  contending  forces.  Our 
own  Revolutionary  struggle  is  an  excellent  exemplihcation  of 
this  fact.  The  English  soldiers  had  but  little  enthusiasm  for  the 
work  they  were  called  upon  to  do, — the  subsidiary  troops,  none 
at  all.  The  Americans,  on  the  contrary,  animated  by  a  spirit 
that  had  the  force  of  a  x-eligion,  were  ever  ready  and  willing  to 
meet  the  enemy — ever  ready  to  dog  their  heels,  harass  their 
flanks,  and  fall  upon  their  outposts.  For  liberty  and  their  native 
land  they  were  ever  eager  to  fight  in  battalions  or  in  small 
parties,  as  guerLUas  or  as  individuals.  British  soldiers,  however 
■vvell  disciplined,  were  no  match  for  American  citizens  who  were 
fighting  to  avenge  burned  homes,  ravaged  families,  and  an 
invaded  soil. 

Washington's  headquarters  in  Morristown  were  at  a  tavern, 
which,  together  with  the  old  court-house  with  its  wooden  cupola 
and  shingled  sides,  faced  the  village-green,  now  an  open  com- 
mon. This  tavern  was  kept  by  Jacob  Arnold,  who  was  well 
known  as  the  commander  of  a  troop  of  Morris  light-horse.  It 
occupied  the  present  site  of  Marsh  and  Hoft'man's  large  brick 
building.  The  original  structure  was  removed  in  1886  to  Kim- 
ball avenue,  where  reconstructed  and  modernized  it  is  still  to  be 
seen.  At  the  outset  of  the  war  Morristown  had  but  about  two 
hundred  and  fifty  inhabitants,  and  the  most  of  its  property  was 
owned  by  the  Johnes,  Hathaway,  Doughty,  Ford  and  Condict 
families.  Its  two  church  edifices,  Presbyterian  and  Baptist,  on 
the  arrival  of  the  American  army,  were  converted  into  hospitals, 
in  which  use  they  continued  for  about  eighteen  months.  The 
Presbyterian  congregation  was  forced  to  worship,  even  in  the 
cold  weather,  in  the  open  air,  assembling  in  an  orchard  in  the 
I'ear  of  the  old  parsonage  on  Morris  street.  It  was  in  this  his- 
toric grove  that  Washington  partook  of  communion,  after  being 
assured  by  parson  Johnes  that  "  Ours  is  not  the  Presbyterian 
table  but  the  Lord's  table,  and  we  hence  give  the  Lord's  invita- 
tion to  all  his  followers  of  whatever  name." 

The  commander-in-chief  appointed  the  light-infantry  to  be  his 


MoRitiSTOwx  Camp  ix  1777.  395 

personal  ojuard,  requiring  twenty-six  men  to  mount  sentry  around 
the  Arnold  tavern.  That  this  guard  might  always  bo  within  a  more 
convenient  distance  than  was  the  general  camp,  the  entire  regi- 
ment was  installed  about  one  mile  away,  in  the  large  Ford  man- 
sion, now  the  well-known  "  Headquarters."  General  Greene  quar- 
tered with  a  Mr.  Hoffman,  whom  tradition  mentions  as  a  good- 
natured  man,  whose  charming  wife  was  a  great  lover  of  the  clergy. 
It  is  said  that  Mrs.  Hoffman  was  often  perplexed  with  doubts  and 
difficulties  on  religious  questions  raised  by  the  general's  aides, 
especially  by  the  merry,  restless,  witty  Major  Blodget.  Early 
in  January  Mrs.  Washington,  Mrs.  Knox  and  other  ladies  joined 
their  husbands  in  camp  ;  after  that,  the  officers  of  the  army  knew 
many  comforts  and  not  a  few  pleasures.  Visits  were  exchanged 
between  hospitable,  blazing  hearthstones,  merry  sleighrides  were 
enjoyed  over  the  snow-covered  Morris  and  Somerset  hills,  there 
were  dinners  at  the  different  generals'  quarters,  little  dances 
were  frequent,  and  occasionally  a  subscription,  ball — or  assem- 
bly, as  it  was  termed — was  given.  The  latter  affairs  put 
the  rural  as  well  as  the  army  society  agog,  invitations  being 
extended  in  the  neighborhood.  These  more  important  dances 
were  held  in  a  large  room  over  the  commissary's  store-house, 
which  faced  the  square,  and  which  after  the  war  was  converted 
into  the  Morris  Hotel. 

There  were  occasions  of  sorrow  in  camp  as  well  as  of  gladness. 
A  few  days  after  the  army  reached  Morristown,  Colonel  Daniel 
Hitchcock  of  Rhode  Island,  who  had  fought  and  marched  under 
Washington  from  the  outset,  fell  a  victim  to  the  fatigues  and 
exposures  of  the  campaign.  This  officer  was  a  graduate  of  Yale 
college,  and  few  gentlemen  in  tlie  army  excelled  him  in  talents 
and  ability.  At  Assuupink  and  Princeton  he  commanded  a 
brigade  of  five  regiments,  and  after  the  latter  action  Washing- 
ton warmly  pressed  the  colonel's  hand,  while  expressing  his 
approbation  of  his  conduct  and  of  the  behavior  of  his  command. 
On  the  eleventh  of  January  Colonel  Jacob  Ford,  Jr.  of  Morris- 
town,  who  had  commanded  a  regiment  of  New  Jersey  "  State 
Troops,"  died  of  lung  fever,  the  result  of  a  severe  cold  con- 
tracted in  the  service.  His  command  had  been  with  the  Ameri- 
can army  in  the  retreat  from  the  Hudson.  On  reaching  New 
Brunswick  Washington  detached  (General  Williamson  with  the 


396  The  Stoky  of  an  Old  Farm. 

militia  battalions  of  Colonels  Thomas  of  Essex,  Symmes  of  Sus- 
sex, and  Ford  of  Morris,  ordering  them  in  the  direction  of  the 
Short  Hills  and  Morristown,  to  cover  that  portion  of  the  country 
and  to  prevent,  as  far  as  possible,  marauding  bands  of  the  enemy 
from  harassing  and  plundering  the  inhabitants.  Soon  after  this, 
G-eneral  Williamson  and  Colonel  Thomas  retired  from  the  army, 
whereupon  on  the  twentieth  of  December  Maxwell  was  dis- 
patched to  Morristown  to  take  command  of  the  troops  there. 
His  orders  directed  him  to  harass  the  enemy,  supply  the  com- 
mander-in-chief with  information,  and  to  do  what  he  could  to 
prevent  the  people  from  seeking  British  protection.  His  force 
was  composed  of  the  Sussex,  Essex  and  Morris  battaHons,  and  the 
regiments  of  Colonels  Greaton,  Bond  and  Porter,  (about  five 
hundred  men),  which,  while  marching  through  New  Jersey  under 
Gates,  had  been  halted  at  Morristown.  On  the  thirty-first  of 
December  Colonel  Ford,  while  parading  under  Maxwell  at  the 
head  of  his  command,  was  attacked  by  a  sudden  illness.  He  was 
borne  off  by  two  soldiers  and  put  to  bed,  from  which  he  never 
arose.  Colonels  Hitchcock  and  Ford  expired  much  lamented ; 
they  were  buried  with  military  honors,  Captain  Rodney's  light- 
infantry  company  acting  as  escort,  for  the  same  reason  as  had 
caused  its  selection  for  the  funeral  of  Captain  Leslie  at  Plucka- 
min.  Jacob  Ford,  Sr.,  the  father  of  the  colonel,  also  died  on  the 
nineteenth  of  the  same  month. 

General  and  Mrs.  Washington  were  much  attached  to  each 
other,  and,  so  far  as  was  possible,  avoided  long  separations. 
Greene,  in  writing  at  this  time  to  his  wife,  says  : — 

Mrs.  Washington  and  Mrs.  Bland,  from  Virginia,  are  at  camp,  liappv  with  their 
better  halves.  Mrs.  Washington  is  extremely  fond  of  the  general,  and  he  of  her; 
they  are  happy  in  each  other. 

It  was  the  custom  of  the  commander-in-chief  to  despatch  an 
aide-de-camp  each  winter  to  escort  his  wife  to  headquarters. 
Her  arrival  was  a  noted  event,  and  her  plain  chariot,  with  neat 
postilions  in  scarlet  and  white  liveries,  was  always  welcomed  with 
great  joy  by  the  army.  After  the  war  Mrs.  Washington  used 
to  say  that  she  nearly  always  had  heard  the  first  and  last  cannon- 
firing  of  each  campaign.  Mrs.  EUet,  in  her  ''  Domestic  History 
of  the  Revolution,"  states  that  on  this,  Mrs.  Washington's  first 
visit  to  New  Jersey,  she  was  met  by  her  husband  some  distance 


Mrs.  Washington  at  Morkistown  Camp.  397 

from  camp,  probably  at  Pluckamin,  he  having  come  from  Mor- 
ristown  for  that  purpose  The  lady  at  whose  house  the  general 
awaited  the  arrival  of  his  wife  was  much  astonished,  when  the 
carriage  stopped,  at  seeing  a  so  plainly  dressed  woman  descend. 
She  at  first  thought  her  to  be  a  servant,  but  the  idea  was  soon 
dispelled  by  seeing  Washington  hasten  to  aid  her  in  alighting, 
and  by  noticing  the  tenderness  of  his  greeting.  After  satisfying 
himself  as  to  her  health  and  the  comforts  of  the  journey,  his  first 
inquiries  were  for  the  favorite  horses  he  had  left  at  Mount 
Vernon. 

This  was  a  time  for  ladies  of  monumental  head-gear  and  exceed- 
ingly elaborate  toilets  ;  but  Mrs.  Washington  was  very  (juiet  in 
her  tastes,  and  except  on  occasions  of  ceremony,  always  dressed 
with  much  plainness.  In  many  respects  the  first  lad}'  of  the 
land  afforded  an  excellent  example  to  the  women  of  America. 
Lossing  depicts  her  at  home  as  looking  after  every  detail  of  the 
household,  going  about  with  a  bmich  of  housekeeper's  keys 
depending  from  her  waist,  and  personally  directing  her  many 
servants.  While  at  Morristown,  one  day  a  number  of  the  ladies 
of  the  village  called  upon  her.  Considering  the  occasion  one  of 
great  importance  and  wishing  to  create  a  favorable  impression, 
they  arrayed  themselves  in  their  best  gowns.  One  of  the  ladies, 
in  her  old  age,  gave  the  Reverend  Doctor  Joseph  F.  Tuttle,  Mor- 
ristown's  historian,  the  following  account  of  their  visit : — 

We  were  dressed  in  our  most  elegant  silks  and  ruffles  and  so  were  introduced 
to  her  ladyship.  And  don't  you  think  we  found  her  with  a  speckled  homespun 
apron  on,  and  engaged  in  knitting  a  stocking!  She  received  us  very  handsomely 
and  then  resumed  her  knitting.  In  the  course  of  her  conversation  she  said  very 
kindly  to  us,  while  she  made  her  needle  tiy,  that  American  ladies  should  be  pat- 
terns of  industry  to  their  country  women.  *  *  *  We  must  become  indepen- 
dent of  England  by  doing  without  those  articles  which  we  can  make  ourselves. 
Whilst  our  husbands  and  brothers  are  examples  of  patriotism  we  must  be  exam- 
ples of  industry ! 

"  I  declare,"  said  one  of  the  visiting  ladies  afterwards,  "  I 
never  felt  so  rebuked  and  ashamed  in  all  my  life."  Mrs.  Wash- 
ington used  to  entertain  Mrs.  Neilson,  Mrs.  Wilson,  and  other 
intimates  of  Morristown  camp  society  with  accounts  of  her  home- 
life,  and  how  there  were  always  sixteen  spinning-wheels  going. 
She  showed  the  ladies  two  morning  dresses  which  had  been  made 
in   her  own  house  from  ravellings  of  an  old  set  of  satin  chair 


398  The  Stoky  of  an  Old  Farm. 

covers.     This  material  was  carded,  spun,  and  woven  with  cotton 
yams,  in  alternate  stripes  of  white  cotton  and  crimson  silk. 

Mrs.  Neilson  was  the  wife  of  Colonel  John  Neilson  of  the  Mid- 
dlesex militia,  one  of  the  most  active  of  New  Jersey's  sons  of  the 
Revolution.  At  the  advent  of  the  British  he  was  driven  from 
New  Brunswick,  his  Burnet  street  residence  being  seized  for 
the  headquarters  of  General  Howe.  While  her  husband  was 
serving  with  his  regiment  Mrs.  Neilson  spent  the  winter  at  Mor- 
ristown ;  so  highly  was  she  considered  at  headquarters  that  she 
was  always  given  a  seat  at  the  dinner-table  next  to  that  of  Mrs. 
Washington.  Mrs.  Wilson  was  a  young  and  beautifid  woman, 
the  wife  of  Captain  Robert  Wilson  of  the  New  Jersey  line  who 
was  wounded  at  Grermantown,  and  who  died  at  the  early  age  of 
twenty-eight.  Her  father,  Charles  Stewart,  of  Landsdowne,  near 
Clinton  in  Hunterdon  county,  was  on  Washington's  staff.  He 
had  commanded  the  1st  Regiment  of  New  Jersey  minute-men, 
and  in  1776  entered  the  family  of  the  commander-in-chief  as 
commissary-general  of  issues,  which  position  he  retained  through- 
out the  war.  General  Washington  and  his  wife  were  warmly 
attached  to  General  Stewart,  and  were  often  his  guests  at  his 
spacious  mansion  at  Landsdowne,  on  the  banks  of  the  south 
branch  of  the  Raritan  river. 

Life  has  many  sides.  Mrs.  Washington  must  have  appre- 
ciated this  to  the  full,  in  the  strong  contrasts  presented  by  her 
alternate  experiences  of  quiet  home  life  at  Mount  Vernon,  with 
its  comforts  and  luxuries,  and  of  the  excitements,  discomforts  and 
dangers  incidental  to  camp  life  each  winter.  She,  however, 
always  gladly  braved  the  latter  in  order  to  enjoy  her  husband's 
society,  and  that  she  might  aid  him  by  counsel  and  consultation 
in  the  care  of  his  distant  estate.  In  the  accounts  which  Wash- 
ington presented  to  the  United  States  in  July,  1783,  and  which 
comprehended  his  expenditures  for  eight  years,  the  following 
entry  appears  : — 

To  Mrs.  Washington's  travelling  expenses  in  coming  to  and  returning  from  my 
winter  (juarters  for  act.  rendered.  The  money  to  defray  which  being  taken  from 
my  private  purse,  and   brot  with   her   from   Virginia.     £1064.10. 

The  general  doubted  at  first  the  propriety  of  making  what 
appeared  on  its  face  to  be  a  charge  of  a  private  nature ;  but 
after  consideration  he  decided  that  the  claim  was  a  just  one,  inas- 


American  Successes  Early  in  1777.  399 

much  as  the  exigency  of  public  affairs  had  prevented  his  making 
an  annual  visit  to  Mount  Vernon,  which  self-denial  resulted  in 
much  personal  loss.  It  is  almost  unnecessary  to  say  that  in  con- 
gress no  voice  was  raised  against  the  payment  of  this  item. 

The  buoyancy  of  feeling  pervading  the  community  was  much 
enhanced  during  the  month  of  January  by  a  series  of  military 
successes.  Mention  has  already  been  made  of  Captain  Stryker's 
troopers  having  captured  valuable  stores,  after  putting  to  flight 
a  force  of  the  enemy  ten  times  their  number.  On  the  seventh  of 
the  month  General  Maxwell,  with  a  considerable  body  of  conti- 
nentals and  militia,  fell  suddenly  upon  Elizabethtown,  capturing 
fifty  Waldeckers  and  forty  Highlanders,  and  making  a  prize  of  a 
schooner  loaded  with  baggage  and  blankets.  About  the  same 
time  a  detachment  surprised  Spanktown — Rahway — driving  out 
the  enemy  and  securing  a  thousand  bushels  of  salt.  On  the 
twentieth  of  January  a  foraging  party  of  the  enemy  came  out 
from  New  Brunswick  to  obtain  Hour  from  the  mills  on  the  Mill- 
stone. They  were  attacked  with  great  spirit  at  what  is  known 
as  Weston  bridge  by  four  hundred  Jersey  militia  and  fifty  Penn- 
sylvania riflemen,  who  completely  routed  the  enemy,  killing  and 
wounding  a  number,  making  nine  prisoners,  and  securing  forty 
wagons  and  nearly  one  hundred  English  draught-horses.  The 
attacking  party  was  led  by  General  Philemon  Dickinson,  a  zeal- 
ous officer  who  commanded  all  the  New  Jersey  militia,  and  who 
during  the  war  won  for  himself  much  renown. 

These  many  satisfactory  enterprises,  coming  so  soon  after  the 
affairs  of  Trenton  and  Princeton,  still  further  increased  public 
confidence.  Washington  deemed  it  expedient  to  take  advantage 
of  this  prevailing  sentiment  by.  endeavoring  to  counteract  the 
effect  of  the  Howes's  exemption  proclamation.  He  consequently 
issued  a  counter  one,  directing  all  persons  who  held  British  pro- 
tection papers  to  deliver  them  at  headquarters  or  some  other 
designated  point,  and  there  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the 
United  States.  Thirty  days  from  the  twenty-fifth  of  January 
were  allowed  in  which  to  do  this,  and  those  failing  to  comply 
within  that  period  were  required  to  withdraw  themselves  and 
their  families  within  the  British  lines.  Probably  it  was  at  this 
time  that  Peter  Melick  experienced  his  second  change  of  heart 
toward  the  American  cause,  for  he  certainly   remained  in  New 


400  The  Story  ok  an  Old  Farm. 

Jersey,  aud  we  hear  nothing  more  of  his  disaffection.  With 
detachments  of  the  American  army  lying  on  his  north,  south  and 
east,  and  with  squads  of  continental  soldiers  passing  and  repass- 
ing almost  daily  on  their  way  to  and  from  the  various  posts, 
Peter  could  not  have  highly  valued  his  British  protection  papers, 
and  douhtless  was  glad  enough  to  recover  the  good  opinion  of 
his  neighbors  by  again  ranging  himself  on  the  side  of  those  who 
supported  the  government.  The  result  of  this  order  was  much 
as  Washington  had  anticipated.  Some  citizens  in  the  vicinity  of 
Elizabethtown,  New  Brunswick  and  Perth  Amboy,  unable  to 
resist  the  dominating  influence  of  the  proximity  of  the  English 
arm3',  adhered  to  their  belief  in  the  uselessness  of  continuing  the 
contest,  and,  therefore,  were  forced  to  abandon  their  homes. 
But  the  majority  of  the  inhabitants,  now  feeling  secure  in  the 
protection  afforded  by  Amei'ican  arms,  were  very  ready  to  disa- 
vow their  recent  submission  to  the  emissaries  of  the  Crown.  This 
was  particularly  the  case  in  Somerset  and  Morris,  and  for  the 
I'est  of  the  war  tories  were  few  and  silent  in  those  counties. 

All  this  time  tjje  British  were  quiet  within  their  lines,  and 
seemed  content  to  await  warmer  weather  before  midertaking 
further  operations.  This  gave  to  the  Americans  a  much-needed 
opportunity  for  recuperation  and  for  recruiting  a  new  army,  the 
terms  of  the  enlistments  for  the  old  one,  which  had  been  for  a 
single  year,  having  expired.  Meanwhile  it  was  necessary  that  a 
close  watch  should  be  kept  upon  Howe's  force  lest  he  should 
steal  unawares  in  the  direction  of  Pliiladelphia,  or  of  Burgoyne's 
northern  army.  For  this  purpose  different  cantonments  were 
established  extending  from  the  Highlands  on  the  north,  under 
Heath,  to  Princeton  on  the  south,  under  Putnam.  This  last 
general's  command  of  about  six  hundred  men  served  as  a  corps 
of  observation.  Dm'ing  the  winter  and  spring  the  gracefid  figure 
of  Putnam's  chief  aide  was  often  seen  galloping  across  the 
country  ;  and  more  than  one  Somerset  maiden  learned  to  look 
with  fluttering  heart  and  mantling  color  for  a  passing  smile  from 
the  dangerously  handsome  Major  Aaron  Burr.  If  Dame  Rumor 
wags  a  truthful  tongue,  this  young  staff  officer  was  not  always 
content  with  paying  a  passing  tribute  to  rural  beauty.  What- 
ever ambitions,  worthy  or  otherwise,  may  have  attacked  this 
extraordinary    man    in    civil    life,    they   do    not    seem  to    have 


General  Greene  at  Basking  Ridge.  401 

affected  his  military  career.  The  major  wrote  to  a  friend  from 
Princeton  on  the  seventh  of  March  that  he  was  well  contented, 
neither  expecting  nor  desiring  promotion,  and,  as  he  expressed 
it,  "  I  am  at  present  quite  happy  in  the  esteem  and  entire  con- 
fidence of  my  good  old  general."  During  the  few  months  that 
Putnam  was  stationed  at  this  point  he  was  very  active  in  scouring 
the  country,  and  he  took  from  the  enemy  nearly  one  thousand 
prisoners  and  about  one  hundi-ed  and  twenty  wagon-loads  of  bag- 
gage and  other  booty.  Sullivan's  command  lay  in  the  vicinity 
of  Scotch  Plains,  from  which  place  he  constantly  sent  out  scouts 
to  watch  and  report  on  the  movements  of  the  foe,  and  Dickinson, 
with  the  Jersey  militia,  did  the  same  service  in  the  vicinity  of 
Somerset  Court-house — now  Millstone.  General  Lincoln,  with 
a  considerable  force,  guarded  the  Raritan  ford  at  Bound 
Brook.  A  block-house  or  fortification  was  erected  near  the 
mouth  of  Bound  Brook  creek,  on  ground  now  occupied  by  the 
station  of  the  Lehigh  VaUey  railroad  ;  an  earth-woi-k  connected 
it  with  the  river.  Lincoln  quartered  with  Peter  Williams  at  the 
east  end  of  the  village,  whose  dwelling  was  the  most  pretentious 
in  the  place,  and  the  only  one  that  coidd  boast  of  two  storevs.  It 
stood  where  now  is  the  lower  crossing  flag-station  of  the  Central 
railroad. 

To  be  within  easy  support  of  these  various  posts,  in  February 
Greene's  division  moved  down  to  Basking  Ridge,  where  it 
remained  until  the  opening  of  the  next  campaign.  "  Great 
men,"  says  the  hero  worshipper,  Carlyle,  "  taken  up  in  any  way 
are  profitable  company."  If  General  Xathanael  Greene  was  not 
great  he  at  least  did  great  things,  and  not  the  least,  by  any  means, 
of  his  achievements  was  his  having  so  educated  himself  as  to  rise 
in  a  few  years  from  a  very  ordinary  social  plane  to  be  the  friend 
and  companion  of  Washington,  and  from  a  private  in  a  Rhode 
Island  company  to  the  rank  of  major-general  in  the  American 
army.  The  personality  of  Greene  made  a  strong  impression  on 
the  people  of  Somerset.  Vigorous  in  mind  and  body  he  was  ever 
actively  alert  in  behalf  of  the  cause  for  which  he  had  drawn  his 
sword,  and  was  much  beloved  by  his  friends  while  feared  by  his 
foes.  Being  enterprising  and  full  of  resources,  he  was  con- 
sidered as  dangerous  as  his  chief,  and  Cornwallis  is  reported  to 
have  said  that  he  never  felt  secure  when  encamped  in  his  neigh- 
26 


402  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

borhood.  In  case  of  Washington's  death  it  was  generally 
admitted  by  the  country  that  Greene  of  all  others  was  most  fitted 
for  the  chief  command. 

At  Basking  Ridge  this  general's  headquarters  were  at  Lord 
Stirling's  handsome  residence,  where  Lady  Stirling  and  her 
attractive  daughter,  Lady  Kitty,  made  most  agreeable  hostesses. 
At  this  time  this  manor-house  was  the  seat  of  hospitality,  refine- 
ment and  luxury  ;  great  sociability  prevailed,  and  many  friends 
were  welcomed  with  old-fashioned  heartiness.  There  was  no  lack 
of  excellent  society  in  the  neighborhood.  The  Presbyterian 
clergyman.  Doctor  Kennedy,  was  a  man  of  education  and  good 
breeding  whose  friendship  was  sought  by  all.  The  home  of  the 
distinguished  Mr.  Southard  was  near  by,  and,  in  addition,  many 
exiles  who  were  socially  prominent  had  found  secure  retreats 
among  these  Bernard  hills.  On  the  main  road,  a  little  below 
the  church,  John  Morton  of  New  York  had  established  himself 
on  a  farm  recently  purchased.  His  dwelling  was  spacious,  and 
as  it  was  filled  with  furniture,  silver,  books,  pictures  and  mirrors 
it  made  an  imposing  and  attractive  homestead.  The  young  people 
of  this  household  proved  to  be  an  interesting  addition  to  the  vicin- 
ity, as  they  were  engaging  in  manners  and  appearance,  and 
intent  on  making  the  most  of  their  enforced  seclusion.  One  of  the 
daughters  became  the  wife  of  the  celebrated  Josiah  Quiucy  of 
Boston,  and  the  eldest  son,  Jacob,  after  the  war  won  an  honor- 
able place  at  the  New  York  bar.  His  younger  brother,  Wash- 
ington, distinguished  himself  in  1797  by  running  off  with,  and 
marrying,  Cornelia  Schuyler,  Mrs.  Hamilton's  sister  ; — doing  it, 
too,  with  all  the  appropriate  melodramatic  touches  and  features 
properly  incidental  to  such  an  aifair,  including  midnight,  moon- 
light, a  rope  ladder,  and  a  hasty  flight  on  horseback.  On  Mr. 
Morton's  farm  a  hospital  was  located,  which  continued  there  for 
two  years,  its  doctors,  Tilton,  Stevenson,  and  Coventry  adding  not 
a  little  to  the  neighborhood's  social  coterie.  Half  a  mile  away 
Elias  Boudinot  of  Elizabethtown  had  established  his  family  in 
two  farm-houses,  and  his  sister,  Mrs.  Hatfiteld,  was  not  far  off 
with  her  family.  Mr.  Boudinot's  only  daughter,  Susan,  a  charm- 
ing girl  of  twelve,  was  frequently  at  the  great  house  as  the  guest 
of  the  ladies  Stirling.  This  young  girl  was  the  apple  of  her 
father's   eye.     He  thus  speaks    of  her   in   a  letter    to    General 


Society  at  Basking  Ridge  in  1777.  '  403 

Lincoln,  dated  "  Elizabethtown,  Oct.  5,  1784," — "  This  moment 
I  arrived  here,  on  ray  way  to  Philadelphia,  accompanying  my 
little  ewe  lamb  to  the  city,  having  given  her  away  to  a  certain 
Mr.  Bradford."  This  "ewe  lamb"  in  her  twentieth  year  mar- 
ried William  Bradford  of  Pennsylvania,  afterwards  attorney- 
general  of  the  United  States.  He  died  in  1795,  but  his  widow 
survived,  so  I  have  heard,  until  1854. 

Altogether,  we  may  imagine  that  General  Greene  and  the 
young  men  of  his  staff  discovered  that  their  lines  had  fallen  in 
very  pleasant  places  when  they  found  themselves  domesticated 
in  a  family  made  up  of  intelligent,  cultivated  and  elegant  women. 
To  the  historical  student  old  letters  are  highly  interesting,  as 
they  often  throw  powerful  side  lights  on,  and  bring  into  clear 
relief,  scenes  and  incidents  of  much  interest.  They  restore  a 
dead  past  to  a  warm,  breathing  present,  and  their  value  is  the 
greater  because  of  their  writers  having  been  ignorant  that  they 
were  contributing  to  pages  of  history  or  biography.  So  it  is  that 
in  a  letter  written  by  Greene  to  his  wife,  from  Basking  Ridge, 
we  obtain  a  glimpse  of  social  life  at  the  Stirling  mansion,  and  are 
introduced  to  Governor  Livingston's  daughters  who  must  have 
contributed  largely  to  the  pleasure  of  the  general  and  his  aides 
while  they  quartered  with  the  household.     He  writes  : — 

They  are  three  young  ladies  of  distinguishetl  merit,  sensible,  polite,  and  easy. 
Their  manners  are  soft  and  engaging;  they  wish  to  see  you  here,  and  I  wish  it, 
too ;  but  I  expect  long  before  that  happy  moment  to  be  on  the  march  toward 
Philadelphia. 

When  the  British  overran  Union  county  Governor  Livingston 
was  forced  to  abandon  his  Elizabethtown  residence,  Liberty 
Hall.  While  he  was  here,  there,  and  everywhere,  serving  the 
state  and  aiding  Washington,  his  family  spent  the  winter  with 
Lady  Stirling,  who  was  Governor  Livingston's  sister.  In  the 
spring  the  governor  established  a  home  on  a  farm  at  Parsippany 
to  which  he  could  retreat  when  necessary.  But  even  there, 
several  unsuccessful  attempts  were  made  by  refugees  to  capture 
the  chief-magistrate,  for  whom  a  standing  reward  was  offered  by 
the  enemy.  The  Livingston  young  ladies  were  exceedingly 
popular,  and  highly  considered  by  the  best  people  of  that  day, 
their  many  physical  and  mental  graces  often  acting  as  social  oil 
upon  the  troubled  waters  of  that  turbulent  time.     Their  exper- 


404     '  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

iences  during  the  war,  both  while  visiting  the  army  as  the  guests 
of  Mrs.  Washington,  and  while  at  home  in  Elizabethtown,  were 
of  the  most  varied  character.  On  one  occasion  Susan,  the  second 
daughter,  by  her  cleverness,  aided  perhaps  by  her  personal 
charms,  was  the  means  of  preserving  her  father's  most  valuable 
papers  ;  this  was  at  a  time  when  a  marauding  band  of  the  enemy 
were  ransacking  Liberty  Hall.  She  was  considered  a  wit  in 
Revolutionary  circles,  and  many  of  her  bright  sayings  have  been 
preserved ;  the  following  would  show  that  British,  as  well  as 
American,  officers  enjoyed  her  society  and  appreciated  her 
humor.  It  was  in  New  York,  at  the  time  of  the  evacuation, 
that  in  conversation  with  Major  Upham,  one  of  Lord  Dor- 
chester's aides,  she  expressed  the  hope  that  the  English  woidd 
soon  depart;  "for,"  said  she,  '"among  our  incarcerated  belles  the 
scarlet  fever  must  rage  till  you  are  gone."  The  major  cleverly 
replied  that  he  feared  the  ladies  would  be  tormented  by  a  worse 
malady,  the  "  blue  devils."  After  the  war  Susan  married  John 
Cleves  Symmes,  who  had  been  colonel  of  the  3rd  Battalion, 
Sussex  militia,  but  who  resigned  on  the  twenty-third  of  May  to 
accept  appointment  as  associate-justice  of  the  New  Jersey 
supreme  court.  Her  oldest  sister,  Sarah,  who  was  decidedly  the 
beauty  of  the  family,  had,  long  before,  married  John  Jay,  and 
was  a  social  star  in  Philadelphia  society  during  her  husband's 
presidency  of  congress,  and  also  at  the  French  and  Spanish 
capitals  while  Mr.  Jay  was  his  country's  representative  abroad. 
The  governor's  youngest  daughter,  Kitty,  married  Matthew 
Ridley  of  Baltimore,  and  he  having  died,  she  in  1796  became 
the  wife  of  John  Livingston  of  Livingston  Manor. 

To  retiu'n  to  the  continental  army  !  For  this  year,  1777,  mat- 
ters were  at  the  lowest  ebb  in  February ;  at  one  time  in  that 
month  it  is  claimed  that  fifteen  hundred  men  could  not  have  been 
mustered  in  Washington's  camp.  But  this  condition  of  affairs, 
which  the  enemy  happily  did  not  discover,  rapidly  mended.  As 
the  spring  advanced  the  force  at  Morristown  was  gradually 
augmented  by  recruits  who  had  been  enlisted  for  the  new  army 
by  the  diff'erent  states.  The  second  establishment  of  eighty- 
eight  battalions,  of  which  the  New  Jersey  quota  was  four,  had 
been  authorized  by  congress  in  the  preceding  September.  New 
Jersey's  first  battalion  was   in  readiness  in  December,  and  the 


General  William  Maxwell.  405 

three  others  in  February  and  April.  They  were  brigaded  under 
General  William  Maxwell,  who  had  commanded  the  1st  Sussex 
regiment.  This  brigade  formed  part  of  Major-General  Adam 
Stephen's  division  which  lay  during  the  spring  and  early  sum- 
mer in  the  vicinity  of  Elizabethtown,  Rah  way,  and  Bound  Brook. 
The  enlistment  of  this  establishment  was  for  the  war,  and  while 
hostilities  lasted  the  New  Jersey  line  was  an  important  element 
in  the  continental  army  and  did  most  excellent  service.  Before 
the  end  of  May  in  1778  a  new  organization  was  established 
whereby  the  New  Jersey  battalions  were  reduced  to  three,  this 
being  made  necessary  because  of  the  ranks  having  been  deci- 
mated by  battle  and  disease.  Maxwell  continued  in  command 
mitil  July,  1780,  when  he  resigned,  being  succeeded  by  Colonel 
Elias  Dayton  of  the  3rd  New  Jersey  regiment,  who  remained  at 
the  head  of  the  brigade  until  the  troops  wore  discharged  on  the 
third  of  November,  1783. 

General  William  Maxwell's  memory  and  reputation  are  worthy 
of  a  higher  place  in  history  than  they  have  attained.  We  find  tlial 
now  the  names  of  other  Revolutionary  generals  are  better  known 
and  more  highly  considered,  whose  services  to  th.e  country  did 
not  equal  in  importance  and  value  those  of  the  brave  command- 
ant of  the  Jersey  line.  This  to  some  extent  is  due  to  the  fact  of 
his  correspondence  and  all  biographical  material  having  been 
lost  just  after  the  Revolution  when  his  house  was  destroyed  by 
fire.  Maxwell  early  made  the  acquaintance  of  Washington, 
having  campaigned  with  him  in  Braddock's  unfortunate  expedi- 
tion. Throughout  the  French  and  Indian  wars  his  services  as 
an  oificer  of  the  provincial  troops  were  noteworthy,  and  he  bore 
himself  with  honor  under  Wolfe  at  the  taking  of  Quebec.  In 
1776  he  was  chairman  of  the  Sussex  county  committee  of  safety 
and  colonel  of  the  1st  Sussex  battalion  of  militia,  in  which  Johan- 
nes Moelich's  son  Andrew  commanded  a  company.  He  early 
attained  the  rank  of  brigadier-general  in  the  continental  line, 
and  so  conducted  himself  during  the  war  as  to  win  in  an  eminent 
degree  the  special  regard  of  Washington.  He  died  in  1796  in 
his  sixty-third  year,  and  lies  buried  within  the  shadows  of  the 
walls  of  the  First  Presbyterian  church  of  Greenwich  in  Warren 
county. 

By  the  last  of  April  the  army  rejoiced  in  the  possession  of  new 


406  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

muskets  of  a  uniform  pattern,  two  vessels  having  arrived  from 
France  bearing  twenty-four  thousand  stand  of  arms.  In  that 
month  there  reached  camp  a  man  who  had  ah-eady  won  golden 
opinions  as  a  soldier,  and  who  was  destined  to  do  yet  greater 
things  for  the  country.  This  was  Colonel  Daniel  Morgan,  who 
appeared  at  the  head  of  one  hundred  and  eighty  stalwart  rifle- 
men, a  command  that  was  afterwards  recruited  to  a  regimental 
standard,  and  known  as  the  11th  Virginia  or  "  Morgan's  Rangers." 
This  officer  was  long  of  limb,  possessed  great  strength  and  mus- 
cular activity,  with  a  face  which,  though  scarred  by  an  ugly 
womid  received  in  the  old  French  and  Indian  war,  plainly 
indexed  a  character  full  of  inherent  strength,  good  humor,  hon- 
esty and  self-reliance.  He  was  a  Jerseyman,  having  been  born 
in  Hunterdon  of  Welsh  parentage  in  1736.  He  early  left  home 
to  seek  his  fortiuie,  and  finding  his  way  to  Virginia  became  a 
teamster.  As  such,  Moi-gan  with  his  own  wagon  and  horses 
accompanied  Braddock  on  his  unfortunate  expedition.  This 
made  him  a  soldier,  for  his  military  instincts  soon  caused  him  to 
exchange  the  reins  for  a  musket. 

How  time  avenges  one  !  After  the  fall  of  Yorktown,  Morgan, 
then  a  brigadier-general,  was  invited  to  dine  with  some  of  the 
captured  British  officers  at  Winchester,  who  were  in  his  charge. 
In  conversation  with  Captain  Samuel  Graham — afterwards 
Lieutenant-General  Graham — the  American  officer  playfully 
remarked  that  the  British  still  owed  him  a  lash  from  a  whip. 
On  being  asked  for  an  explanation,  he  told  of  his  having  driven 
a  wagon  in  the  early  years  of  the  French  and  Indian  war  ;  for 
some  grave  irregularity  he  was  sentenced  by  court-martial  to 
receive  five  hundred  lashes.  He  got  but  four  hundred  and 
ninety-nine,  as  he  counted  them  himself  as  they  fell,  and  after- 
wards convinced  the  drum-major,  who  wielded  the  whip,  of  his 
mistake.  Pi'ivate  Morgan's  bravery  in  1758  secured  for  him  an 
ensign's  commission  from  the  governor  of  Virginia.  At  the  out- 
break of  the  Revolution  he  raised  in  that  colony  a  company  of 
ninety-six  young  marksmen,  all  skilled  in  woodcraft,  and  with 
them  joined  the  army  that  assailed  Quebec.  He  proved  a  brave 
and  an  adroit  fighter,  winning  even  British  enconiums  for  the 
com'age  displayed  in  the  assault.  After  the  womiding  of  Arnold 
he  was  captured,  and  so  marked  had  been  his  conduct  in  that 


CoLONEF.  Daniel  Morgan.  407 

affair  that  the  enemy  offered  him  a  command,  which  he  indig- 
nantly declined.  After  eight  months'  captivity  he  was 
exchanged,  and,  as  we  have  seen,  joined  Washington's  army. 
Thenceforward  he  shared  in  the  hardships  of  every  campaign 
until  the  summer  of  1779,  when  his  shattered  health  forced  him 
to  resign.  When  the  unhappy  tide  of  war,  flowing  southward, 
rose  to  a  flood  in  the  Carolinas,  and  Gates  exchanged  his  north- 
ern laiu'els  for  the  willow  of  defeat  at  Camden,  Morgan  again 
offered  his  services  to  the  country.  As  "  General  Morgan  "  he 
became  Greene's  most  trusted  lieutenant,  and  in  January,  1781, 
he  covered  himself  and  the  southern  army  with  glory,  whUe  win- 
ning the  battle  of  Cowpens  without  the  aid  of  a  single  piece  of 
artillery.  The  "  old  wagoner"  fulfilled  the  promise  he  made  his 
men  "  that  he  would  crack  his  whip  over  the  head  of  Ben  Tarle- 
ton  in  the  morning  as  sure  as  he  lived." 


CHAPTER     XXVIII. 

The  Continental  Army  in  Somerset  County  in  the  Spring  and 
Summer  of  1777 — Scenes  and  Incidents  at  Bound  BrooTc 
and  Middlchrooh — British  Efforts  to  March  to  the  Dela- 
ware Defeated. 

There  was  fighting  at  Boimd  Brook  ou  Sunday,  the  thirteenth 
of  April.  Early  that  morning  General  Lincoln  was  surprised, 
and  narrowly  escaped  capture  with  his  entire  force.  This  ofHcer, 
while  a  brave  soldier  and  estimable  in  private  life,  was  more 
than  once  singularly  unfortunate  in  his  military  enterprises. 
Bancroft  charactei'izes  him  as  being  heavy  of  mould  and  inert  of 
wiU ;  he  was  certainly  caught  napping  at  this  time,  for  his 
patrols  must  have  been  improperly  placed  or  thoroughly  ineffi- 
cient. 

The  enemy,  four  thousand  strong,  advanced  in  three  divisions 
under  Generals  Lord  Cornwallis,  Grant  and  Matthews,  with  Count 
von  Donop  in  command  of  a  body  of  Hessians  and  yagers.  The 
troops  marched  from  New  Brunswick  at  nine  o'clock  on  Satur- 
day night,  and  the  expedition  was  conducted  with  so  much 
secrecy  that  but  few  of  the  inhabitants  knew  of  their  departure 
until  Sunday  morning.  One  division  crossed  the  Raritan  at 
Van  Veghten's  bridge — Finderne,  one  at  Raritan  Landing,  and 
the  third  in  front  of  Bound  Brook.  It  is  said  that  the  Brit- 
ish, in  marching,  avoided  the  roads ;  at  all  events  they  reached 
the  American  outposts,  and  there  lay  on  their  arms  till  daylight, 
their  proximity  entirely  unsuspected.  On  Sunday  morning 
long  before  breakfast  the  garrison  of  the  block-house  were 
greeted  by  a  rattle  of  musketry,  and  a  rain  of  ball  clattering 
against  the  wooden  walls  of  their  stronghold.  Two  divisions  of 
the  enemy  had  simultaneously  charged  the  town,  while  the  third 


Fighting  at  Bound  Brook.  409 

appeared  on  the  opposite  bank  of  the  river.  Before  such  an 
advance  there  was  nothing  to  do  but  give  way.  General  Lin- 
coln, whose  troops  did  not  number  one  quarter  those  of  Corn- 
wallis,  had  no  opportunity  of  forming  his  men,  and  barely  time  to 
get  in  the  saddle  and  order  a  hasty  retreat  ;  indeed  so  close  was 
the  foe  that  one  of  his  aides  fell  in  their  hands  before  he  could 
mount  his  horse.  Some  desultory,  defensive  firing  was  con- 
tinued for  a  time  by  a  portion  of  his  troops,  but  eventually  they 
fell  back  to  the  mountain  in  the  rear  of  the  town,  with  the  loss 
of  two  pieces  of  artillery  and  sixty  men  killed,  wounded,  and 
prisoners.  Among  the  missing  were  Lieutenants  Ferguson  and 
Turnbull  of  Colonel  Procter's  4tli  Artillery  regiment,  both  of 
whom  were  well  known  and  liked  in  the  vicinity  of  Bound 
Brook.  The  latter  was  killed,  but,  later  on,  Ferguson  was  dis- 
covered to  be  among  the  captives  ;  he  was  not  exchanged  until 
December,  1780,  and  eleven  years  afterwards  was  shot  dead  in 
the  battle  of  Maumee,  under  St.  Clair,  where  as  major  in  the 
regular  army  he  commanded  a  battery  of  artillery. 

This  sudden  onslaught  of  the  British  filled  the  Bound  Brook 
villagers  with  dismay,  and,  as  panic-stricken  as  the  troops,  they 
deserted  their  homes  and  sought  safety  in  flight.  When  the  fir- 
ing ceased  and  the  smoke  cleared  away,  the  enemy  found  no  one 
to  dispute  with  them  the  possession  of  the  place  ;  its  only  occu- 
pants were  a  dead  soldier  stretched  in  a  pool  of  blood  on  the 
blockhouse  floor,  with  a  few  more  of  the  slain  and  some  of  the 
wounded  lying  singly  or  in  heaps  on  tbj  streets  and  in  the 
adjoining  fields.  Considerable  booty  was  secured,  comprising  a 
quantity  of  arms,  two  wagons  loaded  with  ammunition,  several 
horses,  and  about  one  hundred  head  of  cattle  and  sheep.  In 
addition,  several  hundred  barrels  of  flour  were  destroyed, 
together  with  a  lot  of  whiskey,  rum,  and  other  stores  that  the 
continental  army  could  just  then  but  illy  spare.  General  Greene- 
hui-ried  to  Lincoln's  support,  but  Basking  Ridge  being  twelve- 
miles  distant,  it  was  after  midday  before  his  division  reached 
Bound  Brook  ;  by  that  time  the  enemy  had  evacuated  the  place, 
and  retired  to  Rariian  Landing  A  detachment  was  at  once 
despatched  to  hang  on  their  rear  ;  that  night  this  pursuing  partj^ 
surprised  the  British  pickets,  killed  one  officer  and  seven  privates, 
and  brouglit  away  sixteen  prisoners.     Greene,  in  writing  to  his. 


410  The  Story  of  an  Old  Fakm. 

wife  of  the  excitements  and  incidents  of  the  day,  related  that  he 
had  dined  in  the  same  house  at  which  Generals  Cornwallis  and 
Grant  had  breakfasted  in  the  morning.  This  was  the  Van 
Home  mansion,  still  to  be  seen  on  the  turnpike  adjoining  Middle 
Brook  on  the  southwest,  and  of  which  there  will  be  more  to  tell 
hereafter. 

The  villagers  on  returning  to  Bound  Brook  with  the  troops 
looked  with  rueful  eyes  and  loud  lamentations  upon  the  devasta- 
tion perpetrated  by  the  soldiers  during  their  short  stay.  Imme- 
diate steps  were  taken  to  restore  order  and  repair  damages ; 
help  and  comfort  for  the  troops  at  least,  soon  coming  from  the 
outside.  At  two  o'clock  Lord  Stirling  wrote  from  Basking 
Ridge  to  General  Lincoln  : — 

It  has  just  occurred  to  me  that  a  little  refreshment  for  your  men  will  be  no 
disagreeable  acquisition  to  you;  I  have  therefore  ordered  600  Ibi.  of  beef,  thnee 
barrels  of  flour,  and  twenty  gallons  of  rum  to  be  sent  you  instantly.  I  have 
ordered  Dr.  Barnet  and  Dr.  Boylan  at  Boylan's  tavern  to  care  for  any  ipounded 
men  you  may  send  there.  Whatever  you  may  stand  in  need  of  let  me  know  and 
I  will  endeavor  to  supply  it. 

Surgeon  William  M.  Barnet  was  of  the  1st  New  Jersey  regi- 
ment, second  establishment,  which  had  but  recently  been 
organized.  Doctor  Boylan  was  a  son  of  John  Boylan  the  Pluck- 
amin  storekeeper,  and  his  practice  being  in  the  vicinity  of 
Basking  Ridge  he  was  probably  Lord  Stirling's  family  physi- 
cian. This  affair  at  Bound  Brook  caused  much  concern  to  the 
commander-in-chief;  it  showed  conclusively  that  the  post  was 
one  of  exposure  and  danger,  and  great  anxiety  was  felt  lest  a 
second  attack  should  be  attended  with  even  more  disastrous 
residts.  It  had  been  hoped  that  an  advance  on  the  enemy  might 
be  made  to  advantage,  but  after  Greene  had  reconnoitred 
their  position  and  examined  the  condition  of  the  American  posts 
it  was  deemed  unwise  to  make  the  attempt.  It  appeared  that 
the  British  were  massing  troops  in  Piscataway  township,  and 
fears  were  had  that  some  stroke  was  in  contemplation.  On  the 
nineteenth  of  April,  Greene  in  a  letter  to  Lincoln  giving  the 
results  of  his  reconnoissance  writes  as  follows  : — 

His  excellency  wishes  you  to  keep  a  good  look  out.  He  thinks  that  the  cannon 
with  you  are  in  a  dangerous  situation  and  will  in  a  great  degree  be  useless  if  the 
■enemy  make  an  attempt  to  surprise  you.  He  therefore  wishes  you  to  send  them 
to  Morris  Town  immediately  and  only  consider  Bound  Brook  an  advance  Piquet. 


General  Benjamin  Lincoln.  411 

The  general  tliinks  you  liad  better  order  all  the  stores  back  between  the  first  and 
second  mountain  and  draw  your  daily  supplies  from  tliere. 

The  letters  of  General  Greene  and  Lord  Stirling  both  express 
the  kindest  feeling  towards  Lincoln,  and  they  fairly  typify  the 
sentiments  with  which  that  general  was  universally  regarded  by 
his  brother  officers.  He  was  respected  as  a  man  of  ardent  patri- 
otism and  heroic  courage,  and  although  his  vigorous  and  usually 
judicious  military  efforts  were  as  a  rule  requited  by  the  frowns 
of  fortune,  lie  never  lost  his  popularity  or  the  confidence  of  the 
army,  congress  and  the  commander-in-chief.  He  had  been  a 
farmer  until  over  forty  years  old  at  Hingham,  Massachusetts,  and 
all  he  knew  of  the  soldiers'  art  before  the  war  was  gained  as  a 
militia  officer.  At  the  outset  of  the  Revolution,  after  serving  in 
the  provincial  congress  and  as  one  of  the  committee  of  corres- 
pondence he  was  appointed  major-general  by  the  council  of  Mas- 
sachusetts, and  in  October,  1776,  at  the  head  of  the  militia  of 
his  state  joined  the  main  army  at  New  York.  He  soon  displayed 
great  ability  as  a  commander,  which,  together  with  his  upright 
character  and  undoubted  merit,  induced  Washington  to  recom- 
mend him  to  congress,  whereupon  in  February,  1  777,  that  body 
created  him  a  major-general  on  the  continental  establishment. 
Though  his  inherent  qualities  and  superior  powers  were  pro- 
nounced, his  military  misfortunes  were  proverbial.  At  Bound 
Brook,  at  Stillwater,  at  Savannah  and  at  Charleston,  misadven- 
ture followed  him.  He  was  certainly  of  importance  in  promot- 
ing the  capture  of  Burgoyne,  but  unhappily  was  deprived  of 
shariug  in  the  glories  of  the  capitulation,  having  a  few  days 
before  received  a  painful  wound,  which  obliged  hiin  to  retire  to 
Albany,  and  from  the  effects  of  which  he  never  wholly  recov- 
ered. Lincoln's  spotless  reputation  remained  untarnished  even 
after  he  had  lost  Charleston  and  the  southern  army,  and  in  Octo- 
ber, 1781,  after  conducting  himself  with  credit  before  Yorktown, 
where  he  received  the  submission  of  Cornwallis's  army,  congress 
chose  him  to  be  secretary  of  war.  The  general  was  long  remem- 
bered at  Bound  Brook  as  an  erect,  broad-chested  man,  having  a 
frank,  open  countenance,  with  an  aspect  rather  venerable  and 
benign.  His  indefatigable  perseverance  and  unconquerable 
energy  won  the  citizen's  admiration,  and,  though  genial  by  nat- 
ure and   easily   approached,   his  mere  presence   invariably   pro- 


412  The  Stoey  of  an  Old  Farm. 

vokecT  respect.  It  is  said  that,  always  himself  correct  and  chaste 
in  conversation,  none  dared  when  with  him  to  indidge  in  profan- 
ity or  in  levity  on  serious  subjects. 

There  was  another  arrival  from  Virginia  that  spring  at  Mor- 
ristown,  which  excited  great  interest.  It  was  that  of  Brigadier- 
General  John  Peter  Gabriel  Muhlenberg,  who  had  left  New  Jer- 
sey in  ]  772  as  an  humble  Lutheran  clergyman.  He  was  warmly 
welcomed  by  the  Germans  of  the  New  Jersey  hill-country,  but 
they  found  it  difficult  to  grow  accustomed  to  his  continental  blue 
and  buff  and  military  trappings.  So  much  glitter  and  sheen 
seemed  a  strange  metamorphosis  from  the  modest  canonicals  of 
their  old  German  pastor ;  but  it  was  the  same  man,  with  the 
same  great  affections  and  merry  heart,  that  had  left  them  five 
years  before,  and  he  found  many  friends  who  delighted  in  his 
return.  We  may  be  sure  that  the  general  went  out  of  his  way 
to  visit  his  old  parishioners  living  in  the  Bedmiuster  stone  house. 
He  could  not  have  had  other  than  pleasing  remembrances  of  his 
past  intimacy  with  Aaron  Malick,  who  had  been  an  active  and 
leading  member  of  his  congregation,  and  two  of  whose  children 
he  had  baptized.  From  these  circumstances  we  may  fairly 
fanc}-  the  warm  reception  extended  to  the  parson-soldier  as  his 
burly  form  darkened  the  doorway  of  the  living-room,  and  his 
hearty  tones  called  down,  in  the  good  old  German  pastoral  fash- 
ion, blessings  on  all  in  that  house. 

The  attachment  felt  by  the  people  of  Zion  and  St.  Paul's  con- 
gregations toward  their  former  rector  was  not  only  because  of  the 
faithfulness  with  which  he  had  ministered  his  holy  calling ;  he 
had  endeared  himself  to  them  by  the  sympathy  and  affection 
with  which  he  had  entered  into  all  their  daily  affairs.  While 
ever  ready  to  sorrow  when  they  sorrowed,  he  was  equally  i[uick 
to  rejoice  in  their  happiness.  He  was  a  part  of  their  life — of 
their  pleasures  as  well  as  of  their  pains.  With  them  he  fish  ed 
the  streams,  with  them  he  roamed  the  hills  for  game  ;  he  could 
dance  as  well  as  pray,  and  no  festive  occasion  was  complete 
without  his  presence.  Evidently  this  clergyman's  Christianity  was 
not  of  the  gloom j'  kind.  In  his  visit  to  London,  after  leaving 
New  Jersey,  he  did  not  hesitate  to  enter  in  his  journal  that  he 
and  a  brother  minister  had  visited  the  theatre  to  see  David  Gar- 
rick.     The    reason    of  his    going  abroad    was   the  necessity  of 


General  Peter  Muhlenberg.  413 

obtaining  ordination  from  an  English  bishop,  as  in  Virginia  the 
rector  of  no  denomination  could  enforce  the  coOection  of  tithes 
unless  regularly  ordained. 

When  Muhlenberg  reached  his  parish  in  the  Old  Dominion, 
his  personal  qualifications  and  high  character  soon  won  from  his 
new  people  the  same  love  and  respect  that  he  had  enjoyed  from 
those  of  New  Jersey,  and  it  was  not  long  before  his  popularity 
throughout  the  entire  vaUey  of  the  Blue  Ridge  was  unbounded. 
By  his  skill  with  the  rifle  he  shot  his  way  into  the  affections  of 
many  a  frontiersman,  and  his  love  of  hunting  brought  him  the 
companionship  of  not  a  few  of  the  leading  men  of  that  hunting- 
loving  province — among  them,  Patrick  Henry  and  Washington. 
With  the  latter  he  often  explored  the  mountains  with  horses, 
hounds  and  horns  in  search  of  deer,  and  it  is  said  that  in  the 
use  of  his  favorite  weapon  he  found  himself  the  peer  of  his 
illustrious  companion.  The  friendship  thus  formed  proved  last- 
ing, and  was  probably  largely  influential  in  transforming  the 
coinitry  parson  into  a  Revolutionary  soldier.  JIuhlenberg 
became  the  political  as  well  as  the  religious  leader  of  the  Grer- 
mans  in  the  colony.  He  was  untiring  in  his  endeavors  to 
quicken  the  patriotic  impulses  of  his  people,  and  when  the  clouds 
of  discontent  and  apprehension  began  to  darken  the  political 
horizon  the  prominent  whigs  of  Virginia  found  in  him  a  most 
important  and  valuable  ally.  He  was  made  a  member  of  the 
Virginia  convention,  became  the  chairman  of  the  committee  of 
correspondence  for  his  county,  and  in  December,  1775,  was  com- 
missioned as  colonel  of  the  8th  Battalion — known  as  the  Uerman 
regiment.  When  bidding  good-bye  to  his  congregation  in  Janu- 
ary, 1776,  at  the  close  of  his  sermon  he  announced  that  he 
believed  with  Holy  Writ  that  there  was  a  time  to  preach  and  a 
time  to  pray,  but  that  those  times  had  passed  away ;  then,  with 
increased  emphasis,  he  cried  out  with  -dramatic  fervor  that  there 
was  also  a  time  io  fiyJit !  and  that  that  time  had  now  arrived  ! — 
thereupon  he  suddenly  threw  off  his  gown,  and  stood  before  his 
people  in  the  full  uniform  of  a  continental  colonel.  At  a  signal, 
dj-ammers,  who  had  been  stationed  outside  the  door,  beat  a  stirring 
march,  and  Muhlenberg,  displaying  a  list,  solicited  recruits. 
Nearly  three  hundred  German  Lutherans  enrolled  their  names, 
infusing  into  his  regiment  an  element  which  caused  it  to  b'e  dis- 


■414  The  Story  of  an  Old  Fakm. 

tinguished  throughout  the  war  for  bravery  and  discipline.  In 
February,  1777,  Colonel  Muhlenberg  was  appointed  a  brigadier- 
general,  and,  being  assigned  the  1st,  5th,  7th  and  13th  Regiments 
of  the  Virginia  line,  was  ordered  to  report  to  Washington  at 
Morristown.  Later  his  old  regiment,  the  8th,  joined  his  brigade, 
which  with  General  Weedon's  formed  Greene's  division.  One 
need  have  but  a  slender  acquaintance  with  Revolutionary  history 
to  be  familiar  with  how  ably  this  soldier  of  the  Cross  served  his 
country  as  a  soldier  in  the  field;  how  well  he  proved  the  truth  of 
the  sentiment  he  had  expressed  in  the  peroration  of  his  farewell 
sermon — that  there  was  a  time  to  pray  and  a  time  to  fight ;  and 
how  equal  he  always  was  to  the  requirements  of  either  occasion. 
As  the  spring  advanced,  the  liritish  were  displaying  more 
activity  in  their  camps,  and  an  important  movement  was  evi- 
dently in  contemplation.  At  New  Brunswick  they  were  con- 
structing a  portable  pontoon  bridge,  and  in  many  ways  their 
operations  indicated  an  intention  of  soon  attempting  the  passage 
of  the  Delaware.  Washington  deemed  it  wise  to  post  his  army 
in  a  stronger  position  so  as  to  be  better  able  to  check  the  enemy 
in  any  overland  endeavor  to  reach  Pennsylvania.  He  selected 
the  heights  in  the  rear  of  Bound  Brook,  or  Middlebrook,  and 
directed  that  an  encampment  should  be  laid  out  on  the  side  of 
the  hiU  below  Chimney  Rock,  to  the  right  of  the  gorge  through 
which  Middle  brook  descends.  Under  the  new  establishment  the 
immediate  foi'ce  of  the  commander-in-chief  was  forty-three  regi- 
ments from  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  Virginia  and 
Maryland.  The  brigades,  of  wliich  there  were  ten,  were  under 
Generals  Muhlenberg,  Weedon,  Maxwell,  Wayne,  Smallwood, 
Woodford,  De  Boore,  De  Haas,  Conway  and  Scott.  There  were 
five  divisions  of  two  brigades  each — commanded  by  Major-Gen- 
erals  Greene,  Sullivan,  Stirling,  Stephen  and  Lincoln.  On  the 
nineteenth  of  February  congress  had  promoted  Stirling,  Stephen 
and  Lincoln,  and  had  made  brigadiers  of  Colonels  Wayne,  Muh- 
lenberg, Weedon,  Woodford  and  De  Haas.  The  muster-rolls 
showed  the  army  to  contain  eight  thousand  three  hundred  and 
seventy-eight  men,  of  whom  but  one  hundred  and  eighty  were 
cavalry.  This  made  an  average  brigade  strength  of  but  little 
more  than  eight  hundred  rank  and  tile.  Of  this  small  force 
upwards  of  two  thousand  were  sick,  leaving  less  than  six  thous- 


Camp  Middlebrook  ix  ]777.  -H5 

and    men    fit   for  active   service,    one-iialf   of    whom    were   raw 
recruits  who  had  never  met  the  enemy. 

On  the  twenty-third  of  May  General  Grreene,  and  Colonel 
Clement  Biddle  the  commissary-general,  reached  Camp  Middle- 
brook,  and  the  necessary  orders  were  immediately  issued  for 
withdrawing  the  troops  from  the  different  outposts  and  massing 
them  at  that  place.  On  the  twent3'-fourth  the  regiments  began 
to  come  in,  and  laying  out  the  encampment  was  regularly  com- 
menced. In  following  Revolutionary  paths  through  this  portion 
of  New  Jersey  we  often  come  upon  the  footprints  of  Colonel 
Biddle.  He  was  a  Philadelphian,  and  had  been  a  member  of 
the  Society  of  Friends,  but  when  the  war  cloud  gathered  his  love 
of  liberty  and  country  proved  greater  than  the  inherent  devotion 
to  peace  which  is  generally  considered  to  be  the  paramount 
feature  of  Quaker  natures.  Because  of  taking  up  arms  he  was 
read  out  of  meeting,  and  Mrs.  Biddle  for  supporting  his  course 
was  subjected  to  the  same  discipline.  In  the  quartermaster  and 
commissary  departments,  he  was  a  most  faithful  officer  from 
July,  1776,  till  September,  1780,  and  his  services  were  highly 
appreciated  by  Generals  Washington  and  Greene.  Mrs.  Biddle 
supported  her  husband's  course  in  deed  as  well  as  in  word,  and 
formed  one  of  the  little  coterie  of  ladies  whose  society  so  often 
made  Revolutionary  camp  life  attractive. 

On  the  twenty-seventh  Washington  made  a  preliminary  exam- 
ination of  the  new  position  and  its  vicinity,  and  on  the  follow- 
ing day  moved  with  the  main  army  from  Morristown  to  Middle- 
brook.  And  now  the  troops  were  finally  disposed  so  as  to  guard 
against  surprise,  and  to  deceive  the  adversary.  Putnam  was 
relieved  by  Sullivan,  who,  with  an  augmented  force  of  fifteen 
hundred  men,  posted  himself  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Sour- 
land  hills  to  act  as  a  menace  to  any  advance-guard  that  the 
enemy  might  send  forward.  Maxwell  was  stationed  on  the  left,  and 
small  guards  were  posted  at  Millstone,  Pluckamin,  Quibbletown 
and  Westfield,  and  the  mountain  gap  at  Steel's  tavern  and  other 
passes  were  fortified.  Colonel  Morgan,  with  his  rangers  was  posted 
as  an  outguard  at  Van  Veghten's  bridge.  He  was  instructed  to 
keep  small  scouting  parties  in  the  vicinity  of  the  roads  leading 
from  New  Brunswick  to  Millstone  and  Princeton,  and  in  case  of 
discovering  bodies  of  the  enemy  moving  in  those  directions  he 


■416  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

was  to  fall  upon  and  gall  tlieir  flanks.  Morgan  probably  quar- 
tered with  Derrick  Van  Veghten,  a  patriotic  old  gentleman 
whose  better  acquaintance,  later  on,  we  shall  have  the  pleasure 
of  making.  And  now  we  find  Washington  biding  his  time, 
watching  from  his  eyrie  for  every  sign  or  incident  indicating  on 
the  part  of  the  enemy  an  intention  to  advance.  Meanwhile  both 
officers  and  men  found  plenty  to  do  ;  earth-works  were  thrown  up, 
cannons  so  mounted  as  to  sweep  the  plain  below,  huts  and  store- 
houses erected,  and  much  time  was  devoted  in  endeavoring  to 
transform  raw  recruits  into  something  approaching  disciplined  sol- 
diers. Commissaries  were  soon  flying  around  among  the  farm- 
ers, and  for  some  weeks  to  come  Middlebrook  camp  was  an 
excellent  market  for  sheep  and  cattle.  Farm-kitchens  and  cel- 
lars were  ransacked  for  cider  vinegar — then  considered  a  sover- 
eign remedy  for  camp  fever,  which  was  found  to  prevail  in  some 
brigades,  produced  by  a  too  continuous  flesh  diet.  The  supply 
soon  became  exhausted,  and  a  substitute  was  made  with  rum, 
molasses  and  water,  a  little  flour  being  added  to  produce  fermen- 
tation So,  two  weeks  or  more  passed  away,  until  the  army  was 
just  beginning  to  wonder  whether  Howe  purposed  summering  on 
the  Raritan,  when  suddenly  the  campaign  opened. 

On  the  morning  of  Sunday  the  fourteenth  of  June  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Franklin  township  were  made  acquainted  with  the  pict- 
orial effect  of  war  to  an  extent  not  before  enjoyed — if  such  a 
word  can  be  used  in  speaking  of  a  display  made  by  an  enemy. 
All  through  the  previous  night,  along  the  Amwell  road  and  along 
the  road  following  the  west  bank  of  the  Raritan,  had  been  heard 
the  hoUow  tramp  of  marching  men — the  rumbling  of  artillery — 
the  sound  of  countless  hoof-beats — the  blast  of  bugles — and  the 
sharp  tones  of  military  command.  At  daybreak  rank  upon  rank 
of  soldiers  with  guidons  and  pennons  fluttering  were  seen  sweep- 
ing along  these  highways  and  occupying  the  country  that  inter- 
vened between  Millstone  and  New  Brunswick.  Everywhere 
were  troops,  and  still  troops  !  They  stood  in  compact  masses — 
they  bivouacked  in  the  fields — the  eye  swept  down  long  lines  of 
color  and  along  ranks  of  glittering  steel ;  the  rising  sun,  flashing 
on  helmets  of  brass  and  loathing  royal  standards  proudly  floating 
over  well-equipped  battalions,  illumined  a  scene  unusual  indeed 
for  Somerset  people.     This  was  no  army  formed  of  men,  hungry, 


The  Pictorial  Effect  of  "War.  417 

tattered,  worn-out  by  the  marches  they  had  made,  but  a  well- 
fed,  gaily  apparelled  force,  strong  with  the  refreshment  of  long 
quiet.  Here  were  Anspachians  and  Waldeckers,  the  first, 
sombre  in  black  leggings  and  dark  blue  uniforms,  the  second, 
gaudy  with  many  hues  and  tricked  out  in  foreign  finery.  There, 
a  regiment  of  Scotch,  stalking  by  as  if  on  their  own  breezy 
highlands,  national  and  picturesque  in  bare  knees,  flowing  kilts, 
and  tartaned  bonnets.  Neat,  graceful  English  grenadiers  offered 
a  complete  contrast  to  the  more  heavily-accoutred  German  foot- 
soldiers  ;  while  sturdy  Hessian  yagers  with  yellow  housings  and 
dangling  scabbards,  and  squadrons  of  British  dragoons  in  all 
the  splendor  of  glint  and  color,  added  to  the  brilliancy  of  the 
picture.  Such  soldiers  seemed  only  to  need  the  word  of  com- 
mand to  make  their  way  to  the  Delaware  or  to  any  other  point 
to  which  they  might  be  ordered. 

On  the  night  of  the  thirteenth,  General  Howe,  leaving  two 
thousand  men  at  New  Brunswick,  marched,  nearly  fifteen  thous- 
and strong,  in  the  direction  of  the  American  camp.  The  army 
moved  in  two  divisions,  one,  under  De  Heistcr,  along  the 
Amwell  road  through  Middlebush,  the  second,  under  Corn- 
wallis,  along  the  river  road,  filing  to  the  left  at  the  cross-road 
running  into  it  three  miles  from  New  Brunswick.  In  the  morn- 
ing the  troops  came  to  a  halt  with  the  right  of  the  army  at  Mill- 
stone, while  the  left  rested  on  the  river.  This  was  indeed  an 
advance  in  force.  There  no  longer  seemed  any  reason  for  ques- 
tioning that  the  objective  point  was  to  be  Philadelphia.  But 
the  British  general,  profiting  by  past  experiences,  was  wary,  and 
his  first  desire  was  to  cripple  the  American  army.  So,  instead 
of  marching  southward  and  exposing  his  flanks,  he  presented 
his  front  to  Washington,  hoping  that  the  American  general  would 
come  down  from  his  stronghold  and  give  him  battle. 

Naturally  the  question  suggests  itself, — why  did  Howe,  hav- 
ing twice  Washington's  force,  hesitate  to  push  on  directly  to  the 
Delaware  f  Several  excellent  reasons  operated  on  the  mind  of 
the  British  general.  Had  his  successor,  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  on 
leaving  Philadelphia  the  following  year  weighed  the  conse- 
quences equally  well,  he  would  not  have  lost  on  the  march  to 
Sandy  Hook  two  thousand  men.  It  must  be  remembered  that 
the  roads  running  towards  the  Delaware  were  narrow  and  in 
27 


418  The  Stoky  of  an  Old  Farm. 

many  places  bordered  with  trees,  offering  excellent  ambuscades, 
and  affording  opportunities  for  the  militia  to  pursue  a  guerrilla 
warfare,  at  which  they  were  becoming  adepts.  Should  be  have 
moved  in  one  column  on  a  single  road  the  narrowness  of  the  way 
would  have  prevented  a  marching  formation  of  over  four  files 
front.  An  army  of  fifteen  thousand  men  with  its  batteries,  bag- 
gage, and  supply-trains,  even  if  kept  continually  closed  up, 
woidd  stretch  out  at  least  six  miles.  Such  a  force,  however, 
could  not  be  prevented,  owing  to  stoppages  and  accidents,  from 
lengthening,  so  that  it  woidd  be  safe  to  say  he  would  have  been 
offering  to  the  adversary  an  exposed  flank  of  over  eight  miles. 
A  forced  march  could  not  be  made  ;  the  arms  and  kits  of  the 
English  soldiers  weighed  fifty  pounds,  those  of  the  Hessians  much 
more ;  this,  together  with  being  enciunbered  with  long  trains, 
would  have  prevented  a  day's  march  averaging  more  than  twelve 
miles.  Thus  five  days  would  be  consumed  in  reaching  Phila- 
delphia were  the  marching  continuous,  which  was,  of  course, 
not  to  be  expected.  The  calamities  that  would  result  from  such  a 
movement  must  be  apparent  to  all — they  certainly  were  to  Howe. 
With  Washington  hanging  on  his  right  flank  and  rear, — with 
SuDivan,  who  had  been  largely  reinforced  by  militia,  harassing 
his  left  flank, — with  the  entire  line  of  march  through  a  hostile 
country  teeming  with  an  armed  population,  the  most  severe 
losses  would  have  been  unavoidable.  Like  a  scotched  snake 
that  drags  its  wounded  length,  the  army  would  have  left  behind  a 
trail  of  blood.  Marching  in  two  divisions  by  parallel  roads 
would  have  but  divided  the  difficulties  and  invited  destruction  to 
at  least  one  of  the  columns.  Howe  was  not  willing  to  make  the 
attempt  until  he  had  beaten  Washington  ;  after  that,  he  proposed 
to  turn  his  attention  to  Sidlivan,  and  thus  clear  the  way  for  his 
advance. 

With  the  approach  of  the  English  all  was  stir  and  bustle  in 
the  American  camp.  The  army  paraded  on  the  hillside,  pre- 
pared to  receive  the  enemy  should  an  attack  be  attempted,  but 
declining  to  abandon  its  strong  position  for  the  uncertainties  of 
an  engagement  on  the  plain  below.  So  the  adversaries  con- 
fronted and  watched  each  other  for  five  days,  the  British 
entrenching  themselves  somewhat,  throwing  up  earth-works  at 
Millstone  and  Middlebush.     Meanwhile  the  militia  flew  to  arms, 


Washington  and  Howe  Face  Each  Other.         419 

and  distributed  in  small  squads  made  the  stay  of  the  enemy  as 
uncomfortable  as  possible.  Marksmen  lurked  behind  the  trees, 
or  lay  concealed  xmder  the  fences.  Unhappy  the  lot  of  the  red- 
coat who  wandered  too  far  from  camp — the  forager  who  straggled 
too  far  from  his  party — or  the  picket  who  occupied  a  too  extended 
line.  Morgan's  men  were  also  ubiquitous  ;  like  so  many  wasps 
they  stung  the  foe  at  every  turn.  Joseph  Clarke  of  the  conti- 
nental army,  in  speaking  of  the  conduct  of  the  militia  on  this 
occasion,  recites  in  his  diary : — 

They  turned  out  with  such  a  spirit  as  will  do  them  honor  to  the  latest  ages. 
Never  did  the  .Jerseys  appear  more  universally  unanimous  to  oppose  the  enemy ; 
they  turned  out  younf;  and  old,  great  and  small,  rich  and  poor.  .Scarcely  a  man 
that  could  carry  a  musket  was  left  at  home.  This  soon  struck  a  panic  into  the 
enemy,  for  they  could  scarcely  stir  from  their  camp  but  they  were  cut  ofl". 

Howe  continued  to  manoeuvre  in  front  of  the  Americans  hop- 
ing to  bring  on  a  general  action,  but  Washington  was  too  wise  to 
permit  his  raw  troops  to  cope  with  this  veteran  force  unless  it 
should  be  in  the  strong  position  he  occupied.  Some  of  the  junior 
generals,  quite  willing  to  test  the  mettle  of  the  new  army,  were 
eager  for  the  fray  ;  among  them  Brigadier  Anthony  Wayne,  an 
officer  who  was  full  of  nervous  energy  and  who  always  felt 
within  himself  the  potentiality  of  great  deeds.  He  urged  that 
at  least  some  side-stroke  should  be  attempted,  and  on  the  six- 
teenth of  June,  dating  his  letter  from  Mount  Pleasant,  he  thus 
wrote  to  his  division  commander.   General  Lincoln  : — 

The  prisoners  just  brought  in  are  a  corporal  and  a  private  belonging  to  the  1st 
Reg.  of  foot-guards.  They  say  there  is  an  encampment  of  the  enemy  on  this 
side  of  Raritan,  which  is  conlirmed  by  a  deserter  from  the  28th,  who  savs  there 
are  still  live  Keg's  yet  at  Brunswick,  three  on  the  other  side  of  the  river,  and  two 
on  this,  just  below  the  new  bridge.  One  of  them,  the  :i()lh,  is  very  weak.  Can't 
we  beat  up  their  quarters  before  sunrise?  I  am  confident  we  can,  my  people  are 
all  ready  to  move  at  a  moment's  notice.  The  light  horseman  will  await  your 
orders. 

The  commander-in-chief,  however,  would  not  permit  any  move- 
ment to  be  made  ;  his  desires  were  all  accomplished  in  barring 
the  enemy's  southern  progress.  On  the  nineteenth  of  June, 
Howe,  despairing  of  attaining  his  purposes,  suddenly  retired  with 
his  army  to  New  Brunswick.  Three  days  later,  on  Sunday  the 
twenty-second,  the  British  entirely  evacuated  that  place,  retreat- 
ing    to     Perth    Amboy.     Greene's    division,     strengthened    by 


420  The  Stoey  of  an  Old  Farm. 

Wayne's  brigade  and  Morgan's  riflemen,  had  been  dispatched  down 
the  right  bank  of  the  Raritan  to  harass  the  foe  in  the  rear.  Muh- 
lenberg led  the  advance,  which  cii'cum stance  offers  excellent  evi- 
dence as  to  the  estimation  in  which  the  parson-soldier  was  held 
by  his  chiefs.  In  a  pursuing  colunm  it  is  in  the  van,  and  in  a 
retreating  force  it  is  at  the  rear,  that  the  best  generals  are 
always  placed.  This  expedition  considerably  hastened  the 
departure  of  the  British  from  New  Brunswick,  its  field-pieces 
and  riflemen  causing  them  much  annoyance.  The  pursuit  con- 
tinued as  far  as  Piscataway  without  doing  much  damage,  as  the 
rear  of  the  retreating  column  was  strongly  and  ably  guarded  by 
Cornwallis.  It  was  expected  that  Sullivan  and  Maxwell  would 
have  cooperated  with  this  movement ;  Sullivan's  orders  crfme  too 
late,  and  Maxwell  did  not  receive  his  at  all.  Had  these  two  divi- 
sions come  to  Greene's  assistance  the  enemy's  main  body  would 
probably  have  received  severe  punishment,  and  much  wanton 
destruction  of  property  prevented,  for  the  British  line  of  retreat 
was  marked  by  blazing  homesteads. 

When  Howe  fell  back  to  Amboy,  Washington,  in  order  to  be 
within  supporting  distance  of  Greene,  moved  with  the  main  army 
to  Quibbletown, — now  New  Market.  Historians  are  not  agreed 
upon  the  question  whether  in  retiring  to  Amboy  the  former  really 
intended  to  evacuate  the  state,  or  whether  it  was  a  feint  made  to 
tempt  Washington  from  his  strong  position.  Howe's  report  of 
these  operations  states  that  his  troops  were  ready  to  cross  to 
Staten  Island,  when  discovery  was  made  that  the  American  army 
had  advanced  from  Middlebrook ; — that  he  then  determined  to 
renew  the  attempt  to  bring  on  an  action.  This  can  hardly  be 
considered  the  best  of  evidence,  for  it  was  not  imcommon  for  the 
British  general  to  so  fashion  his  reports  as  to  convey  impressions 
calculated  to  serve  what  he  might  happen  at  the  time  to  consider 
his  best  interests.  Be  this  as  it  may,  on  Thursday  the  twenty- 
sixth  Howe  hurriedly  marched  in  the  direction  of  Westfield, 
hoping  to  push  aromid  to  the  rear  of  the  Americans,  and  thus 
jirevent  their  again  reaching  the  heights.  But  Washington  was 
too  alert  to  be  the  victim  of  such  strategy.  The  movement  was 
in  two  divisions,  one,  under  CorawaUis,  by  way  of  Woodbridge 
toward  Scotch  Plains,  the  other,  under  Howe,  to  Metuchen  ;  there 
the  latter  general  expected  to  join  the  extreme  left  of  the  first 


I 


Fighting  Near  Plainfield.  421 

column  and  then  swing  around  the  rear  of  the  main  Americati 
army,  it  being  intended  that  the  right  of  the  combined  Britifsh 
forces  should  stretch  to  and  guard  the  mountain  passes.  It  was 
thus  that  Washington  was  to  be  trapped. 

Nothing  of  the  kind  was  effected.  Morgan  was  soon  hovering 
on  Cornwallis's  flank,  and  at  Woodbridge  a  spirited  engage- 
ment cost  him  a  considerable  number  of  men.  When  near 
Plainfield  a  force  under  Lord  Stii'ling  still  further  disputed  the 
"British  advance,  but  after  a  sharp  fight  was  obliged  to  retire  to 
the  mountains,  though  not  until  Cornwallis's  plans  had  been  effect- 
ually defeated.  Stirling  having  prevented  that  general  from 
reaching  the  heights  it  was  useless  for  Howe  to  threaten 
Washington's  front.  The  main  American  army  was  thus  enabled 
to  return  in  safety  to  Middlebrook.  Coniwallis  and  his  men, 
exhausted  by  rapid  marching  and  the  extreme  heat,  moved  on 
in  the  direction  of  Westfield  where  they  rested  till  the  next 
afternoon.  The  column  was  then  put  in  motion  for  Rahway 
where  it  again  encamped.  During  the  march  Morgan's  troops 
and  a  body  of  light-horse  assailed  the  enemy  mercilessly  on  their 
flanks  and  rear,  as  they  did  the  following  day  when  the  column 
was  again  pushing  toward  Amboy.  It  was  not  till  then  that  the  two 
British  divisions  came  together.  Colonel  Morgan's  tireless  services 
merited  and  received  much  commendation  from  the  army,  and 
special  mention  of  his  bravery  was  made  by  Washington  in  dis- 
patches to  congress.  His  riflemen  had  been  on  continuous  duty 
day  and  night  since  the  nineteenth,  when  the  enemy  retired  from 
Millstone,  and  his  men,  animated  with  the  dash  and  spirit  of  their 
leader,  had  vied  with  each  other  in  valorous  deeds.  In  the  vari- 
ous skirmishes  occurring  after  Howe  resumed  the  offensive  the 
Americans  lost  in  killed,  wounded  and  missing  about  two  hun- 
dred men,  while  the  casualities  of  the  British  did  not  exceed  one- 
third  of  that  number.  But  the  advantage  lay  by  all  odds  on  the 
side  of  the  continental  army,  as  it  had  completely  frustrated  the 
designs  of  the  enemy. 

On  Monday,  the  thirtieth  of  June,  Howe  and  his  army  crossed 
to  Staten  Island  on  the  pontoon  bridge  constructed  at  New  Bruns- 
wick for  use  on  the  Delaware,  bidding  for  that  year  a  final  adieu 
to  the  Jerseys.  Napoleon  defines  the  art  of  war  as  the  talent  of 
being  stronger  than  the  enemy  at  a  given  moment.     The  result 


422  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

of  the  game  played  between  Washington  and  Howe  showed  that, 
however  true  this  may  be  when  opposing  masses  meet  face  to 
face  for  a  supreme  effort,  there  are  surely  exceptions  to  the  rule 
when  the  elements  of  tactics  and  strategy  enter  into  the  contest. 
At  such  times  the  number  of  men  is  not  invariably  the  standard 
of  effective  strength  ;  a  most  important  factor  must  be  considered 
— the  genius  of  the  respective  leaders.  Herein  lies  the  secret 
of  the  checkmate  received  by  the  British.  There  is  no  doubt 
that  General  Howe  ascribed  great  importance  to  the  measures 
he  had  taken  to  tempt  the  American  army  from  its  stronghold, 
and  thus  bring  on  a  general  engagement.  He  had  concentrated 
a  force  much  greater  in  numbers  and  hoped  to  win  the  day  by 
the  superiority  of  his  battalions.  The  withdrawal  of  his  army  to 
Staten  Island  vvas  an  acknowledgment  of  the  frustration  of  his 
entire  plan — he  had  been  foiled  in  all  his  manoeuvres  and  outgen- 
eraled in  every  movement. 

Thus  ended  the  first  invasion  of  New  Jersey.  Seven  months 
occupation  of  the  state  by  a  thoroughly-equipped  foreign  army 
had  resulted  in  nothing.  The  undisciplined  forces  of  the  Ameri- 
cans— through  the  genius  of  their  leader  and  the  spirit  animat- 
ing officers  and  men — had  defeated  every  effort  made  by  the 
enemy  to  penetrate  beyond  the  Delaware,  and  most  of  the  time 
had  restricted  them  to  the  vicinity  of  the  Raritan.  Soon  after 
crossing  to  Staten  Island  the  British  embarked  on  two  hundred 
and  seventy  transports  that  were  lying  in  the  Lower  bay.  AVhat 
Howe  would  next  do  was  now  the  question  in  the  American 
camp.  Washington  was  at  a  loss  whether  to  continue  in  Somer- 
set, so  as  to  move  quickly  toward  Pennsylvania  should  the  British 
sail  for  the  Delaware  capes,  or  whether  to  march  to  the  Highlands 
of  the  Hudson,  fearing  that  the  enemy  might  ascend  the  North 
river  in  order  to  combine  with  Burgoyne.  There  was  at  least 
no  reason  for  longer  perching  on  Middlebrook  heights.  Early 
on  the  morning  of  the  second  of  July  was  heard  the  shout  and 
din  of  breaking  camp.  Huts  were  dismantled,  baggage-wagons 
were  loaded  and  guns  limbered.  Soon  the  woods  about  Chimney 
Rock  were  echoing  for  the  last  time  that  year  to  drum-beats  for 
assembly,  and  the  men,  with  knapsacks  packed  and  strapped, 
were  hurrying  to  their  different  companies.  Horses,  ready 
saddled,   pawed  the  gromad  in  front   of   officers'    quarters,    and 


Howe  Takes  to  His  Ships.  423 

troops  were  in  motion  in  every  part  of  the  camp.  Washington 
had  decided  to  march  farther  northward  so  as  to  be  better  able 
to  move  in  either  direction  when  Howe's  intentions  should  be 
known.  So  again  the  people  of  Somerset  witnessed  what  had 
now  grown  to  be  a  no  inconsiderable  army  marching  along  their 
highways,  which  by  this  time  must  have  begun  to  grow  familiar 
to  many  of  the  continental  officers. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  fourth  the  troops  encamped  at  Morris- 
town,  where  they  remained  for  one  week.  Meanwhile  the  Eng- 
lish fleet  was  under  sail,  now  heading  up  the  Hudson,  now  cruis- 
ing in  the  sound,  now  bearing  away  for  the  Hook,  each  change  of 
direction  adding  to  the  uncertainty  and  anxiety  of  mind  of  Wash- 
ington and  Iiis  generals.  On  the  eleventh  it  was  determined  to 
continue  the  march  westward,  but  on  the  following  day  the  army 
was  arrested  at  Pompton  by  a  drenching  rain  storm.  Washing- 
ton was  ill  at  ease.  This  watching  an  enem^-  that  was  on  board 
a  fleet  he  foimd  a  very  different  business  from  standing  on  the 
brow  of  the  "  Blue  hiUs,"  and  surveying  the  foe  on  the  plains 
below.  He  chafed  sorely  at  this  delay,  but  it  was  unavoidable  ; 
the  descending  floods  continued,  the  roads  were  choked  with 
mud,  and  the  Pequannock  and  Ramapo  rivers  were  swollen  into 
rapid  torrents.  A  long  halt  not  having  been  anticipated  a  con- 
centrated camp  had  not  been  pitched,  the  troops  bivouacking,  as 
best  they  could,  in  an  extended  line  under  the  dripping  trees 
that  bordered  the  road.  And  so  two  very  uncomfortable  days 
were  passed.  The  ram  was  incessant,  the  men  were  soaked  to 
the  skin,  water  trickled,  dripped  and  splashed  from  caissons, 
wagons  and  saddles,  while  from  the  horses'  sides  and  flanks  rose 
a  thick  steam,  which  mingled  with  the  aqueous  vapors  exuding 
from  the  soaked  and  spongy  ground. 

On  the  fourteenth  the  column  was  again  in  motion,  toiling  over 
the  miry  and  slippery  Ramapo  hills,  and  pushing  on  through  the 
Clove  to  the  Hudson  which  was  reached  on  the  twenty-second. 
The  commander-in-chief  though  full  of  pei-plexity  was  ever 
watchful  of  the  enemy,  and  as  their  latest  move  pointed  sea- 
ward he  again  fell  back  with  the  greater  part  of  his  army  to 
Pompton.  Two  days  later — on  the  twenty-fourth — the  mystery 
seemed  solved,  for  on  that  day  he  wrote  General  Lincoln  : — 
I  have  just  received  information  that  the  fleet  left  the  Hook  yesterday,  and  as 


424  The  Story  of  an  Old  Fakm. 

I  think  the  Delaware  the   most  probable  place  of  their  destination  I  shall  move 
the  army  that  way. 

Sullivan  and  Lord  Stirling's  divisions,  having  been  thrown 
across  the  Hudson,  were  recalled,  the  latter  being  ordered  to 
march  toward  Philadelphia,  the  former  to  halt  at  Morristown. 
And  now  we  again  see  the  continentals — moving  in  several 
divisions — swinging  their  hurried  way  alongthe  Somerset  roads, 
which  a  hot  July  sun  and  thousands  of  trampling  hoofs  and  feet 
had  already  made  dusty.  On  Sunday  the  twenty-eighth  the 
eyes  of  Bedminster  people  looked  with  delight  upon  the  con- 
spicuous and  well  known  figure  of  Muhlenberg,  mounted  on  a 
tall  white  charger  with  rich  housings,  riding  at  the  head  of  four 
thousand  troops.  General  Greene  being  absent  on  a  few  days' 
leave  Muhlenberg  had  command  of  the  division,  and  with  him 
marched  General  Washington,  and  also  General  Knox  with  his 
artillery  train  of  fourteen  pieces  and  one  howitzer.  How  the 
old  parishioners  of  the  German  general  must  have  marvelled  at 
his  strangely  martial  appearance  !  As  his  erect  form,  amid  his 
soldier  comrades,  passed  along  the  familiar  highways — crossing 
the  north  branch  of  the  Raritan  ;  through  the  two  Cross  Roads  ; 
crossing  the  Lamington  ;  over  the  gentle  rises  and  through  the 
pleasant  valleys  of  Tewksbury  ;  on,  in  the  direction  of  the  Dela- 
ware— what  comparisons  must  have  been  made  with  former 
days ;  with  those  days  when  he  rode  this  same  country  on 
errands  of  mercy  and  love,  astride  of  a  modest  cob,  wearing 
instead  of  epaulettes  of  bullion  the  livery  of  a  Lutheran 
domine,  and  when  in  place  of  the  swinging  sword  and  warlike 
holster,  were  peaceful  saddlebags  stuffed  with  Bibles,  prayer- 
books  and  sermons. 

On  the  thirtieth,  Muhlenberg's  division  was  resting  at  Coryell's 
ferry  on  the  Delaware,  having  arrived  on  the  twenty-eighth. 
This  place  being  at  the  crossing  of  the  old  York  road  was  one  of 
the  chief  gateways  to  Pennsylvania,  and  is  frequently  mentioned 
in  Revolutionary  annals.  On  its  site  is  now  the  flourishing  city 
of  Lambertville,  which  received  its  name  early  in  this  century 
from  its  first  postmaster.  As  late  as  1797  there  were  at  this 
point  but  four  dwelling  houses.  It  was  first  settled  in  1732  by 
Emanuel  Coryell  from  Somerset  county,  who  purchased  a  large 
body  of  land,  built  a  hut,  and  established  a  ferry.     Shortly  after- 


Uncertainty  as  to  Howe's  Intentions.  425^^ 

wards  he  erected  a  stone  tavern,  which,  since  occupied  as  a 
residence,  continued  in  existence  until  within  a  few  years.  With- 
out doubt  it  was  at  this  tavern  that  Washington,  Knox,  and 
Muhlenberg  quartered  while  halting  at  the  ferry.  To  expedite 
crossing  the  river  the  divisions  of  Stephen,  which  had  marched 
from  the  Clove  by  way  of  Chester  and  Sussex  Court-house,  and 
Lincoln,  which  followed  Muhlenberg's,  reached  the  Delaware 
four  mUes  above  at  Howell's  ferry,  now  Stockton,  while  Lord 
Stirling's  division,  debouching  south,  rested  at  Trenton.  On 
the  thirty-first  a  courier  was  dispatched  to  hurry  forward  Sulli- 
van's division,  an  express  having  brought  the  news  of  two 
hundred  and  twenty-eight  sail  of  vessels  being  at  the  capes  of 
the  Delaware.  The  next  day,  to  Washington's  great  surprise 
and  dismay,  a  second  express  announced  that  the  fleet  had  sailed 
eastward.  The  clouds  of  doubt  and  uncertainty  which  had  so 
happily  seemed  dissipated,  again  gathered,  darkening  the 
horizon.  Once  more  it  became  necessary  for  a  portion  of  the 
army  to  take  up  its  line  of  march  in  the  direction  of  the  Hudson, 
Washington  remaining  in  Pennsylvania  so  as  to  be  near  congress 
until  Howe's  intentions  should  be  fully  disclosed.  This  was  a 
trying  time  for  the  troops.  The  heat  was  extreme,  and  the  men 
suflFered  much  fatigue  and  injury  from  their  continuous  and  hur- 
ried marching  along  the  dusty  roads,  and  over  the  many  hills 
that  intervened  between  the  Hudson  and  the  Delaware.  Wash- 
ington, in  a  letter  to  his  brother  from  Germantown  on  the  fifth  of 
August,  writes  that  since  the  British  removed  from  the  Jerseys 
the  troops  under  his  command  had  been  more  harassed  by  march- 
ing and  countermarching  than  by  any  other  thing  that  had  hap- 
pened to  them  in  the  course  of  the  campaign. 

Congress  and  the  commander-in-chief  were  now  kept  for  many 
days  in  a  state  of  anxious  suspense,  the  complete  disappearance 
of  the  fleet  rendering  it  uncertain  whether  Howe's  next  stroke 
was  to  be  in  the  direction  of  the  upper  Hudson,  of  Philadelphia, 
or  of  Charleston.  If  in  the  latter,  it  was  felt  that  the  continental 
army  was  too  distant  to  be  of  any  avail ;  consequently  its  dif- 
ferent divisions  were  distributed  in  Pennsylvania  and  New  Jer- 
sey, ready  to  move  quickly  should  time  divtdge  that  either  of 
the  other  points  was  to  be  the  destination  of  the  fleet.  To  the 
great  joy  of  every  one,  on  the  twenty-eighth   of  August   Howe 


426 


The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 


showed  his  hand — all  doubts  were  set  at  rest,  for  transports  and 
convoys  were  discovered  within  the  Virginia  capes,  and,  with 
their  canvas  wings  wide  spread,  standing  fairly  up  Chesapeake 
bay. 


I 


CHAPTER     XXIX. 

The  State  of  Meligion  in  New  Jersey  in  the  Eighteenth  Cen- 
tury— The  Effect  of  the  Revolution  on  Public  Morals— The 
Strong  lieformed  Dutch  and  Presbyterian  Congregations  of 
Bedtninster — Curious  Church  Customs. 

And  so  this  extraordinary  chase,  unparallelled  in  the  chronicles 
of  warfare — a  chase  of  an  army  on  the  sea  by  an  army  on  the 
land — drew  near  to  a  finish.  The  continental  divisions  were 
quickly  brought  together,  and  the  concentrated  force,  now  largely 
increased  by  regiments  from  the  south  and  by  Pennsylvania  militia, 
marched  down  the  Delaware,  the  men  elated  that  there  was  no 
longer  any  uncertainty  as  to  the  intentions  of  the  enemy. 

But,  as  they  are  hurrying  on  to  the  inevitable  collision,  you 
and  I,  reader,  must  cry,  halt  !  We  have  for  some  time  been 
drifting  together  on  the  tide  of  national  history.  This  was  all 
very  well  while  that  tide  ebbed  and  flowed  within  our  own  state ; 
but  now  that  it  has  sought  channels  beyond  the  borders  of  New 
Jersey  it  behooves  us  to  abandon  the  great  historic  figures  in 
whose  excellent  company  we  have  been,  and  turn  again  to  the 
contemplation  of  a  simpler  form  of  humanity.  As  our  story  is 
essentially  one  of  a  place  and  people,  we  have  no  longer  any 
excuse  for  following  the  fortimes  of  the  continental  army.  By 
doing  so  we  may  invite  the  charge  of  aspiring  to  pen  a  history 
of  the  war  for  American  independence  ;  for  the  desire  to  do  this, 
or  for  the  necessary  ability  for  its  accomplishment,  we  lay  no 
claim.  Ours  the  simpler  duty  of  writing  the  story  of  an  old 
farm,  and  as  fascinating  as  the  greater  theme  may  be,  we  must 
not  devote  too  much  time  to  the  historic  interest  of  those  won- 
derful years  when  a  great  nation  was  in  the  throes  of  its  birth, 
and  thus    neglect   those  minor  personal  interests   in  which  rest 


428  The  Stohy  ok  an  Old  Farm. 

the  foundation  of  our  work.  It  is  only  when  the  tumultuous 
waves  of  history  sweep  over  the  quiet  neighborhood  in  which 
our  narrative  lies,  that  we  may  permit  ourselves  the  pleasure  of 
attempting  the  portrayal  of  scenes  and  incidents  of  national 
importance.  We  confess,  however,  to  a  feeling  of  regret  at 
turning  our  backs  upon  the  continental  army.  There  is  a  singu- 
lar charm  in  either  witnessing  or  participating  in  scenes  where 
men  contend  together  for  mastery,  and  it  is  undoubtedly  true 
that  all  human  nature  retains  its  primitive  savage  love  of  con- 
flict. Perhaps  this  may  be  why  we  deplore  not  being  able  at 
this  time  to  follow  the  men  of  the  Jersey  line,  as  they  tramp 
along  with  Washington's  column  to  meet  the  enemy.  We  should 
like  to  witness  the  well-authenticated  bravery  of  Muhlenberg, 
amid  the  whirl  of  combat  on  the  Brandywine  ;  to  peer  through 
the  dense  fog  that  hung  over  that  bloody  sea  of  strife  when  the 
waves  of  success  and  defeat  were  surging  back  and  forth  on  the 
streets  of  Germantown  ;  yes,  even  to  share  with  our  Jersey  sol- 
diers the  sufferings  and  privations  of  Valley  Forge — but  it  is 
impossible.  For  all  wars  there  must  be  a  home-guard.  To 
those  by  no  means  distinguished  but  still  honorable  ranks,  we 
are  assigned,  for  to  preserve  the  plan  of  this  work  it  is  clearly 
our  duty  to  remain  near  the  home  and  haunts  of  our  ancestors. 
The  army  will  come  again  to  Bedminster,  when  it  will  once  more 
properly  be  within  our  province  to  delineate  its  fortunes. 

Upon  returning  to  Somerset  county  we  tind  it  strangely  quiet 
after  the  military  turmoil  of  the  preceding  seven  months.  While 
some  of  its  citizens  had  been  bent  on  killing  and  maiming  men, 
others  more  peacefully  occupied  had  not  neglected  nurturing  the 
land,  ploughing,  planting,  and  tilling  the  fields.  Though  not 
blind  to  the  importance  of  all  that  was  going  on  around  them, 
stiU  they  had  been  guided  by  ihe  ordinary  considerations  of  the 
necessities  of  daily  existence,  and  had  continued  to  prosecute 
their  various  occupations,  and  so  contributed — unwittingly  and 
humbly — toward  fashioning  the  history  of  their  time.  In 
a  great  clock  the  small  wheels  seem  of  minor  importance,  yet  did 
they  fail  to  make  their  revolutions  the  entire  mechanism  would 
be  useless,  and  the  hands  could  no  longer  mark  off  on  the  dial 
the  seconds,  minutes,  and  hours  of  life.  Society  is  a  machine  of 
intricate  construction  and  delicate  adjustments.     Mankind,   with 


Rigid  Views  as  to  Amusements.  429 

its  many-sided  characters  and  greater  and  lesser  capacities,  fur- 
nishes the  motive  power.  Thus  we  find  that  all  this  time  Bed- 
minster  men,  when  not  under  arms  on  their  monthly  tours  of 
militia  duty,  were  engaged  in  turning  the  smaller  social  wheels, 
occupied  themselves  with  their  ordinary  pursuits,  performed  their 
daily  duties,  and  sought  pleasure  and  amusement  as  if  war  were 
not. 

Those  pleasures,  it  would  seem,  did  not  always  keep 
strictly  within  legal  bounds,  for  we  find  that  in  1778  the  Octo- 
ber term  of  Somerset  courts  convicted  John  Schenck  of  breaking 
the  law  against  horse-racing,  and  fined  him  ten  pounds.  This 
derelict  who  was  guilty  of  so  heinous  an  ofl^ence  against  society 
was  the  son  of  Peter  Schenck,  a  member  of  the  provincial  con- 
gress from  Somerset  county,  one  of  the  elders  of  the  Hillsborough 
— Millstone — Reformed  Dutch  church,  and  the  owner  of  the  mills 
where  is  now  Weston.  The  worthy  elder  probably  grieved  over 
his  son's  youthful  peccadillos,  but  they  did  not  prevent  John's 
growing  up  to  be  a  useful  citizen.  We  may  thank  him,  at  least, 
for  contributing  to  our  knowledge  of  the  rigid  views  held  by  our 
ancestors  as  to  what  they  considered  dangerous  amusements. 
Would  not  these  good  men  of  the  olden  time  have  despaired  of 
the  republic  had  they  foreseen  that  a  century  later  their  posterity 
would  consider  their  forefathers'  vices  as  virtues,  and  at  state  and 
county  fairs  off'er  tempting  premiums  to  winning  borseracers  ? 
Could  they,  do  you  think,  have  been  made  to  believe  that  in  the 
year  1843  nearly  seventy-five  thousand  people  would  witness  the 
New  Jersey  mare,  Fashion,  trot  for  a  purse  of  twenty  tliousand 
dollars  ;  that  in  1889  the  turf  of  the  United  States  would  give 
employment  to  thirty-five  thousand  men  and  boys  ;  that  stakes 
in  that  year  to  the  amount  of  nearly  two  million  dollars  would  be 
won,  and  that  almost  as  many  persons  would  attend  the  races  as 
inhabited  the  country  when  American  independence  was 
declared  1 

While  Washington  and  his  men  were  at  the  front,  assailing 
the  enemy  with  lead  and  steel,  the  patriotic  citizens  at  home 
were  guarding  the  rear  against  the  attacks  of  a  much  more 
insidious  foe.  Mention  has  been  made  in  a  pi-evious  chapter  of 
the  almost  unlimited  powers  vested  in  the  council  of  safety. 
Between  the  sessions  of  the  legislature  this  important  committee 


430  The  Story  of  an  Old  Faem. 

kept  a  zealous  oversight  of  the  conduct  of  the  citizens,  sitting 
for  that  purpose  at  short  intervals  in  different  parts  of  the  state. 
Then  would  be  summoned  to  the  presence  of  this  august  body 
both  suspected  and  unsuspected  persons — the  one  to  explain  as 
best  they  could  their  attitude  toward  the  new  republic,  the  other 
to  testify  as  to  what  they  knew  regarding  the  daily  walk,  con- 
versation, and  behavior  of  the  people  of  their  respective  vicini- 
ties. From  the  fifteenth  to  the  twenty-sixth  of  July  (1777)  the 
council  of  safety  sat  at  New  Germantown,  in  Hunterdon  county. 
The  following  is  an  extract  from  the  minutes  of  the  meeting  on 
Tuesday,  the  twenty-second  instant : — 

Ordered  that  warrants  be  issued  to  apprehend  and  bring  the  following  persons 
forthwith  before  the  Government  and  Council  of  Safety,  to  take  the  oath,  etc., 
to  wit :  Christopher  Vandevender,  John  Teeplen,  T.  Keeper,  Jacob  Eoff',  Senr., 
Jacob  Eottj  Junr,,  John  Thompson,  Samuel  Siloy,  Joseph  Kelly,  Thom.as  Willot, 
John  Fossey,  Aaron  Craig,  John  Castner,  Senr.,  .John  Castner,  Junr.,  Abraham 
Castner,  David  King,  Senr.,  and  David  King,  .Junr.,  of  Pluckamin.  Also  James 
Castner,  Peter  Teeple,  Samuel  Perry,  John  Steel,  Jacob  Fussle,  John  Aupelman, 
Tice  Aupelman,  Philip  Meelick,  Jacob  Castner,  Peter  Moelick,  John  Shaw,  and 
Elislia  Laurance,  of  the  county  of  Somerset. 

The  minutes  of  the  council  meeting,  held  on  the  twenty-fifth 

instant,  recite  : — 

Doctor  Aaron  Craig  and  John  Teeple  Tavernkeeper,  appd.  before  the  Board 
pursuant  to  citation  and  severally  took  and  subscribed  the  Oaths  of  abjuration 
and  allegiance  agreeably  to  law.  *  «  *  Philip  Meelick  appeared  before  the 
Board  pursuant  to  citation,  and  produced  proof  of  his  having  taken  the  Oath 
agreeably  to  Law,  on  the  12th  of  this  instant,  whereupon  he  was  dismissed. 

Nothing  is  said  of  Peter  Melick  having  presented  himself 
before  this  council.  It  has  already  been  shown  that  early  in  the 
war  his  loyalty  was  more  than  questionable,  but  that  eventually 
he  arrayed  himself  on  the  side  of  the  government  there  is  no 
doubt.  We  had  supposed  that  before  the  time  of  the  meeting  of 
this  committee  he  had  again  changed  his  attitude  toward  national 
affairs.  It  is  not  impossible  that  he  may  still  have  been  "  sulk- 
ing in  his  tent,"  but  it  is  more  reasonable  to  suppose  that  he  was 
absent  from  the  county,  as  no  pj'oceedings  were  instituted  either 
against  his  person  or  to  confiscate  his  property.  Citation  before 
the  committee  was  not,  necessarily,  evidence  of  disaffection,  as 
aU  male  adults  were  required  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance,  and 
some  of  the  firmest  of  patriots  were  peremptorily  summoned 
to  repair  their  negligence.     During  the  few  days  that  the  com- 


Religiods  Blight  During  the  Revolution.        431 

mittee  of  safety  sat  at  New  Germantown  one  hundred  and 
eighty-three  citations  were  issued,  and  one  hundred  and  fifty- 
seven  oaths  administered.  John  Mehelm  and  Williani  Paterson 
were  present  as  members  of  the  board,  and  the  Reverend  James 
Caldwell  from  EHzabethtowh,  and  the  Reverend  Alexander 
McWhorter  of  Newark,  appeared  on  the  seventeenth  before  the 
committee  to  represent  the  exposed  situation  of  Middlesex  and 
Essex  counties,  and  to  petition  for  relief. 

On  examining  old  Somerset  records  we  are  led  to  believe  that 
to  some  extent  this  county  escaped  the  religious  blight  that  gene- 
rally fell  upon  the  communities  during  the  Revolution  ;  and  that 
social  morals  were  not  permitted  to  sink  to  the  low  level  of  those 
of  many  other  localities.  That  Bedminster  township  was  pre- 
eminently favored  in  this  regard  is  beyond  dispute,  and  it  can 
be  attributed  to  the  far-i-eaching  influence  on  its  people  of  its  two 
strong  Reformed  Dutch  and  Presbyterian  congregations,  and 
their  able  ministers.  During  the  early  years  of  the  eighteenth 
century  the  state  of  religion  in  New  Jersey  was  at  an  exceed- 
ingly low  ebb.  Professing  Christians  were  very  lax  in  the  out- 
ward observances  of  the  forms  of  their  faith,  and  in  their  daily 
lives  gave  but  little  evidence  of  the  belief  that  was  supposed  to 
be  theirs.  All  kinds  of  error  and  practices  prevailed  in  the 
chui'ches ;  conversion  in  the  present  sense  of  the  term  does  not 
seem  to  have  been  a  necessity  for  membership,  and  in  many 
instances  even  ministers  do  not  appear  to  have  been  over- 
zealous  in  spiritual  matters. 

Among  the  dissenting  congregations  it  was  the  crying  aloud 
in  the  wilderness  of  the  ministers  Theodorus  Jacobus  Freling- 
huysen  of  the  Dutch  churches  of  the  Raritan  valley,  and  Jona- 
than Dickinson  of  the  Presbyterian  congregations  in  the  vicinity 
of  Elizabethtown,  that  first  aroused  the  people  to  the  sense  of 
their  need  of  a  more  vital  piety.  The  efforts  of  these  divines 
were  supplemented  in  1740  by  the  earnest,  and  what  was  con- 
sidered almosf  inspired  preaching  of  Whitefield,  Tennent, 
Edwards  and  other  eminent  pastors  of  that  time.  A  religious 
awakening  ensued  which  had  a  most  marked  effect  upon  the 
morals,  character  and  daily  walk  of  the  people.  The  churches 
were  invigorated,  and  for  a  generation  afterwards  religion 
occupied  a  place  in  the  thoughts  and  lives  of  the  people    that  it 


432  The  Story  of  as  Old  Farm. 

had  never  known  before.  As  has  been  stated  in  a  previous 
chapter,  it  is  claimed  that  in  the  age  following  these  religious 
teachers  New  England  and  New  Jersey  gave  more  thought  to 
Christian  philosophy  and  systematic  theology  than  the  same 
amount  of  population  in  any  other  part  of  the  world. 

Interesting  testimony  regarding  the  severe  opinions  prevail- 
ing at  that  time  as  to  frivolous  and  dangerous  recreations,  is 
furnished  by  the  record  of  a  meeting  in  1767  of  the  consistories 
of  the  Bedrainster,  Raritan,  and  North  Branch  Reformed  Dutch 
churches — then  under  one  ministry.  The  fathers  of  the  congre- 
gations had  come  together  to  suspend  a  member  for  attending  a 
shooting  match,  for  dancing  and  playing  cards.  They  inscribed 
in  Dutch  on  their  book  of  minutes — as  is  shown  by  the  transla- 
tion made  for  the  Reverend  Henry  P.  Thompson's  "  History  of 
Readington  Church  " — the  following  as  the  result  of  their  deli- 
brations  : — 

Shooting  matches  are  illegal,  and  contrary  to  the  laws  of  the  land,  and  afford 
inducement  for  the  assembling  of  many  idle  and  fickle  persons,  where  nothing  is 
ever  transacted  except  that  which  is  utterly  useless,  and  usually  ungodly.  *  *  * 
Inasmuch  as  dancing  is  a  wantonness  unbecoming  Christians,  and  a  temptation 
to  tieshly  lusts,  and  besides  an  offence  to  the  pious,  especially  in  their  time  of 
need,  therefore,  those  who  indulge  therein  are  to  be  admonished.  *  *  * 
Those  who,  after  admonition,  continue  to  play  with  dice  and  cards,  must  not  be 
allowed  to  come  to  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  if  contempt  for  this  discipline  be 
manifested,  they  must,  at  last,  be  cut  off  from  the  church.    *     *     *    The  conduct 

of is  thus  of  great  offense  to  this   church  ;  and  in   addition    thereto, 

he  has  shown  contempt  of  that    ecclesiastical    oversight    to   which    he   solemnly 

promised  to  submit  himself.     Therefore,  tliis  consistory,  because  of  the  said  

continuance  in  such  conduct,  consider    him  an    unworthy  partaker  of  the 

Holy  Sacrament,  and  liereby  forbid  him  the  use  thereof,  and  lay  him  under  cen- 
sure until  he  shall  manifest  sorrow  and  repentance. 

From  the  records  of  the  Morristown  Presbyterian  church  dur- 
ing the  pastorate  of  the  Reverend  Timothy  Johnes — 1742-1794 
— can  also  be  obtained  some  interesting  information  as  to  what 
manner  of  social  offences  were  visited  with  ecclesiastical  con- 
demnation. In  1760  a  man  and  his  wife  were  disciplined  for 
eating  stolen  watermelons — we  are  not  informed  who  purloined 
the  fruit.  In  1766  a  man  was  adjudged  guilty  of  a  ''  premedit- 
ated first  quarrel ;"  and  in  1772  another  contentious  brother  was 
before  the  church  "  for  taking  hold  of  an  antient  man,  a  member 
of  ye  church,  and  shaking  him  in  an  unchristian  and  threaten- 
ing manner."     For  "ye  premature  marriage  of  wife's  sister  after 


Effect  of  the  War  upon  Religion.  433 

first  wife's  death,"  the  newly-married  pair  were  brought  before 
the  session  in  1786,  but  we  are  left  in  ignorance  as  to  just  what 
measure  of  time  the  worthy  elders  and  deacons  considered  pre- 
mature. 

With  the  outburst  of  anger  and  acrimony  engendered  by 
British  tyranny,  that  precipitated  the  Revolution,  the  Christ- 
ian zeal  and  fervor  that  had  distinguished  the  members  of  the 
dissenting  congregations  received  a  serious  check.  The  out- 
break of  hostilities  exerted  a  most  unfriendly  influence  on  religi- 
ous opinions,  and  the  inhuman  practices  of  war  had  a  deadly 
effect  on  moral  character.  Tory  and  whig  were  alike  too  intol- 
erant of  each  other's  convictions  to  square  their  conduct  by 
Christian  teachings.  Both  in  social  and  political  life  hatred 
took  the  place  of  that  broad  and  generous  spirit  which  the  laws 
of  God  demand  shall  govern  citizens  in  considering  the  interests 
of  a  common  brotherhood.  The  disintegration  of  society,  the 
scattering  of  the  members  of  congregations,  and  the  frequent  use 
of  church  edifices  for  military  purposes,  all  tended  to  prostrate 
religious  aftairs,  and  to  give  them  a  minor  rather  than  a  para- 
mount importance.  The  business  of  the  time  was  to  kill,  not  to 
save,  men.  Campaigning  dulled  those  finer  feelings  that -had  been 
bred  under  domestic  influences  and  church  teachings,  profanity 
increased,  cruelty  and  lawlessness  usurped  the  place  of  brotherly 
atfections,  and  scepticism  and  unbelief  grew  and  became  wide- 
spread. In  some  localities  a  community  of  Christian  feeling  was 
nearly  exterminated,  and  the  abandonment  of  all  Sabbath  obser- 
vances was  the  rule  rather  than  the  exception.  This  was  espe- 
cially true  of  neighborhoods  lying  in  the  track  of  contending 
armies.  The  Presbyterian  church  buildings  of  Princeton, 
Mount  Holly,  Elizabethtown,  Westfleld,  Newark,  Springfield 
and  Connecticut  Farms  ;  the  Dutch  edifices  of  New  Brunswick, 
Millstone  and  Raritan,  and  many  others,  were  either  entirely 
destroyed  or  so  injured  as  to  be  unfit  for  service.  Pertinent  to 
the  foregoing  account  of  the  condition  of  religion  during  the  war 
is  the  following  record  taken  from  the  books  of  Lamington 
church : — 

Bedminster,  May  20th,  1778 — The  Synod  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia  met  at 
Bedminster  in  Somerset  county,  New  Jersey,  in  consequence  of  an  advertisement 
in  the  newspaper  by  the  moderator,  agreeably  to  advice  of  a  number  of  the  mem- 
28 


434  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

bers,  it  not  being  practica  le  to  meet  in  Philadelphia  according   to  the  adjourn- 
ment of  last  year,  as  that  city  b  now  in  the  possession  of  the  enemy. 

At  the.  meeting  the  assembled  brethren  said  : — 

The  Synod,  taking  into  their  most  serious  consideration  that  the  lamentable 
decay  of  vital  piety,  for  which  we  had  so  much  reason  to  mourn  for  several  years 
past,  still  continues  ;  that  gross  immoralities  are  increasing  to  an  awful  degree  ; 
and  that  the  calamities  of  war  are  yet  permitted  to  afflict  our  land,  do  therefore 
agree  to  renew  the  recommendation  of  last  Synod  to  all  our  congregations  to 
spend  the  last  Thursday  of  every  month,  or  part  of  it,  in  fervent  prayer  to  God 
that  he  would  be  pleased  to  pour  out  his  spirit  on  the  inhabitants  of  our  land, 
prepare  us  for  deliverance  from  the  chastenings  he  hath  righteously  inflicted 
upon  us  for  our  sins;  that  he  would  graciously  smile  on  our  arms  and  those  of 
our  illustrious  ally,  by  land  and  sea,  and  grant  a  speedy  and  happy  conclusion  to 
the  present  war.  And  il  is  earnestly  recommended  to  the  several  Presbyteries 
to  take  care  that  this  recommendation  be  complied  with. 

Bedminster's  religious  interests  did  not  suffer  so  much  as  the 
county's  less  fortunate  and  more  southern  townships.  St.  Paid's 
Lutheran  congregation  at  Pluckamin,  which  had  grown  feeble, 
seems  to  have  ended  its  existence,  and  its  house  of  worship  was 
alternately  used  as  a  prison  and  a  stable  ;  but  the  other  two 
strong  congregations  held  firmly  together,  and  continued  to  pre- 
sent a  bold  front  to  the  wickedness  of  the  times.  The  Reformed 
Dutch  Congregation  at  this  period — 1777,  '78 — was  prosper- 
ing under  the  pastorate  of  Jacob  Rutsen  Hardenbergh,  who  will 
be  remembered  as  the  young  divinity  student  who  in  1755  mar- 
ried Dinah  Van  Bergh,  the  widow  of  the  Reverend  John  Fre- 
linghuysen.  He  was  now  in  the  prime  of  his  years  and  useful- 
ness, and  not  only  completely  filled  all  the  requirements  of  a 
spiritual  shepherd,  but  so  preached  practical  politics  and  the 
duties  of  citizenship  as  to  imbue  his  hearers  with  the  spirit  of 
lions  in  the  defence  of  their  liberties,  and  in  their  resistence  to 
oppression.  Tories  were  not  to  be  found  among  his  regular 
auditors.  Mr.  Hardenbergh's  patriotism  was  of  the  purest  and 
loftiest  type.  He  was  a  member  of  the  convention  that  formed 
the  constitution  of  the  state,  and  Washington  frequently  found  in 
him  a  valuable  counseller  as  to  men  and  affairs  of  the  vicinity. 
So  ardent  was  this  clergyman  in  the  cause  of  freedom  that  the 
enemy  early  in  the  war  offered  a  reward  of  one  hundred  pounds 
for  his  apprehension,  and  for  several  months  he  always  slept 
with  a  loaded  musket  at  his  bedside. 

Late    in    the    last    century    the    minister  was    a    much  more 


Pastokal  Visits  in  the  Olden  Time.  435 

important  personage  in  the  New  Jersey  communities  than  now. 
About  him  centred  not  only  the  religious  but  the  intellectual  and 
educational  influences  of  the  neighborhood.  Books  were  rare 
and  costly,  newspapers  were  few  and  did  not  reach  regularly  the 
interior  country ;  it  was,  therefore,  from  the  pulpit  that  intelli- 
gence was  disseminated.  But  it  was  not  only  preaching  that 
was  expected  from  the  clergyman ;  pastoral  visits  were  an 
important  part  of  his  duties,  and  considered  occasions  of  much 
consequence  by  the  families  of  his  congregation.  At  such  times 
great  preparations  were  made  for  receiving  the  man  of  God, 
who  was  looked  upon  with  peculiar  awe  and  veneration.  The 
good-man  of  the  house  put  on  his  Sunday  clothes,  the  good-wife 
spread  her  most  attractive  board  ;  the  children's  brown  feet  were 
encased  in  shoes,  and,  dressed  in  their  best,  with  their  faces 
polished,  they  awaited  with  great  fear  and  trepidation  the  severe 
ordeal  of  catechism  and  religious  instruction.  Prayers  were 
offered  at  each  visit,  and  with  the  coming  and  going  of  the 
minister  a  special  blessing  was  felt  to  have  fallen  on  the  house- 
hold. 

At  this  time  Mr.  Hardenbergh's  services  were  still  divided 
between  Bedminster,  Raritan,  and  Readington,  but  each  congre- 
gation had  an  able  helper,  or  lay  preacher,  who  conducted  ser- 
vices on  the  days  of  the  pastor's  absence.  On  the  Sunday  that 
the  minister  officiated  at  Bedminster  the  people  awaited  his  com- 
ing on  the  church-green.  Wo  may  fancy  him  alighting  from  the 
conveyance  in  which  he  had  driven  over  from  the  parsonage  on 
the  Raritan.  With  Dinah  Van  Bergh  on  his  arm,  and  followed 
by  a  colored  servant  bearing  the  Bible  and  hymn-book,  he  made 
his  way  in  a  stately  fashion  amid  the  respectful  and  expectant 
throng  to  the  church  door.  His  people  followed  him  in,  but  did 
not  seat  themselves  until  the  domine,  standing  for  a  moment  at 
the  foot  of  the  tall  pulpit  stairs,  with  his  face  buried  in  his  hat, 
had  breathed  a  silent  prayer  for  help  and  guidance.  When  in 
his  high  perch  he  looked  down  on  a  very  plain  congregation. 
Many  of  his  hearers  had  walked  from  home  bare-footed,  putting 
on  their  shoes  only  when  nearing  the  church,  and,  in  summer 
weather,  the  men  did  not  hesitate  to  take  off  their  coats  and 
listen  in  their  shirt  sleeves.  But  they  paid  close  attention  to  the 
long  sermon — too  often,  perhaps,  as  was  the  manner  of  the  age, 


436  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

composed  of  dogma  and  polemics — and  stored  away  each  point  in 
their  minds  for  more  leisurely  digestion,  and  for  use  as  arguments 
during  the  week  in  discussions  in  the  fields,  stores,  and  black- 
smith-shops. Hymn-books  were  few  in  those  days ;  the  pre- 
centor, or  "  lining-deacon,"  still  stood  under  the  pulpit  to  "raise 
the  tune,"  and  to  read  out  in  sonorous  tones  two  lines  of  each 
hymn,  the  singing  consequently  being  of  a  ludicrously  disjointed 
and  disconnected  character.  In  their  forms  of  worship  the 
Dutch  were  tenacious  of  original  methods,  and  strenously  resisted 
all  efforts  at  reform.  Before  this  time  some  endeavor  had  been 
made  to  introduce  hymn-books  and  continuous  singing,  but  with- 
out avail,  and  it  was  not  till  after  the  close  of  the  century  that 
the  "lining-deacon"  ceased  to  be  an  institution  in  that  denomi- 
nation. 

Long  before  the  Revolution  the  Congregationalists  and  Presby- 
terians 'had  introduced  singing  by  note  in  their  churches,  but 
this  innovation  had  been  brought  about  only  after  long  contro- 
versies, and  much  bitterness  of  feeling.  The  objections  advanced 
against  the  change  were  many  and  curious,  not  to  say,  absurd. 
In  the  front  rank,  of  course,  stood  that  well-worn  argument  of 
all  conservatives, — "  that  it  was  needless,  the  old  way  being  good 
enough."  But  many  honest  people  with  "  dimly  lighted  souls  " 
were  fearful  that  the  whole  idea  was  a  scheme  of  the  evil  one 
to  undermine  true  religion.  It  was  claimed  that  to  abandon  the 
ancient  melodies  in  favor  of  new  tunes  would  cause  disturbances 
in  the  churches,  grieve  good  men,  and  make  the  young  dis- 
orderly, because  taking  them  away  from  home  influences  while 
occupied  in  learning  the  new  way  of  singing.  In  fact,  the  pro- 
posal created  a  great  stir  among  the  dissenters,  and  many  of  the 
pamphlets  and  articles  published  on  the  subject  displayed  much 
rancor  and  ignorance.     Said  one  writer : — 

Truly,  I  have  a  great  jealousy,  that  if  we  once  begin  to  sing  by  note,  the  next 
thing  will  be  to  pray  by  rule,  preach  by  rule,  and  then  comes  popery. 

In  the  Mendham  Presbyterian  church  singing  by  note  was 
introduced  during  the  pastorate  of  Francis  Peppard,  which  com- 
menced in  1764.  To  many  of  his  people  this  innovation  was  a 
great  oifence  ;  one  of  the  elders — Cummins,  by  name — ever  after 
showed  his  repugnance  to  the  choir  by  stalking  out  of  church 
when   singing    began,   not   returning  until  its  conclusion.     Not- 


i 


Sunday  Booths  on  the  Church  Green.  437 

withstanding  the  opposition,  this  reform,  like  many  others  before 
and  since,  under  the  enlightenment  of  free  discussion,  finally  pre- 
vailed in  Congregational  and  Presbyterian  denominations.  But 
all  this  did  not  disturb  the  more  phlegmatic  Dutch,  who  at  this 
time  were  well  enough  contented  with  their  fathers'  ways.  In 
Bedminster  church  it  was  not  until  the  year  1790 — when  a  new 
generation  had  largely  outgrown  not  only  the  usages  but  the 
language  of  Holland — that  the  people  would  even  consent  to  do 
away  with  having  preaching  at  stated  intervals  in  the  Dutch* 
tongue.  As  late  as  1810  there  was  yet  occasionally  preaching 
in  that  language  in  some  of  the  Raritan  churches. 

At  the  period  we  have  reached  it  was  still  the  custom  of  the 
Bedminster  congregation,  as  it  continued  to  be  for  many  years 
later,  to  listen  to  two  long  sermons  on  Sundays,  with  an  inter- 
mission of  but  half  an  hour  between  each  service.  During  this 
interval  Mr.  Hardenbergh  conferred  with  his  consistory,  and 
exchanged  greetings  with  members  of  his  flock  ;  while  it  was  the 
practice  of  his  wife  to  gather  about  her  certain  of  the  women, 
with  whom  she  would  discuss  the  sermon  and  hold  converse  on 
subjects  of  experimental  religion.  I\Ieanwhile,  the  people 
generally,  when  the  weather  permitted,  clustered  in  knots  under 
the  trees  or  rendezvoused  beneath  the  white  covers  of  their  farm 
wagons,  and  ate  the  luncheons  brought  from  home.  Some  of  the 
neighborhood  slaves,  of  good  repute,  were  given  the  privilege  of 
having  stands  on' the  church-green  for  the  sale  of  root  and  malt 
beer,  thick  slices  of  buttered  rye  bread,  sugared  olekokes,  Dutch 
crullers, ,  and  gingerbread.  It  was  for  these  Sunday  booths  that 
the  children  saved  theii-  pennies,  or  eggs,  wliich  were  equally 
current.  They  were  the  missionary  boxes  of  that  time,  and  con- 
stituted about  the  only  ray  of  sunlight  that  crossed  childhood's 
path  on  what  must  have  been — if  child-nature  was  the  same  as 
now — the  gloomiest  day  of  the  week. 

"  Hush  !  'tis  the  Sabbath's  silence-stricken  morn  : 
No  feet  must  wander  through  the  tasselled  corn; 
No  merry  children  laugh  around  the  door, 
No  idle  playthings  strew  the  sanded  floor; 
Tlie  law  of  Moses  lays  its  awful  ban 
On  all  that  stirs." 

The   little  Jersey   lads  and   lasses,    in  late  colonial  and  early 


438  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

Revolutionary  days,  did  not,  in  their  Sabbath  journeys,  find  their 
ways  strewn  with  flowers.  There  were  no  Sunday  schools,  no 
attractive  Bible  stories,  no  interesting  library  books.  The  joyous 
sound  of  childish  voices  was  never  heard  in  glad  Sunday  songs,  for 
the  "  Old,  old  story  "  had  not  yet  been  told  for  them  in  tuneful 
verse.  They  had  to  content  themselves  with  the  Heidelberg 
and  Westminster  catechisms,  and  the  same  strong  spiritual  food 
as  had  their  elders — largely  composed  of  stern  Calvinistic  tenet 
and  dogma. 

The  Reverend  Ashbel  Green,  in  his  autobiography, — though 
by  no  means  intending  so  to  do — has  painted  in  sombre  colors 
the  strict  and  solemn  manner  in  which  the  Lord's  day  was 
observed  under  his  paternal  roof,  about  the  time  of  which  we  are 
writing.  His  father  was  for  forty-five  years  the  Presbyterian 
clergyman  at  Hanover,  near  Morristown,  where  he  died  in  1790. 
This  divine  was  equally  learned  in  law,  medicine,  and  theology, 
and  also  engaged  largely  in  business  enterprises.  A  letter  was 
once  addressed  to  him  as  "  Preacher,  Teacher,  Doctor,  Proctor, 
Miller,  and  Distiller."  His  gravestone  records  that  he  possessed 
"  a  genius,  solid,  inquisitive,  and  penetrating ;  an  industry, 
active  and  unwearied  ;  a  learning,  curious  and  accurate  ;  a  man- 
ner, simple  and  reserved ;  a  piety,  humble  and  enlightened." 
Doctor  Ashbel  Green  tells  that  upon  his  father's  family  return- 
ing from  church  on  Sunday,  after  listening  to  two  long  sermons, 
a  short  rest  was  taken,  when  the  children  with  the  mother  were 
brought  together  for  religious  instruction  and  devotion.  Each 
one  was  asked  in  regular  order  every  question  in  the  "West- 
minster Shorter  Catechism,"  besides  being  expected  to  make 
remarks  and  explanations  on  the  most  important  questions  and 
answers.  When  this  was  finished,  the  children,  of  whom  there 
were  five  or  six,  were  questioned  on  five  Bible  chapters  that  had 
been  given  them  during  the  week  for  study.  This  was  suc- 
ceeded by  their  being  asked  as  to  the  two  texts  of  the  day,  and 
all  that  could  be  remembered  of  the  sermons.  This  was  followed 
by  their  repeating  sentences  of  devotional  poetry,  and  the  telling 
of  the  religious  reading  they  had  had  during  the  week,  other 
than  the  Bible ;  then  came  prayers  and  a  pious  address  b}'  the 
sire. 

By  the  time  all  this  was  over  the  day  must  have  been  well  on 


Introduction  of  Sunday  Schools.  439 

the  wane,  but  still  no  relief  from  this  religious  strain  came  to  the 
young  people.  Secular  conversation  of  any  kind  was  not  per- 
mitted, and  no  ordinary  home  subjects  were  ever  broached  by 
the  famUy,  excepting  those  relating  to  the  evening  milking,  and 
the  care  of  the  horses  and  cattle.  Shall  we  be  charged  with 
being  hypercritical  of  such  colorless  Sundays,  if  we  wonder 
whether  the  boys  were  not  occasionally  wicked  enough  to  steal 
out  behind  the  barn,  and  there  give  one  long,  low  whistle,  as  a 
vent  to  suppressed  vitality  ?  In  the  face  of  the  reverend  doc- 
tor's testimony  we  may  not  marvel  at  the  story  told  of  the  little 
colonial  maid,  who  interrupted  the  weekly  catechetical  inquisi- 
tion by  asking  if  there  were  to  be  any  Sundays  in  heaven  ;  and 
who,  on  being  answered,  "  Yes,  it  will  be  all  Sunday,  one  long 
saints'  eternal  rest,"  replied,  "Well,  then,  father,  do  you  know 
that  I'd  a  heap  liefer  go  to  the  other  place." 

The  weight  of  puritanical  Sabbaths,  which  pressed  so  heavily 
on  childish  heads,  was  much  lessened  by  the  establishment  of 
Sunday  schools.  Strange  as  it  may  appear,  their  introduction 
was  strenuously  opposed — not,  as  one  might  suppose,  by  the  free- 
thinkers and  the  ungodly — but  by  members  of  orthodox  churches, 
and  even  by  ministers.  As  early  as  1747  one  was  opened  at 
Ephrata,  Pennsylvania,  by  Ludwig  Hacker,  a  German  Seventh- 
day  Baptist ;  this  was  thirty-live  years  before  the  first  one  was 
instituted  in  England  by  Robert  Raikes.  Hacker's  pioneer 
school  stood  alone  in  America  until  1786,  when  one  was  estab- 
lished in  Virginia  They  soon  became  numerous  throughout 
the  country  as  individual  enterprises.  It  was  not  until  1809 
that  their  control  began  to  be  assumed  by  the  churches.  In  that 
year  the  Reverend  Mr.  Steele,  the  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian 
church  at  Pittsburgh,  Pennsylvania,  opened  a  school  for  Sunday 
teaching  in  the  court-house  on  Market  square  in  that  city.  It 
was  under  the  care  and  direction  of  his  congregation,  and  was 
supported  with  zeal  and  enthusiasm  by  some  of  the  most  influen- 
tial citizens.  The  first  record  I  have  found  of  a  New  Jersey 
Sunday  school  is  of  one  founded  by  Jacob  Day  and  Peter  D. 
Vroom,  afterwards  governor  of  the  state,  in  the  congregation  of 
the  Presbyterian  church  ;it  Hackettstown,  on  the  fifth  of  May, 
1812.  It  is  a  singular  circumstance  that  these  two  men  should 
have  both,  after  living  most   useful  and  honorable  lives,  died  on 


440  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

the  same  day  in  1873.  They  out-lived  nearly  all  of  the  thirty- 
four  children  who  had  constituted  this  first  school  that  had  been 
organized  under  their  auspices. 

Among  the  earliest  of  the  Sunday  schools  in  New  Jersey  was 
one  established  in  May,  1815,  by  the  Reverend  Burr  Baldwin, 
in  the  old  academy  at  Newark.  The  first  in  Trenton  was  formed 
in  the  winter  of  the  same  year.  It  was  a  joint  enterprise  of 
some  young  men  connected  with  the  Baptist,  Methodist,  Quaker 
and  Presbyterian  congregations,  beginning  in  a  room  over  the 
public  market,  with  six  teachers  and  twenty-six  scholars.  In 
three  mouths  the  attendance  had  so  increased  as  to  result  in  each 
church  carrying  on  its  own  school.  Three  years  later  a  Sunday 
school  was  started  by  Miss  Catharine  Campbell  in  her  father's 
house  near  Springfield,  in  Union  county  ;  encouraged  by  its 
success,  within  a  few  months  some  ladies  organized  Sunday 
classes  in  connection  with  the  Presbyterian  church  of  that  village. 
Its  pastor,  the  Reverend  W.  Teller,  is  my  authority  for  saying 
that  this  school  had  no  men  teachers,  because  the  good  brothers 
did  not  care  to  compromise  their  Christian  standing  until  they 
were  sure  the  new  enterprise  would  be  successful.  Even  at  that 
late  day  many  of  the  churches  still  looked  with  great  suspicion 
on  the  Sunday  schools,  and  not  a  few  of  the  pastors  thought  there 
was  much  danger  that  such  innovations  would  "  draw  away  the 
general  interest  from  the  long  established  means  of  grace  and 
methods  of  salvation."  About  the  same  time,  or  possibly  in  the 
preceding  year,  a  Sunday  school  was  started  by  the  Presbyterian 
congregation  of  Madison,  the  movement  having  originated  with 
Elder  William  Thompson,  who  had  read  a  tract  on  the  subject. 
The  first  teachers,  however,  were  all  women.  The  next  school 
organized  in  New  Jersey  was  by  the  Woodbri4ge  Presbyterian 
church  in  1819,  under  the  pastorate  of  the  Reverend  Henry 
Mills.  Here  again  we  find  that  the  teachers  were  all  drawn  from 
the  women  of  the  congregation. 

Aaron  Malick  during  his  life  continued  to  be  associated  with 
the  Lutheran  church  at  New  Germantown,  but  as  his  children 
grew  to  men's  and  women's  estate  they  connected  themselves 
with  the  Reformed  Dutch  church,  with  which  congregation 
their  Bedminster  descendants  have  continued.  Aaron  seems 
also  to  have  had  the  interest  of  this  Dutch  flock  at  heart,  as  i& 


Doctor  John  Rodgeks  at  Lamington  Church.      441 

shown  by  his  having  given  his  bond  to  aid  it  financially.  He 
must  have  been  a  liberal  Christian,  and  in  sympathy  with  all 
denominations,  as  we  find  bis  name  occasionally  among  the  com- 
municants of  the  Bedminster  Presbyterian  church  at  Lamington. 
At  the  outset  of  the  war  this  pulpit  was  occupied  by  the  Rev- 
erend Jeremiah  Halsey,  who  died  in  1780.  In  March,  1781, 
the  Reverend  Doctor  John  Mason,  of  New  York,  became  the 
supply  of  the  Lamington  congregation,  and  in  May,  1782,  the 
services  of  Doctor  John  Rodgers  were  secured,  he  remaining  in, 
charge  untU  the  peace  in  1783,  when  he  returned  to  the  First 
Presbyterian  church  of  New  York  city,  which  he  served  for 
forty-six  years.  Like  his  brother  of  the  Dutch  pulpit,  he  dealt 
telling  blows  from  the  sacred  desk  at  tories  as  well  as  at  unbe- 
lievers, and  earned  a  national  reputation  as  a  patriotic  clergy- 
man. His  pronounced  course  in  opposition  to  the  Crown  neces- 
sitated his  leaving  New  York  on  the  advent  of  the  British,  who 
converted  his  Wall  street  church  into  a  barrack  for  troops.  The 
condemnation  of  an  enemy  often  rises  superior  to  the  best  of 
praise.  Judge  Jones,  in  his  "  History  of  New  York  City,"  in 
his  venomous  tory  way,  thus  describes  Doctor  Rodgers  : 

An  incendiary  and  a  person  of  rigid  repuUican  principles,  a  rebellious,  sedi- 
tious preacher,  a  man  who  had  given  more  encouragement  to  rebellion  by  his- 
treasonable  harangues  from  the  pulpit  than  any  other  republican  preacher,  per- 
haps, upon  the  continent.  Being  a  minister  he  bad  free  access  to  all  the  families 
of  the  Presbyterian  persuasion,  consequently  opportunities  for  using  his  influence- 
and  doing  a  great  deal  of  mischief. 

Judge  Jones'  description  grossly  misrepresents  the  character 
of  this  worthy  man,  for  he  possessed  not  only  the  faith  and  hone , 
but  also  the  charity  of  a  Christian.  Amidst  all  the  decision  with 
which  he  thought,  and  the  firmness  with  which  he  acted,  during 
the  struggle  for  independence,  he  was  distingiushed  for  his 
liberality  toward  those  who  adopted  a  different  opinion  or  pursued 
an  opposite  com-se.  In  his  jiidgment  of  others,  as  has  been  well 
said,  he  showed  the  liberality  of  a  gentleman,  not  soured  by  that 
spirit  which  assails  and  sometimes  subdues  clerical  men  of  great 
talent  and  worth.  The  Bedminster  people  grew  warmly  attached 
to  this  eminent  divine  whom  the  chances  of  war  had  exiled  to 
their  retired  hill  country.  Elders  of  the  last  generation  remem- 
bered him  as  a  large  man  with  an  imposing  presence  ;  of  courtly 


442  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm, 

and  gentle  manners,  but  uncompromising  in  the  elucidation  of 
his  religious  and  political  views.  In  making  visits  he  wore  his 
gown  and  bands  on  week  days  as  on  Sundays,  and  as  he  walked 
abroad,  carrying  a  gold-headed  cane,  and  arrayed  in  a  buzz-wig, 
cocked  hat,  and  silver  knee  and  shoe  buckles,  presented  a  dis- 
tinguished and  digni6ed  appearance.  It  was  not  uncommon  for 
ministers  of  that  time  to  wear  their  gowns  when  out  of  the  pul- 
pit. The  Reverend  John  Witherspoon  during  the  six  years 
that  he  was  a  member  of  the  United  States  congress  always 
appeared  in  his  seat  in  the  house  arrayed  in  full  clerical  robes. 

The  Presbyterian  heart  has  ever  glowed  warmly  with  a 
religious  zeal,  blended  with  an  independent  and  anti-monarchical 
spirit ;  this  is  especially  true  of  Scotch  covenanters  and  their 
descendants,  by  whom  the  early  New  Jersey  churches  were  largely 
leavened.  Such  members  of  this  communion  from  their  earliest 
religious  thinking  had  become  imbued  with  the  affinity  existing 
between  republican  forms  of  government  and  that  of  their  own 
church.  They  were  also  made  well  acquainted  by  their  religious 
literature  with  the  good  policy  and  wisdom  of  a  proper  spirit  of 
rebellion.  Luther  and  Calvin  were  both  rebels,  and  John  Knox 
did  not  hesitate  to  tell  Queen  Mary  that  under  some  circum- 
stances subjects  did  not  owe  duty  and  obedience  to  their  princes. 
A  brave  sentiment  to  utter  at  so  dangerous  a  time.  It  is  not 
strange,  then,  that  persons  bred  in  this  faith,  with  characters 
dominated  by  virtue,  courage,  and  an  inflexible  will  born  of  the 
memories  and  traditions  of  persecutions,  should  have  had  in  them 
the  love  of  popular  liberty,  and,  from  the  first  dawn  among 
the  colonists  of  the  feeling  of  resistance  to  oppression,  have 
been  in  the  van  of  the  revolt  against  the  king  of  England. 

Patriotism  and  Presbyterianism  were  closely  allied  throughout 
the  entire  Revolutionary  contest.  In  that  communion  there  were 
few  loyalists,  and  both  clergy  and  laity  not  only  preached  and 
talked  against  the  surrendering  of  any  of  the  privileges  of  free- 
men, but  were  ready  to,  and  did,  donate  their  property  and  lay 
down  their  lives  to  the  end  that  the  country  they  loved  so  well 
should  be  free  and  independent.  On  the  seventeenth  of  May, 
1775,  the  synod,  then  sitting  in  Philadelphia,  appointed  Doctors 
Witherspoon  and  Rodgers  and  the  Reverend  James  Caldwell — 
three  prominent    Revolutionary  figures,   two  of  whom    we  may 


I 


Presbyterians  During  the  Revolution.  443 

proudly  claim  as  Jerseymen — as  a  committee  to  present  to  the 
churches  an  appeal  on  behalf  of  the  country.  Though  ministers 
of  the  gospel  of  peace,  these  committeemen  in  their  address 
deemed  it  their  duty  to  take  a  firm  stand  on  the  side  of  war, 
should  a  continuation  of  hostilities  be  necessary  to  preserve  the 
united  interests  of  the  colonies.  They  further  urged  upon  the 
people  the  duty  of  aiding  in  the  execution  of  the  measures 
proposed  by  continental  congress.  From  then  until  1783,  when 
the  synod  issued  another  pastoral  letter,  congratulating  the  peo- 
ple upon  the  happy  termination  of  the  war,  both  clergy  and  laity 
were  marked  as  special  objects  for  British  and  tory  persecution. 

Where,  is  the  Jerseyman  of  us  all  who  can  fail  to  have  a  real- 
izing sense  of  the  debt  owing  to  the  Presbyterians  of  his  state  for 
their  sufterings  and  sacritices  during  the  struggle  with  Britain  ? 
It  was  on  the  clergy  that  the  direst  evils  fell,  for  with  the  death 
or  running  out  of  a  "  rebel  parson"  it  was  considered  that  one  more 
of  the  seditious  streams  flowing  from  Presbyterian  pulpits  had 
teen  dammed.  Among  the  ministers  who  fought  with  the  army, 
or  preached  and  prayed  from  drum-heads,  stands  conspicuously 
in  the  foreground,  James  ('aldwell,  pastor  of  the  Elizabethtown 
church.  The  sad  story  of  his  privations  and  death — and  what 
was  worse,  the  murder  of  his  wife — need  hardly  be  retold  in  these 
pages. 

"  Why,  he  had 
AH  the  Jerseys  aflame.     And  they  gave  him  the  name- 
Of  the  "  rebel  high  priest."     He  stuck  in  their  gorge, 
For  he  loved  the  Lord  God,  and  he  hated  King  George. " 

His  church  was  considered  a  hot -bed  of  rebellion,  and  its  con- 
gregation has  a  distinguished  Revolutionary  record.  In  it  were 
such  sturdy  patriots  as  Governor  WiUiam  Livingston ;  Elias 
Boudinot,  commissary-general  of  prisoners,  president  of  congress 
and  first  president  of  the  American  Bible  Society ;  Abraham 
Clark,  one  of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  ; 
Generals  Elias  and  Jonathan  Dayton ;  Colonels  Spencer  and 
Barber  ;  and  forty  other  commissioned  oflicers,  to  say  nothing  of 
non-commissioned  oflScers,  privates  and  militia.  In  this  connec- 
tion it  is  interesting  to  note  that  this  is  the  oldest  English  speak- 
ing congregation  in  the  state,  organized  probably  previous  to  the 
summer  of  1665,  and,  without  doubt,  antedating  that  of  Newark 


444  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

by  two  years.  A  majority  of  the  first  settlers  came  from  New 
England  and  Long  Island,  and  were  of  the  congregational  or 
independent  communion.  Such  was  the  new  church  established 
in  East  Jersey,  Presbyterianisra  not  having  yet  been  planted  in 
the  middle  colonies.  Up  to  1709  the  people  of  Elizabethtown 
had  been  of  one  mind  as  to  religion,  the  affairs  of  the  parish  and 
the  town  being  jointly  discussed  and  settled  at  town-meeting. 
About  this  time  a  missionary  of  the  church  of  England  appeared 
in  the  settlement,  and  gathered  about  him  a  small  following, 
which  ultimately  blossomed  into  St.  John's  Episcopal  church.  It 
was  not  until  1717  that  the  first  church  of  Elizabethtown  gave 
up  its  independence,  and  became  connected  with  the  Philadel- 
phia presbytery,  a  denominational  body  organized  about  1705, 
and  patterned  after  the  Presbyterians  of  Scotland. 

Another  clerical  martyr  for  upholding  his  convictions  with  pen, 
tongue  and  sword  was  John  Rosbrugh  of  Delaware  Forks,  the 
chaplain  of  the  3rd  Battalion,  Northampton,  (Pa.),  militia.  He 
was  captured  at  Trenton  by  a  troop  of  horse  on  that  January 
night  when  Washington  stole  away  from  the  banks  of  Assunpink 
creek,  and  was  savagely  butchered,  though  incapable  of  resist- 
ance. The  "  Pennsylvania  Evening  Post,"  in  giving  an  account 
of  the  affair,  states  that  the  "  dainn'd  rebel  minister" — as  his 
captors  called  him — after  being  thus  massacred  ''  was  stripped 
naked,  and  in  that  condition  left  lying  in  an  open  field  till  taken 
up  and  buried  by  some  of  the  inhabitants."  One  of  his  last  let- 
ters to  his  wife,  if  not  the  last,  is  still  in  existence.  It  bears  the 
superscription,  "  Mrs.  Jean  Rosbrugh,  Delaware  Forks,"  and  is 
yellow,  crumpled  and  much  broken.  In  the  following  reproduc- 
tion the  words  within  brackets  supply  the  place  of  those  wanting 
in  the  original : — 

[Monday]  morning,  10  o'clock,  at  Bristol  Ferry,  Decem[ber  thirtieth,  My 
dear  vfife,  I]  haven't  a  minute  to  tell  you  [that  the]  company  are  all  well.  We 
are  going  over  to  N[ew  Jerse]y  you  would  think  [it]  strange  to  see  your  Hus- 
band, an  old  man,  riding  with  a  french  fusee  slung  at  his  back.  This  may  be  ye 
la[st]  ye  shall  receive  from  your  Husband.  I  have  committed  myself,  you  [and 
the  dear  ple]dges  of  our  mutual  love  to  God.  As  I  am  out  of  doors  [I  cannot] 
write  more.  I  send  my  compliments  to  you  and  children  [and  all  our]  friends. 
Pray  for  us.     From  your  loving  Husband.  Jno.  Rosb[ruoh]. 

Very  many  of  the  Presbyterian  clergy  of  New  Jersey  suffered 


Sufferings  of  the  Presbyterian  Clergy.  445 

cruelties  because  of  their  zeal.  Azel  Roe  of  Woodbridge,  taken 
prisoner,  was  confined  in  a  New  York  sugar-house.  Nehemiah 
Greenman  of  Pittsgrove  was  obliged  to  hide  in  the  woods  to 
escape  the  enemy ;  Mr.  Richards  of  Rahway  also  escaped  cap- 
ture by  flight,  but  Charles  McKnight  of  Shrewsbury  was  not  so 
fortunate  ;  he  was  wounded  at  Princeton,  and  afterwards  was 
carried  off,  and  treated  with  such  brutalities  by  his  captors  as  to 
result  in  his  death.  In  fact,  indignities  of  every  kind  were  the 
portion  of  Presbyterian  clergymen  throughout  the  entire  coun- 
try, as  in  them  was  supposed  to  be  concentrated  the  very  essence 
of  rebellion.  The  continental  army  was  sprinkled  with  ministers 
of  this  denomination ;  many  as  chaplains,  some  as  surgeons, 
while  others  did  not  hesitate  to  carry  a  musket  in  the  ranks. 
New  Jersey  fui'nished  its  full  quota  of  soldier-parsons.  Caldwell 
and  Rosbrugh  of  Trenton  have  already  been  mentioned. 
McWhorter  of  Newark  for  a  time  was  chaplain  of  Knox's  brig- 
ade; Rodgers  of  Lamington,  early  in  the  war,  of  Heath's  brigade; 
while  Armstrong  afterwards  of  Elizabethtown,  preached,  prayed, 
and  marched  with  the  one  from  Jlaryland.  Ashbel  Green,  presi- 
dent of  Princeton  college,  was  in  his  youth  an  orderly  sergeant  in 
the  militia ;  Asa  Hillyer  of  Orange  acted  as  an  assistant- 
surgeon,  and  so  the  list  of  clerics  among  the  New  Jersey  Pres- 
byterians who  preached  to,  or  practiced  with,  the  soldiers, 
the  doctrine  of  being  "faithful  unto  death,"  might  be  greatly 
extended. 

Mentioning  Aaron's  having  communed  with  Lamington  Presby- 
terians recalls  the  fact  that  in  the  last  century  the  partaking  of 
this  sacrament  by  that  denomination  was  made  a  much  greater 
occasion  than  it  is  at  present.  At  Lamington  it  was  the  custom 
-at  such  seasons  to  secure  the  assistance  of  another  minister. 
The  Friday  preceding  communion  Sunday  was  observed  as  a 
fast,  and  the  regular  pastor  preached  in  the  church  at  twelve 
o'clock.  On  Saturday  afternoon  the  visiting  clergyman  delivered 
a  preparatory  sermon.  On  Sunday  morning  came  the  action 
sermon,  after  which  the  ordinance  was  administered,  often  to 
five  successive  tables,  long  addi-esses  being  made  at  each.  Then 
there  was  the  usual  half  hour  intermission,  giving  the  people  an 
opportunity  for  regaling  themselves  with  cake  and  beer  at  the 
always  well  supplied  stand  of  Betty  McCoy.     On  Monday  morn- 


446  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

ing  at  ten  o'clock  the  visitor  preached  a  farewell  sermon,  and 
thus  ended  the  four  days'  services. 

Betty  McCoy  was  an  old  Scotch  woman,  and  a  noted 
character  in  the  congregation.  She  acted  as  a  sort  of  pew- 
opener,  church-cleaner,  purveyor,  and,  at  times,  general 
exhorter.  When  not  so  occupied  she  was  usually  visiting 
and  gossiping  among  the  people  of  the  neighborhood,  by  whom 
she  was  welcomed  as  a  worthy  creature  for  over  one-third 
of  a  century.  Many  stories  are  told  of  the  acidity  of  her  tongue, 
of  the  innateness  of  her  wit,  the  excellence  of  her  appetite, 
and  the  fervor  of  her  religion.  Rumor  has  it,  that  at  one  time 
at  Pluckamin  she  put  to  flight  an  entire  troop  of  British  horse, 
one  of  the  men  having  endeavored  to  take  from  her  a  package 
of  much  cherished  tea. 

There  were  other  ways  prevalent  among  Presbyterian  con- 
gregations of  the  last  century  that  would  now  excite  surprise,  if 
not  reprehension.  What  would  you  think  of  an  installation  ball  ? 
Whether  such  a  custom  was  one  more  "  honored  in  the  breach 
than  in  the  observance,"  I  cannot  say,  but  Doctor  S.  W.  Board- 
man,  in  an  address  in  1887  at  the  Centennial  of  the  Hackettstown 
Presbyterian  Church,  referred  to  an  ancient  custom  of  conclud- 
ing the  installation  services  of  a  minister  by  giving  a  ball  in  the 
evening,  at  which  the  new  pastor  and  his  wife  were  expected  to 
open  the  dance.  Unless  I  am  incorrectly  informed,  the  descend- 
ants of  a  minister  who  occupied  the  Wethersfield,  Connecti- 
cut, pulpit  for  about  half  a  century,  preserve  the  tickets  or 
invitations  issued  for  the  ball  that  was  given  in  honor  of  his 
installation.  Evidently  in  social  customs  this  denomination  was 
not  in  accord  with  the  more  severe  views  of  their  Reformed  Dutch 
neighbors.  Many  pleasing  pictures  are  fashioned  in  the  mind 
by  the  contemplation  of  the  days  of  long  ago  ;  but  here  is  one  in 
which  the  lights  seem  harsh,  the  tones  garish,  and  the  colors 
inharmonious.  It  is  not  an  agreeable  vision,  this,  of  the  sedate 
brothers  of  the  Presbyterian  sessions  and  their  wives,  solemnly 
advancing  and  retreating,  bowing  and  curtsying,  scraping  and 
tip-toeing,  through  the  stately  figures  of  a  minuet,  while  younger 
and  more  frolicsome  members  of  the  communion  cut  pigeon 
wings  in  contra-dances  and  reels  ?  We  know  that  the  good 
book  says  "  Let  them  praise  His  name  in  the  dance,"  and  Eccle- 


The  Minister  Treats  thk  Elders.  447 

siastes  announces  a  season  for  everything,  but  these  religious 
hops  seem  a  broad,  rather  than  an  evangelical,  interpretation  of 
the  scriptures,  and  we  can  hardly  agree  with  the  early  New  Jer- 
sey disciples  of  John  Knox  in  thinking  that  the  installation  of  a 
new  minister  over  a  congregation  was  properly  "  a  time  to 
dance." 

Many  other  curious  customs  and  observances  connected  with 
churches  in  Revolutionary  days  could  be  narrated.  As  is  well 
known,  the  word  temperance,  as  relating  to  drinking,  was  not 
yet  coined,  and  it  was  considered  that  liquor  was  necessary  to 
health.  Ministers  or  laymen  would  swallow  a  glass  of  apple- 
jack as  unhesitatingly  as  they  would  a  piece  of  bread.  The 
story  is  current  in  Bedminster  that  one  Sunday  a  clergyman  was 
sent  to  supply  Lamington  church,  who  preached  an  excellent 
sermon.  On  descending  the  pulpit  stairs  the  elders  gathered 
about  him,  and,  as  was  customary,  paid  his  fee  in  crisp  half 
pound  notes.  "  Gentlemen,"  said  the  minister,  "  will  you  walk 
out  with  me?"  Whereupon,  crossing  the  road  they  entered  the 
tavern  and  ranging  themselves  in  front  of  the  bar  all  took  a 
drink  with  the  clergyman.  He  then  handed  the  tavern-keeper 
a  half  pound  note,  saying  "  take  your  pay  out  of  this  bank  note, 
I  have  just  received  it  for  preaching  the  sermon."  They  then 
all  returned  to  the  church  and  soon  afterwards  were  engaged  in 
the  afternoon  service.  Later  on  there  will  be  more  to  say 
regarding  the  drinking  habits  of  our  ancestors. 


CHAPTER     XXX. 

Mevolutionary  Events  of  1777  and  1778 — Washington's  Army 
at  Camp  Middlehrooh  in  the  Winter  and  Spring  of  1779 — 
Interesting  Incidents  of  the  Encamimient. 

We  are  now  nearing  the  close  of  the  year  1778,  and  such  of 
my  readers  as  are  martially  inclined  may  join  me  in  welcoming 
the  return  of  the  continental  army  to  Somerset.  Much  has  trans- 
pired since  we  bade  good-bye  to  its  officers  and  men  on  the  banks 
of  the  Delaware.  It'  is  not  needful  to  detail  their  varied  experi- 
ences on  the  Brandy  wine,  at  Germantown,  at  Valley  Forge ; 
are  they  not  written  on  the  pages  of  many  histories!  Though 
Howe  had  gained  two  considerable  victories  in  Pennsylvania, 
he  had  neither  destroyed  nor  crippled  Washington's  army;  and 
by  his  costly  change  of  base  had  secured  little  else  than  comfort- 
able winter  quarters  in  Philadelphia, — quarters  which  actually 
weakened  and  demoralized  his  command.  It  was  the  Americans 
who  really  reaped  advantage  from  the  Pennsylvania  campaign  of 
1777;  it  converted  their  raw  force  of  citizen-soldiers  into  an 
effective  army,  and  gave  the  country  an  inci'eased  confidence  in 
its  defenders.  Even  the  veteran  warriors  of  Em-ope  expressed 
astonishment  that  Washington's  crude  levies  had  so  soon  been 
able  to  so  successfully  stand  against  the  thoroughly  disciplined 
English  and  German  regulars. 

The  Americans  were  not  without  other  causes  for  satisfaction 
with  the  occurrences  of  the  year  1777.  Early  in  October  more 
than  one  chaplain  and  clergyman  was  preaching  in  exultant 
tones  from  the  words  of  Joel: — "  I  will  remove  far  off  from  you 
the  northern  army."  This  text  tells  the  whole  story !  A  great 
shout  of  joy  had  gone  up  from  the  entire  country  when  the 
"wonderfid  news  of  Burgoyne's  surrender  came  rolling  down  the 


The  French  Alliance.  449 

broad  reaches  of  the  upper  Hudson — reverberated  through  the 
narrow  defiles  of  the  Hio;hIands — and,  sweeping  on  southward, 
carried  an  ecstacy  of  delij^ht  to  the  inhabitants  of  both  banks  of 
the  river,  while  filling  with  confusion,  and  choking  with  anger, 
the  British  and  tories  in  New  York  city. 

There  are  sombre  shadows  in  the  picture  displayed  by 
the  next  slide  of  the  magic  lantern  of  history.  It  is  the  vision 
of  cold  and  hungry  soldiers,  shivering  under  tattered  blankets  in 
the  rude  huts  of  V^alley  Forge.  But  when  the  black  clouds  of 
adversity  hung  lowest  over  the  American  camp,  almost  obscuring 
hope,  suddenly,  amid  the  darkness,  a  bright  light  shot  athwart  the 
national  heavens.  Through  the  bleak  forests  on  the  banks  of  the 
Schuylkill  rang  pagans  of  rejoicing  and  thanksgiving,  which  found 
an  echo  in  the  loyal  hearts  of  a  happy  people  from  New  England 
to  the  Carolinas.  "  As  cold  water  to  a  thirsty  soul,  so  is  good 
news  from  a  far  comitry."  It  was  glad  tidings  from  over  the 
seas  that  so  quickened  with  joy  the  patriot  pulse.  While  the 
woods  surrounding  Washington's  cantonment  were  still  carpeted 
with  snow,  intelligence  reached  headquarters  that  on  the  sixth  of 
February,  1778,  a  treaty  of  amity  and  commerce,  and  a  defen- 
sive treaty  of  alliance,  the  essence  of  which  was  the  absolute  and 
unlimited  independence  of  the  United  States,  had  been  concluded 
with  France.  Great  was  the  happiness  of  the  American  people 
when  they  learned,  later,  that  the  Catholic  French,  whose  inter- 
ests it  would  seem  should  have  fostered,  and  whose  traditions 
have  favored,  the  cause  of  monarchy  and  England,  had  agreed  to 
furnish  men  and  treasure  to  aid  in  establishing  a  Protestant 
republic  on  the  western  hemisphere.  It  was  the  beginning  of 
the  end  !  The  Revolution  no  longer  partook  of  the  character  of  a 
rebellion  of  rebels,  but  was  to  be  recognized  among  the  nations 
of  the  world  as  a  great  political  movement,  destined  to  be  the 
agency  for  the  cutting  asunder  of  ancient  bonds,  and,  probably, 
for  the  establishment  of  a  powerful  government. 

During  the  spring,  General — now  Sir  William — Howe  went 
home  to  explain  as  best  he  could  the  causes  for  the  non-success 
of  his  campaigns  since  leaving  Long  Island.  He  was  succeeded 
by  Sir  Henry  Clinton.  This  general,  not  relishing  the  possible 
appearance  of  a  French  fleet  at  the  capes  of  the  Delaware,  no 
longer  felt  his  army  to  be  secure  in  its  comfortable  quarters.  By 
29 


450  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

the  fifth  of  June  he  had  desiroyed  his  out-works,  and  the  British 
transports  dropped  down  the  river,  having  on  board  some  of  the 
German  troops,  the  heavy  baggage,  a  part  of  the  cavalry,  and  a 
large  contingent  of  loyalists.  With  the  main  army,  Clinton 
evacuated  the  city  on  the  eighteenth,  taking  up  his  line  of  march 
for  New  York,  by  way  of  Haddonfield,  Mount  Holly,  AUentown, 
and  Freehold.  Morgan's  riflemen  were  quickly  hanging  on  his 
right  flank,  while  Maxwell  with  the  Jersey  brigade,  Dickinson 
with  the  Jersey  militia,  and  Cadwaladcr  with  Pennsylvania 
volunteers,  harrassed  the  left  of  his  long  line,  which  was  so 
encumbered  with  wagons  and  bat-horses  as  to  stretch,  like  a 
narrow,  many-colored  ribbon,  over  nearly  twelve  miles  of  country. 
With  such  an  exposure  the  slowly  moving  column  was  fearfully 
galled,  which,  together  with  the  intense  heat,  made  this  memor- 
able march  across  our  state  rank  among  the  enemy's  most  unhap- 
py experiences  of  the  war.  It  was  not  a  march,  but  a  retreat. 
With  the  thermometer  marking  ninety-two  in  the  shade,  and  the 
men  heavily  accoutred,  it  is  not  strange  that  soon,  covered  with 
blood  and  dust,  many  of  them,  spent  with  exhaustion,  fell  by  the 
way. 

The  major  part  of  the  Americans  crossed  the  Delaware  at 
Coryell's  ferry,  and  reached  Hopewell,  near  Princeton,  on  the 
twenty-fourth  of  June,  when  Washington  held  a  council  of  war 
with  twelve  general  officers.  His  advisers  were  equally  divided 
as  to  the  wisdom  of  risking  a  general  engagement.  Whereupon, 
as  usual,  he  reached  his  own  conclusions — the  result  being  the 
battle  of  Monmouth  on  the  twenty-eighth,  which,  to  quote  the 
chief's  words,  "  from  an  unfortunate  and  bad  beginning  turned 
out  a  glorious  and  happy  day."* 

One  of  the  most  unique  spots  on  the  entire  American  coast  is 
that  solitary  outpost  b3'  the  sounding  sea  which  stands  guard  at 
the  entrance  to  New  York  harbor — that  spinal  curvature  of  sand, 
bristling  with  stunted  trees,  which  forms  what  sailor  and  fisher 
folk  know  as  the  Horseshoe  cove.     On  the  one  side  spreads  the 


*  At  the  Hopewell  council  Col.  Hamilton  was  exceedingly  indignant  that  so 
many  of  the  officers  should  have  opposed  attacking  the  enemy  in  force.  In  a 
letter  to  Elia*  Boudinot,  written  a  few  days  later,  he  says  that  their  judgment 
"  would  have  done  lionor  to  the  most  honorable  society  of  midwives  and  to  them 
only." 


1 


The  British  Army  at  Sandy  Hook.  451 

sheen  and  sparkle  of  the  glistening  bay,  whose  low  murmuring 
waves  lap  its  yellow  strand,  while  seaward  its  dunes  and  beaches 
offer  the  first  barrier  to  Atlantic  billows,  that  have  swept 
unchecked  their  imperious  way  for  nearly  three  thousand  miles. 
Between,  are  hummocks  and  swales  of  drifting  sand,  mostly  cov- 
ered with  a  maze  and  tangle  of  sombre  cedars  and  other  ever- 
green trees,  twisted,  bent  and  scarified  by  many  a  weary  gale. 
With  the  exception  of  a  few  buildings  clustering  about  the 
government  station  and  the  railroad  terminus,  it  is  an  uninhabited 
waste  of  desolate  solitude,  where  the  winds  sadl^'  sough  through 
the  dense  undergrowth,  and  where  the  silence  is  otherwise 
unbroken  save  by  the  wailing  of  the  surge,  the  cry  of  the  sea- 
fowl,  and  the  hum  of  the  Jersey  mosquito. 

On  the  second  of  July,  1778,  the  repose  and  silence  of  Sandy 
Hook  was  suddenly  disturbed  by  the  din  of  war.  The  seagulls 
and  fishhawks,  startled  by  the  imusual  sound  of  pibroch,  bugle, 
and  drum-rattle,  deserted  their  accustomed  havmts,  and  with  loud 
screams  sailed  away  over  the  bay  to  the  mainland.  On  tliat  day 
General  Clinton's  army,  exhausted  by  the  exploits  and  discom- 
fitures of  the  hot  field  of  Monmouth,  came  pouring  across  the 
Shrewsbury  river  on  a  pontoon  bridge  which  he  had  been  two 
days  in  building.  The  lino  of  retreat  from  Freehold  was  strewn 
with  knapsacks,  firelocks,  and  other  implements  of  war,  and  with 
not  a  few  dead  men.  This  sandy  neck  was  soon  alive  with 
troops  and  all  the  paraphernalia  of  a  great  body  of  soldiers. 
Amid  the  dark  green  of  the  thickets  and  undergrowth  were  to 
be  seen  the  varied  colors  of  scarlet,  blue,  and  other  uniforms, 
and  the  glint  and  glitter  of  burnished  arms.  Massed  on 
the  shore,  and  at  points  where  the  open  spaces  in  the  woods 
were  most  frequent,  were  red  ranks  of  British  grenadiers, 
gaunt  Scots  in  green  and  plaid,  fierce-looking  German  yagers, 
white-wigged  Hessians,  and  bufi"-breeched  light  dragoons.  Inter- 
spersed among  the  long  lines  of  baggage  and  artillery  trains, 
which  extended  for  several  miles  along  the  beach  of  the  inner 
bay,  were  ambulances  and  country  wagons  laden  with  wounded 
and  invalided  men. 

This  phenomenal  spectacle  was  not  confined  to  the  land,  for 
Lord  Howe's  fleet  had  most  opportunely  arrived  from  the  Dela- 
ware.     The   Horseshoe  presented  a  scene   of  naval   pageantry 


452  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

that  in  these  piping  times  of  peace  would  attract  a  great  array 
of  visitors.  Anchored  on  its  surface  were  innumerable  transports, 
guarded  by  formidable  men-of-war  flying  from  their  mizzens  the 
royal  cross  of  St.  George.  Passing  and  repassing  between  them 
and  the  shore  were  great  numbers  of  large  scows,  long-boats  and 
yawls,  manned  by  British  tars,  busy  in  transporting  to  the  ships 
the  troops,  baggage,  artillery  and  tents  of  Clinton's  army.  Some 
of  the  wagons  that  had  carried  the  baggage  and  wounded  were 
burned  near  the  water's  edge  ;  their  horses — that  is,  the  sound 
ones — were  made  to  swim  to  the  ships,  being  towed  behind  the 
boats  that  transported  the  men.  AU  useless  and  disabled  horses 
were  tm-ned  loose  and  chased  back  into  the  open  country.  Sev- 
eral days  were  occupied  with  the  embarkation,  during  which 
time,  had  the  Americans  taken  advantage  of  the  opportunity,  a 
deadly  blow  could  with  but  little  doubt  have  been  dealt  to  the 
British  army.  After  crossing  the  pontoon  bridge  some  of  the 
regiments  were  forced  to  march  through  the  deep  sands  several 
miles  to  the  light-house  at  the  end  of  the  Hook,  and  then,  to 
reach  the  small  boats  the  men  were  obliged  to  wade  in  the  water 
over  their  knees.  It  was  the  sixth  instant  before  the  embarka- 
tion was  completed,  and  the  last  of  the  fleet  weighed  anchor  and 
set  sail  for  New  York.  And  so  concluded  a  nearly  two  years' 
endeavor  of  a  thoroughly  equipped  foreign  host  to  subdue  the 
Americans.  Every  effort  made  by  the  enemy  to  destroy  the 
continental  army  had  been  defeated,  and  the  object  for  which 
the  British  were  contending  was  not  one  whit  further  advanced 
than  when  in  the  autumn  of  1776  CornwaUis  crossed  the  Hud- 
son and  entered  the  Jerseys. 

After  the  battle  of  Monmouth,  Washington,  leaving  Maxwell's 
brigade  and  Morgan's  rangers  to  watch  the  enemy,  marched 
his  army  to  New  Brunswick,  where  they  arrived  on  Wednesday 
the  second  of  July,  and  encamped  on  each  side  of  the  river.  Col- 
onel John  Laurens,  of  the  general's  stafl',  writing  to  his  father  on 
that  day,  dates  his  letter  from  "  Headquarters  on  the  lovely 
banks  of  the  Karitan  opposite  New  Brunswick."  After  describ- 
ing the  recent  battle,  he  goes  on  to  say  : — 

We  are  now  arrived  in  a  delightful  country  where  we  shall  halt  and  refresh 
ourselves.  Bathing  in  the  Raritan  and  the  good  living  of  the  country  will 
speedily  refresli  us.  I  wish,  my  dear  father,  that  you  could  ride  along  the  banks 
of  this  delightful  river. 


Celebrating  the  Fourth  of  July,  1778.  453 

After  the  intense  heat  and  rapid  marching  of  the  previous  ten 
days,  this  refreshing  halt  was  a  delightful  experience  for  the 
army.  The  men  were  quick  to  take  advantage  of  the  proximity 
of  the  river  to  wash  and  cleanse  themselves,  they  being  con- 
ducted to  bathe  in  squads  by  non-commissioned  officers,  who  were 
directed  to  prevent  their  bathing  in  the  heat  of  the  day,  or 
remaining  too  long  in  the  water.  As  Saturday  was  the  fourth  of 
July,  the  commander-in-chief  on  Friday  thus  addressed  the  army 
in  general  orders  : — 

Brunswick  Landing,  July  3,  1778  :  Tomorrow  the  anniversary  of  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence  will  he  celebrated  by  the  firing  of  thirteen  pieces  of  cannon, 
and  a/«i(  de  joie  of  the  whole  line  *  *  *  the  soldiers  are  to  adorn  their  hats 
with  green  boughs  and  to  make  the  best  appearance  possible.  A  double  allow- 
ance of  rum  will  be  served  out. 

The  festi-vities  were  not  permitted  to  interfere  with  the  trial  of 
General  Lee  for  his  misconduct  on  the  field  of  Monmouth.  The 
court-martial,  which  had  been  organized  two  days  before,  had  a 
sitting  in  the  morning.  In  the  afternoon  the  time  was  more 
agreeably  occupied,  as  all  the  general  officers,  the  colonels  com- 
manding the  brigades,  the  commissary,  muster-master,  and  judge- 
advocate  generals,  with  the  surgeon-general  of  the  hospital,  were 
entertained  at  three  o'clock  by  Washington  at  dinner. 

On  Sunday  morning  the  left  of  the  front  line  broke  camp  and 
marched  by  way  of  Quibbletown,  Scotch  Plains,  Springfield, 
Hackensack  and  Paramus  to  King's  ferry,  where  the  Hudson 
was  crossed.  On  Monday  the  right  of  that  line  marched  by  the 
same  route,  and  the  next  morning  the  third  and  last  division 
followed.  By  the  twentieth  the  entire  army  was  east  of  the 
North  river,  headquarters  being  established  at  White  Plains. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  purpose  of  this  chapter  was 
to  again  introduce  the  continental  army  into  Somerset.  It  is 
quite  time  this  was  done.  For  the  remainder  of  the  season  the 
activities  of  war  centred  in  distant  regions — mainly  at  Newport 
and  Savannah.  The  lot  of  the  force  under  Washington  Avas  one 
of  comparative  peace  and  comfort,  owing  to  the  inactivity  of  the 
British  ia  their  quarters  on  the  island  of  Manhattan.  Both  offi- 
cers and  men  had  been  greatly  encouraged  by  the  retreat  of  the 
enemy  across  the  state  during  the  summer,  and  by  the  fact  that 
Washington  had   remained  master   of  the    field    at    Monmoutii. 


454  The  Story  of  an  Old  Fakm. 

They  believed  that  to  a  large  extent  they  had  solved  the  art  of 
war,  they  were  fully  imbued  with  the  national  spirit,  and  felt 
that  the  country  was  strong  and  its  future  assured  by  reason  of 
the  powerful  alliance  of  France. 

At  the  end  of  November  the  commander-in-chief  made  his 
dispositions  for  the  winter.  Cantonments  were  established  sur- 
rounding New  York,  and  extending  almost  from  the  sound  to  the 
Delaware.  Six  brigades  were  quartered  east  of  the  Hudson. 
West  of  the  river  at  Smith's  Clove  the  North  Carolina  brigade 
was  stationed  to  guard  the  Highlands,  while  to  protect  lower  Jer- 
sey Maxwell's  brigade  was  placed  in  the  vicinity  of  Elizabeth- 
town.  Early  in  December  Washington  came  marching  through 
Bedminster  on  his  way  to  the  old  camp  at  Middlebrook  heights. 
His  force  was  composed  of  seven  brigades  of  infantry,  embracing 
the  troops  of  Virginia,  Delaware,  Pennsylvania  and  Maryland  ; 
General  Knox's  artillery  brigade,  Lee's  legion  of  light-horse  and 
the  life-guard.  Again  our  township  is  to  be  enlivened  by  mili- 
tary scenes,  and  this  time  for  no  short  season,  for  Knox  halted 
his  brigade  at  Pluckamin  and  there  established  his  winter  quar- 
ters. His  artillery  included  a  fine  train  taken  with  Burgoyne's 
army.  These  guns  narrowly  escaped  recapture  by  the  enemy 
when  Washington's  army  crossed  the  North  river  at  King's  ferry 
on  its  way  to  New  Jersey.  Charles  Inglis,  the  royalist  rector  of 
Trinity  church,  in  a  letter  from  New  York  in  December,  to 
J.  Galloway  of  London — the  backsliding  patriot — says  that  Sir 
Henry  Clinton  having  intelligence  of  the  proposed  crossing  of  the 
artillery,  determined  it  should  be  intercepted.  Several  thousand 
men  were  embarked  on  vessels  which  sailed  secretly  up  the  Hud- 
son. They  were  two  or  three  hours  too  late — the  rear  of  the 
artillery  column  was  just  disappearing  over  the  hills  as  the  ves- 
sels stood  up  their  final  reach,  abreast  of  King's  ferry.  This  mis-' 
carriage  was  greatly  deplored  by  the  enemy  as  they  were  con- 
fident of  securing  not  only  the  guns,  but  all  the  heavy  baggage 
of  the  army. 

Reader,  if  you  purpose  continuing  in  the  company  of  the 
writer,  you  must  follow  the  soldiers.  As  sure  as  sparks  fly- 
upward,  so  sure  will  a  small  boy  drop  bat,  top,  or  marble  when 
he  hears  the  music  of  a  military  band.  It  must  be  confessed  that 
your  scribe  is  in  sympathy  with  that  same  small  boy ;  for  he  has 


Washington's  Headquakteus  at  Somerville.        455 

ever  been  incapable  of  resisting  the  fascinations  of  the  rythmic 
sway  of  marching  columns,  the  glitter  of  drawn  sabres  that  marks 
the  undulating  motion  of  a  moving  squadron  of  troopers.  Wash- 
ington had  left  Paramus  on  the  ninth  of  December,  and  his  first 
communication  from  Middlebrook  was  dated  on  the  twelfth.  He 
had  been  strongly  urged  to  turn  over  his  command  to  Greene, 
and  to  winter,  himself,  in  Philadelphia.  In  his  zeal  for  the 
service  he  resisted  the  invitation,  preferring  the  meagre  and  con- 
tracted quarters  of  camp  to  the  conveniency  and  amusements  of 
the  capital,  in  order  that  the  affairs  and  requirements  of  the  army 
could  receive  his  constant  care  and  attention.  The  commander- 
in-chief,  not  being  able  to  find  a  building  in  the  vicinity  of  Bound 
Brook  or  Middlebrook  ample  enough  for  his  purposes,  established 
his  headquarters  at  the  Wallace  house — then  barely  completed, 
and  now  owned  by.  Mrs.  Jane  Meehan — located  where  the  road 
from  Somerville  to  Raritan  crosses  the  track  of  the  Central  rail- 
road. Although  at  this  time  Bound  Brook  was  an  ancient  village, 
it  was  nearly  thirty  years  later  before  Somerville  had  an  exis- 
tence. Besides  the  Wallace  house  and  the  Reformed  Dutch 
parsonage  that  John  Frelinghuysen  built  of  Holland  bricks,  two 
other  dwellings  and  a  tavern  on  the  site  of  the  present  Van 
Arsdale's  hotel  were  the  only  buildings  where  now  flourishes 
the  capital  of  the  county. 

Mrs.  Washington  joined  her  husband  at  the  Wallace  house,  and 
this  most  honored  of  all  Somerset's  mansions  opened  its  hospitable 
portals  that  winter  and  spring  to  many  distinguished  people. 
The  daily  dinner  was  an  affair  of  ceremony  and  importance,  as, 
in  addition  to  the  visitors  at  headquarters,  the  company  included 
a  certain  number  of  officers  whom  it  was  the  general's  habit  to 
invite  daily  to  dine.  It  was,  of  course,  impossible  that  the  comman- 
der-in-chief should  be  personally  acquainted  with  all  the  officers 
of  his  army,  his  practice  therefore,  was  to  extend  invitations 
through  brigade  orders.  Often  as  many  as  thirty  persons  were 
entertained.  Edward  Everett  Hale,  in  his  recent  biography  of 
Washington,  publishes  a  letter  written  by  the  general,  from 
,  Camp  Middlebrook,  to  a  deputy  quartermaster-general  at  Phila- 
delphia, from  which  we  gain  some  idea  of  the  extensive  menage 
sustained  in  this  Somerset  house  that  winter.  The  letter  ordered 
purchased  for  use  at  headquarters  a  dinner  service  of  queensware. 


456  The  STf>RY  of  an  Old  Farm. 

Among  the  pieces  enumerated  as  desired,  were  two  large  tureens, 
three  dozen  dishes,  eight  dozen  shallow  plates,  and  three  dozen 
soup  plates.  Washington's  letter  further  requested  that  there 
should  be  sent  him  "  six  tolerably  genteel  but  not  expensive  can- 
dlesticks;" "as  much  fur  as  will  edge  a  coat,  waistcoat,  and 
breaches  ;"  and  "two  pounds  of  starch."  He  also  asked  for  a  new 
hat,  saying,  "I  do  not  wish  by  any  means  to  be  in  the  extreme 
of  the  fashion,  either  in  the  size  or  manner  of  cocking  it."  It 
would  appear  that  our  own  state  at  this  time  could  furnish  hand- 
somer table  appointments  than  could  Philadelphia.  The  deputy 
quartermaster-generaJ  searched  the  Quaker  city  in  vain  for  queens- 
ware  ;  but  Lady  Stirling  came  to  the  commander-in-chiefs  relief 
and  informed  him  that — as  she  happened  to  know — such  a  service 
as  he  desired  could  be  procured  at  New  Brunswick.  All  this  may  be 
called  trivial,  it  is  true,  but  life  is  largely  made  up  of  trivialities, 
and  these  serve  a  pleasing  purpose  in  illustrating  certain  phases 
in  the  undercurrents  of  Revolutionary  camp  life.  They  are  inter- 
esting, too,  as  showing  how  this  marvellous  man,  while  bend- 
ing— or  rather,  standing  erect — under  the  weight  of  the  moment- 
ous aflfairs  of  the  country,  could  still  find  time  to  direct  the  minor 
details  of  household  and  personal  concerns. 

Although  the  dinner,  from  force  of  circumstances,  could  not 
abound  in  superfluities,  it  was  amply  provided,  and  handsomely 
served.  General  and  Mrs.  Washington  occupied  seats  at  the 
side  of  the  table,  while  the  honors  were  performed  by  Colonel 
Hamilton  or  some  other  member  of  the  military  family.  Prompt- 
ness was  the  rule  at  headquarter  dinners.  Washington  never 
permitted  that  anyone  should  be  waited  for  longer  than  five 
minutes,  conceding  that  time  for  variance  in  watches.  To  guests 
arriving  when  the  company  was  seated  he  would  make  some 
pleasant  apology,  a  not  uncommon  one  being,  "  Gentlemen,  I 
have  a  cook  who  never  asks  whether  the  company  has  come, 
but  whether  the  hour  has  come."  This  was  at  least  less  dis- 
courteous than  the  practice  of  the  celebrated  Doctor  Kichiner, 
the  president  of  the  "  Eta  Beta  Pi "  club  of  London,  who,  when 
frequently  entertaining  friends  at  dinner,  invariably,  five  minutes 
after  the  hour  had  the  front  door  locked,  and  the  key  placed  by 
the  side  of  his  plate  on  the  table. 

An   officer,    who   was   with   the   army   that   winter,    has  left  a 


Camp  Middlebrook    in  1779.  457 

record  of  his  impressions  on  the  occasion  of  his  enjoying  the  hos- 
pitalities of  headquarters.  He  has  much  to  say  of  the  simple 
and  modest  deportment  of  his  illustrious  host,  who,  whUe  con- 
versing affably  with  his  guests,  preserved  a  reserve  amounting 
almost  to  a  hauteur,  and  whose  cheerful,  open  countenance, 
together  with  great  dignity  of  manner,  impressed  each  one  pres- 
ent with  a  combined  feeling  of  love,  fear,  and  veneration. 
Washington  treated  all  at  the  table  with  equal  attention  ;  and 
when  the  cloth  was  removed,  after  a  few  parting  glasses  of  wine, 
retired,  leaving  his  guests  to  the  courtesies  of  his  staff-officers. 

The  winter  encampment  at  Middlebrook  opened  with  a  much 
happier  outlook  than  had  the  one  at  Valley  Forge,  the  ye^ 
before.  The  embarrassments  of  this  time,  as  shonii  by  Wash- 
ington's correspondence  with  Goveraor  Livingston,  were  the 
reductions  of  the  battalions  owing  to  expiration  of  time  of  ser- 
vice ;  the  difficulty  of  completing  the  quotas  of  reinforcements, 
because  of  the  country's  feeling  too  great  a  security  after  the 
success  of  the  last  campaign  ;  and  the  rapid  decline  of  the  cur- 
rency, which  added  greatly  to  the  difficulties  of  the  commissaries 
in  their  efforts  to  supply  the  needs  of  the  soldiers.  Notwith- 
standing all  this,  affairs  were  buoyant  as  compared  with  what 
they  had  been  the  previous  year.  The  men  were  in  excellent 
health  and  spirits ;  their  commander,  in  a  letter  to  Lafjiyette, 
writes  of  them  as  being  in  better  condition  than  they  had  ever 
been  since  the  formation  of  the  army.  The  weather  was  unusu- 
ally mild,  and  the  spring  came  in  early.  There  was  no  severe 
cold  after  the  tenth  of  January  and  scarcely  any  fi-ost,  and  by 
the  first  of  April  fruit  trees  were  in  bud,  and  vegetation  began 
to  appear. 

Surgeon  Thacher,  of  Colonel  Gibson's  Virginia  regiment,  has 
depicted  in  his  diary  some  interesting  scenes  and  incidents  con- 
nected with  this  winter's  encampment.  His  command  was 
attached  to  the  division  of  Major-General  Israel  Putnam,  which 
lay  below  Middlebrook  heights,  near  Chimney  Rock,  about  one 
mUe  from  the  present  Bound  Brook  station,  camping — as  I  am 
informed — on  lands  now  owned  by  L)e  Witt  C.  Mather.  Other 
brigades  occupied  near-by  and  adjoining  lands,  about  one  hundred 
acres  of  which  have  recently  been  purchased  by  citizens  of 
Bound  Brook,  and  converted  into  public   grounds,  known  as  the 


458  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

"  Camp-field."  At  this  point  many  interesting  Revolutionary 
relics  have  been  ploughed  up  by  former  owners  of  the  land. 
Until  within  a  few  years  numerous  low  mounds  were  to  be  seen, 
which  when  opened  revealed  large  stones  and  brickbats — the 
remains  of  the  foundations  of  chimneys  and  fire-places — plainly 
indicating  the  site  of  the  log-cabins  or  huts  in  which  the  troops 
were  quartered.  These  huts  were  constructed  of  dove-tailed 
tree-trunks,  no  naUs  or  iron-work  of  any  kind  being  used.  The 
interstices  between  the  logs  were  filled  with  clay,  and  the  chim- 
neys, made  of  small  sticks,  were  similarly  plastered.  The  officers' 
huts  were  generally  divided  in  two  apartments,  for  four  occu- 
pants who  comprised  one  mess,  but  the  privates'  and  non-com- 
mission officers'  huts  had  but  one  room,  and  contained  ten  or 
twelve  straw-filled  bunks  for  that  number  of  men.  Late  in  the 
autumn.  General  Gates  having  been  ordered  to  Boston,  Putnam 
was  sent  to  take  his  place  in  Hartford.  This  left  the  division 
under  the  command  of  its  senior  brigadier — Muhlenberg,  our 
old  friend,  the  Jersey  parson.  Thacher  writes  of  him  as  being 
corpulent  and  clumsy,  but  as  "  brave  as  Csesar,"  and  although 
exhibiting  but  few  of  the  refinements  of  education,  his  bold  and 
undaunted  front  and  military  carriage  proclaimed  the  veteran 
soldier.  He  was  a  good  liver  and  fond  of  entertaining  his  bro- 
ther officers.  On  New  Year's  day  he  gave  a  supper  and  dance, 
inviting  many  of  the  ladies  of  the  neighborhood,  and  none  of  the 
company  were  permitted  to  retire  before  three  o'clock  in  the 
morning. 

Somerset  is  peculiarly  rich  in  Revolutionary  houses.  A  nota- 
ble example  is  the  one  which  was  occupied  that  winter  by  General 
Greene,  located  midway  between  Bound  Brook  and  Somerville 
on  the  banks  of  the  Raritan,  a  short  distance  southwest  of  the 
Finderne  railway-station.  It  was  built  by  Derrick  Van  Veghten 
early  in  the  last  century,  he  having  been  born  in  1699  in  an 
adjoining  stone  house-  This  earlier  structure  was  erected  by 
his  father,  Michael,  who,  born  in  1663,  migrated  from  the  upper 
Hudson,  and  was  among  the  earliest  of  the  Dutch  pioneers  in 
the  Raritan  valley.  Although  bearing  many  marks  of  age  this 
dwelling's  two  solid  storeys  of  Holland  brick  still  press  firmly 
and  unimpaired  upon  their  foundation,  and  its  rooftree  continues 
to  cap  a  family   homestead.     A   brigade  was  encamped  on  that 


I 


Miis.  Greene  at  the  Van  Veghten   HorsE.         459 

portion  of  the  Van  Veghten  land  forming  the  slope  northeast  of» 
and  back  from,  the  river,  now  known  as  the  Shaw  farm.  Der- 
rick Van  Veghten,  who  at  this  time  was  nearly  eighty  years  of 
age,  was  very  strong  in  his  sympathy  for  the  patriot  cause,  and  did 
much  to  add  to  the  comfort  of  the  rank  and  file  of  the  army,  as 
well  as  of  its  officers.  His  homestead,  which  even  then  was  a 
very  old  dwelling,  was  the  centre  of  a  bounteous  hospitality. 

The  hills  of  Somerset  have  echoed  to  the  tread  of  many  heroes. 
As  has  been  before  implied,  few  Revolutionary  figures  can  be 
credited  with  the  possession  of  more  distinguished  attainments 
than  can  Nathanael  Greene.  What  greater  eidogy  could  a  sol- 
dier desire  than  that  spoken  of  this  officer  by  Washington  ? 
Here  are  his  words  : — 

There  is  no  officer  in  the  army  more  sincerely  attached  to  the  interests  of  his 
country  than  General  Greene.  Could  he  bnt  promote  these  best  interests  in  the 
character  of  a  corporal,  he  would  exchange,  without  a  murmur,  his  epaulet  for 
the  knot.  For,  although  he  is  not  without  ambition,  that  ambition  has  not  for 
its  object,  the  highest  rank,  so  much  as  the  greatest  good. 

Greene  at  this  time  was  acting  as  quartermaster-general, 
he  having  accepted  the  position  in  the  previous  March,  in 
order  to  relieve  that  department  and  Washington  from  great 
embarrassments.*  He  had  retained  all  his  right  of  rank  and 
pay  as  major-general  in  the  line,  and  at'  the  battle  of  Mon- 
mouth commanded  the  right  wing  of  the  army.  In  addi- 
tion to  the  official  intercourse  at  the  Van  Veghten  dwelling, 
made  necessary  by  the  occupancy  of  Greene,  the  presence  of  his 
lady  proved  a  powerful  attraction,  and  drew  many  tfi  this  old 
Dutch  farm-house.  Mrs.  Greene  was  possessed  of  brilliant 
qualities,  which  earned  for  her  high  distinction  and  great  influ- 
ence, her  society  and  friendship  being  sought  by  the  best  people  of 
the  country.  At  this  time  she  was  about  twenty-five  years  old, 
and  is  said  to  have  been  singularly  lovely  in  person.     Expressive 

*  It  was  not  long  before  quite  a  village  of  blacksmith's  shops,  store-houses,  and 
other  buildings  connected  with  the  quartermaster's  department  grew  up  on  the 
main  Karitan  road  at  the  crossing  of  the  road  running  to  the  Raritan  bridge 
(Finderne).  The  near-by  elevation,  even  then  known  as  Mount  Pleasant,  where 
is  now  the  residence  of  John  C.  Shaw,  was  also  in  use  at  that  time  by  the  army 
for  camping  and  other  purposes.  This  was  probably  the  location  of  Wayne's 
encampment  in  1777  when  he  dated  his  letter  to  General  Lincoln,  from  "Mount 
Pleasant."     (See  page  419.) 


460  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

gray  eyes  lit  up  a  fair  face  of  regular  and  animated  features. 
With  a  nature  joyous  and  gay,  her  quickness  of  perception  and 
unusually  retentive  memory  combined  in  making  her  conversa- 
tion brilliant,  and  her  society  a  delight  to  all  who  came  within 
the  magic  of  her  presence.  She  was  held  in  great  esteem  at 
headquarters.  Long  after  the  war,  at  the  levees  given  by  Mrs. 
Washington  in  Philadelphia  as  wife  of  the  chief  magistrate,  it 
was  the  custom  of  the  President  to  personally  accompany  the 
widows  of  Generals  Greene  and  Montgomery  to  and  from 
their  carriages — a  distinction  which  he  conferred  upon  none  other 
of  the  lady  guests. 

The  troops  of  General  Wayne,  which  comprised  the  1st,  2d, 
and  7th,  Pennsylvania  regiments,  were  encamped  south  of  the 
Raritan,  on  a  ridge  of  land  west  of  the  road  running  from  Fin- 
derne  station  to  Millstone,  adjoining  where  is  now  the  residence 
of  D.  R.  Disborough.  This  general  is  often  mentioned  in 
Revolutionary  annals  as  "  Mad  Anthony,"  because  of  a  bravery 
that  was  fearless  of  consequences.  Somerset  traditions,  however, 
distinguish  him  as  "  Dandy  Wayne,"  for  the  reason  of  his  having 
been  conspicuously  handsome,  with  much  magnetism  and  dash, 
and  always  uniformed  and  appointed  with  great  care  and  fastidi- 
ousness. 


CHAPTER     XXXI. 

The  ArUJhry  Park  at  Pluckamin — General  and  Mrs.  Knox 
at  the  Van  der  Veer  House — The  French  Alliance  Fete 
— General  Steuben  at  Bound  Brook. 

The  corps  of  artillery  commanded  by  General  Knox  lay,  as 
has  been  said  before,  at  Pluckamin.  The  guns  were  parked 
and  the  men's  quarters  were  erected  on  the  northwest  side  of  the 
Cornelius  Eoff  farm,  now  owned  by  Nathan  Compton,  a  piece 
of  rising  ground  a  short  distance  from  the  road,  which  displayed 
the  camp  to  good  advantage.  A  range  of  field-pieces,  mortars, 
howitzers  and  heavy  cannon  formed  the  front  line  of  a  parallelo- 
gram, while  flanking  the  remaining  sides  were  huts  for  the  offi- 
cers and  privates,  and  other  necessary  buildings.  Facing  the 
parade,  and  standing  on  a  slightly-elevated  plateau,  was  a  spacious 
and  well-proportioned  structure,  capped  with  a  small  cupola. 
It  was  called  the  academy,  and  enclosed  a  room  fifty  feet  by 
thirty,  with  an  arched  ceiling  and  plastered  walls.  Her*  from 
a  low  rostrum  at  one  end  of  this  room,  the  brigade  preceptor 
delivered  lectures  on  tactics,  gunnery  and  other  military  sub- 
jects. It  may  be  readily  supposed  that  this  capacious  hall  also 
furnished  an  agreeable  rendezvous  for  the  officers  during  the 
long  evenings  of  that  winter.  Altogether,  the  encampment 
unfolded  itself  very  attractively  to  an  approaching  visitor,  and 
was  in  every  respect  a  superior  military  village  ;  one  of  a  no 
inconsiderable  population,  as  the  returns  of  the  artillery  corps  at 
that  time  show  its  total  efi'ective  strength  to  have  been  forty-nine 
companies,  containing  sixteen  hundred  and  seven  men.  Had 
the  companies  been  full  the  command  would  have  numbered  over 
■one  thousand  more. 

Both  officers  and  men  of  this  artillery  brigade  wore  uniform 


462  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

coats  of  black,  turned  up  with  red,  jackets  and  breeches  of  white 
wool,  and  hats  trimmed  with  yellow.  The  adoption  of  this  dress 
had  created  dissatisfaction  amon^  some  of  the  commands,  their 
officers  being  loth  to  abandon  their  former  distinctive  uniforms. 
Colonel  Procter,  whose  batteries  had  marched  with  Washington 
since  1776,  especially  demurred  against  the  men  of  his  crack 
corps  losing  their  individuality  of  dress,  they,  from  the  first,  hav- 
ing well  served  their  guns  in  blue  coats  faced  with  white  and  buff. 
Washington,  however,  wrote  to  President  Reed,  saying: — "As 
black  and  red  have  been  pitched  upon  for  that  of  the  Continental 
artillery,  it  is  unreasonable  for  him  [Procter]  to  make  objections 
to  it ;"  so  of  course  the  colonel  was  forced  to  succumb. 

In  an  earlier  chapter  mention  was  made  that  in  the  first  years 
of  the  struggle  Revolutionary  soldiers  were  rarely  arrayed  in  mar- 
tial attire.  As  the  war  progressed,  and  enlistments  were  made  for 
longer  terms,  uniforms  were  adopted,  and  in  other  ways  the  regi- 
ments presented  a  much  more  soldierly  appearance.  One  of  the 
greatest  offences  against  historical  verity  is  the  prevalent  belief 
that  the  continental  troops  were  uniformed  in  blue  and  buft".  Such 
were  the  colors  of  the  commander-in-chief,  his  staff,  and  of  many 
of  the  generals,  but  the  prevailing  miiforms  of  the  rank  and  file 
were  brown,  blue,  and  green,  with  trimmings  of  various  hues. 
This  popular  but  erroneous  notion  has  been  fostered  by  artists, 
who,  in  illustrating  Revolutionary  scenes,  have  pictured  con- 
tinental soldiers  clad  in  blue  coats  with  buff  facings,  buff  waist- 
coats and  breeches,  top  boots,  cocked  hats,  and  ruffled  shirts. 
This  is  false  as  to  the  dress  of  the  men,  and,  often,  also  as  to  that 
of  the  officers;  the  latter,  in  the  artillery,  at  least,  were  arrayed 
in  the  same  colors  as  the  privates.  Interesting  testimony  in  this 
regard  is  furnished  by  a  letter  written  by  Knox  from  Pluckamin, 
to  his  brother  Peter,  at  Boston,  on  the  thirteenth  of  January. 
The  general  says : — 

I  have  heard  that  tliere  is  plenty  of  black  cloth  in  the  state  store  of  Massachu- 
sets,and,  to  be  sure,  I  belong  to  Massachiisets.  I  therefore  beg  as  you  would  wish 
the  benedictions  of  the  righteous  that  you  would  apply  to  said  store  for  cloth 
enough  to  make  a  couple  of  coats  for  myself,  and  one  for  Maj.  Shaw,  [a^stafl- 
officer],  we  are  both  naked,  therefore  I  pray  you  cloath  us — and  if  they  have 
white  for  waistcoats — -don't  forget  that  *  *  «  I  could  not  procure  these 
articles  under  a  small  fortune  here  and  yet  they  are  absolutely  necessary  *  *  * 
don't  forget  the  uniform  buttons — and  all  the  trimmings — were  you  to  see  [my 
cloaths  I  think  you  would  not  think  my  request  unreasonable. 


COXTINENTAL    UnIFOKMS    IN    1779.  463 

Of  the  troops  under  Washington's  immediate  command  at 
that  time,  some  of  them  were  uniformed  as  follows : — General 
Wayne's  Pennsylvania  division  wore  blue  coats  lined  with  white, 
ruffled  shirts,  red  flannel  leggings,  and  "  a  sort  of  cap  dressed  up 
with  fur."  Among  other  Penns3'lvania  regiments,  the  men  of 
the  9th  had  brown  coats  faced  with  red,  with  red  cuffs  and 
capes,  and  cocked  hats  with  white  loopings ;  the  11th  Regiment, 
long  blue  coats  faced  with  red  and  buff,  and  small  round  hats 
with  black  feathers.  The  3rd  Virginia  regiment  was  uniformed 
in  light  drab  coats  with  pale  blue  facings,  green  vests,  and  linen 
overalls ;  the  6th  Virginia  wore  black  coats  faced  with  red, 
white  waistcoats,  linen  shirts  and  overalls  ;  while  the  coats  of  the 
13th  Virginia  were  blue,  cuffed  and  faced  with  yellow.  The 
5tli  Maryland  regiment  wore  brown  coats  faced  with  red,  spotted 
swanskin  vests,  oval  brass  buttons,  brown  broad-cloth  breeches ; 
while  the  6th  was  arrayed  in  gray  coats  faced  with  green.  The 
prevailing  uniform  coat  of  the.  Jersey  line  was  blue  turned  up 
with  red ; — but  enough  of  Revolutionary  dress  has  been  given  to 
show  that  the  so-called  continental  garb  had  no  place  in  1779  in 
either  the  infantry  or  the  artillery.  As  for  the  cavalry,  Lee's 
legion  wore  cocked  hats,  and  "  green  coatees,"  faced  with  white, 
their  waistcoats  were  white  and  their  breeches  black.  Colonel 
Moylan's  4th  Regiment  light  dragoons,  a  command  weU-known 
in  Somerset,  though  not  with  this  year's  encampment,  wore  green 
coats  turned  up  wath  red,  green  cloaks  with  red  capes,  red 
waistcoats,  buckskin  breeches,  and  leather  caps  trimmed  with 
bearskin.  The  artists,  before  mentioned,  perhaps  found  their 
typical  continental  soldiers  in  the  men  of  Washington's  life- 
guard ;  they  being  near  the  person  of  the  general  wore  uni- 
forms that  in  colors  and  distinctive  features  in  many  respects 
harmonized  with  his  full  di'ess,  and  that  of  his  staff-officers. 

General  Knox,  together  with  his  wife,  quartered  at  the 
Jacobus  Van  der  Veer  house,  on  what  is  now  the  Ludlow  farm, 
just  below  the  Bedminster  church.  Time  is  a  fell  destroyer, 
but  often  does  his  work  with  slow  and  kindly  hands.  This 
ancient  dwelling  is  still  standing,  and  its  hearthstone  continues 
to  centre  and  cement  family  ties.  Although  many  of  its  old- 
time  characteristics  have  been  retained,  it  has  been  somewhat 
modernized,    and    few    passers-by    would    suspect    that    it    was 


464  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

erected  before  the  year  1760.  During  the  winter  and  spring  of 
1779  it  was  the  most  important  house  in  the  neighborhood,  and 
the  rallying  point  for  both  military  and  social  affairs.  Scores  of 
people  came  and  went  each  day,  and  if  this  old  dwelling  is  e^er 
in  a  retrospective  mood  it  must  look  back  upon  those  busy 
months  as  a  very  distinguished  epoch  in  its  existence.  Knox 
was  very  popular  in  Somerset  county,  and  old  residents  of  the 
last  generation  delighted  in  anecdotes  and  reminiscences  of  his 
amiability  and  good  fellowship.  When  stationed  at  Pluckamin 
he  was  about  thirty-four  years  old,  stout  but  active,  possessed 
great  intelligence,  and  had  a  most  genial  presence.  He  readily 
made  warm  attachments,  and  the  villagers  all  looked  upon  him 
with  great  admiration.  Tradition  speaks  of  his  walking  about 
with  a  grand  and  self-complacent  air,  greeting  in  hearty  tones 
those  he  knew,  with  a  strong  and  decisive  voice  easily  recog- 
nized as  that  of  one  accustomed  to  command.  His  large  and 
full  face  was  brightened  by  a  covert  smile,  and  on  removing  his 
hat  a  low,  broad  forehead  was  exposed,  with  short  hair  standing 
up  in  front  but  long  and  queued  behind. 

Mrs.  Knox,  who  shared  with  her  husband  the  inconveniences 
and  dangers  of  his  campaigns,  was  nearly  as  well  known  as  the 
general,  and  has  been  called  the  heroine  of  the  Revolution.  She 
was  a  woman  possessing  many  graces  of  mind  and  person,  and, 
though  vivacious,  preserved  a  most  dignified  address.  Her 
imposing  appearance,  independence  of  spirit,  amiability  of 
character,  and  originality  of  mind  made  her  a  conspicuous 
figure  in  Revolutionary  society.  The  following  extract  from 
a  letter  written  by  General  Grreene  to  his  wife,  on  the  twenty- 
third  of  the  preceding  June,  would  lead  us  to  believe  that  cam- 
paigning agreed  very  well  with  both  General  Knox  and  his 
lady  :— 

Mrs.  Knox  has  been  in  Philadelphia  and  is  now  gone  to  Morristown.  She  is 
fatter  than  ever,  which  is  a  great  mortification  to  her.  The  General  is  equally 
fat,  and  therefore  one  cannot  laugh  at  the  other.  They  appear  to  be  extrava- 
gantly fond  of  each  other;  and,  I  think,  are  perfectly  happy. 

Mrs.  Knox  had  many  visitors,  not  only  among  the  ladies  of 
the  near-by  camps  and  surrounding  country,  but  friends  from  a 
distance,  who  came  for  a  more  protracted  stay.  Two  young 
ladies  named  Andrews    arrived   in  January,   Captain    Lillie   of 


Social  Intercourse  at  Pluckamin  Camp.  465 

the  general's  staff,  meeting  them  at  Elizabethtown,  where,  owing 
to  the  uncertainties  of  travel  at  that  period,  he  was  obliged  to 
await  their  coming  for  a  week.  Miss  Betsey  and  Miss  Sallie 
Winslow  of  Boston  also  spent  the  winter  at  the  Van  der  Veer 
house,  remaining  with  Mrs.  Knox  till  June.  They  were  amiable 
and  spirited  girls,  the  elder  one  being  the  soul  of  the  many  camp 
entertainments  occurring  during  the  season.  As  to  the  younger 
sister,  Major  Shaw,  another  member  of  the  general's  military 
family,  mentions  her  in  a  letter  as  a  "  lively  little  hussy,''  aud 
thinks  she  "will  make  a  very  fine  woman." 

Social  intercourse  abounded  in  the  military  community  of 
Pluckamin  and  its  vicinity,  and  the  officers  often  extended  a 
generous  hospitality  to  merry-makings  at  the  artillery  park. 
Major  Shaw  in  a  letter  to  General  Knox's  brother  William,  in 
Boston,  on  the  twenty-fourth  day  of  May,  writes  : — 

You  know  what  an  agreeable  circle  of  ladies  this  state  afforded  two  years  ago 
— some  of  whom  now  and  then  kindly  enquire — 'what  has  become  of  Major 
Knox?' — it  is  since  much  enlarged,  so  that  we  can  (in  military  stile)  at  a 
moment's  warning  parade  a  score  or  two. 

Kettle-drums,  as  well  as  drums  contributing  to  the  field-music 
of  the  army,  were  features  of  Pluckamin  camp.  It  was  the  cus- 
tom of  the  officers  occasionally  to  give  in  the  academy  afternoon 
receptions,  when  tea  would  be  dispensed  to  the  guests,  followed 
in  the  evening  by  what  they  called  a  "  social  hop."  The  last 
affair  of  this  kind  was  on  the  twenty-seventh  of  May,  with  which 
the  ladies  present  expressed  the  highest  satisfaction.  An  acci- 
dent occurred  at  its  close  which  might  have  proved  serious ; 
but  I  will  let  a  witness — Major  Shaw — give  an  account  of  the 
incident : — 

A  clumsy  gentleman  in  mounting  a  chair  [or  gig]  after  the  Ball,  to  drive  Miss 
Livingston  and  the  amiable  little  Ricketts  to  our  quarters,  fell,  like  Phaeton, 
head  foremost  from  his  seat,  but,  happily  for  him,  the  part  striking  being 
composed  of  solid  materials  prevented  his  receiving  any  injury.  The  horses 
starting  at  the  same  instant  threw  the  little  girl  out  also,  with  such  vio- 
lence that  had  not  Lillie,  who  was  standing  by  her,  fortunately  caught  her,  she 
must  have  dashed  to  pieces.  The  shock  was  so  violent  that  she  fainted  in  his 
arms,  but  with  some  little  assistance  soon  recovered.  Don't  you  envy  Lillie  his 
happiness  in  saving  such  a  cherub?.^  I'm  sure  I  did,  as  did,  1  believe,  every  one 
present. 

Captain    Lillie,    who   so    deftly  stood    between    the    cherubic 
"  Ricketts  "  and  a  dangerous  fall,  was  born  in  Boston  in   1753. 
30 


466  The  Stoby  of  an  Old  Farm. 

He  entered  the  army  at  the  age  of  two  and  twenty  as  a  lieute- 
nant of  artillery,  and  at  the  close  of  the  Revolution  held  a  cap- 
tain's commission,  and  for  several  years  had  been  an  aide  to 
General  Knox.  He  served  with  distinction  at  the  battles  of 
Long  Island  and  Trenton,  and  stood  within  a  few  feet  of  Mercer 
when  he  fell  at  Princeton.  LiUie  sustained  himself  well  in  the 
heat  of  the  action  on  the  Brandywine,  and  on  that  dark,  dismal 
night  at  Paoli,  when  one  hundred  and  fifty  of  Wayne's  men  were 
either  killed,  wounded,  or  made  prisoners,  with  much  address, 
through  morasses  and  woods,  he  brought  off  his  artillery  in  saf- 
ety. At  Germantown  he  ably  supported  a  soldier's  character, 
and  on  the  hot  field  of  Monmouth  overcame  in  single  combat  a 
sergeant  of  grenadiers,  and  bore  him  in,  with  his  arms,  a  prisoner. 
This  capable  young  officer  was  a  conspicuous  figure  in  Plucka- 
min  during  this  winter  of  1779,  and  was  long  pleasantly  remem- 
bered. He  died  in  1801,  while  in  command  of  the  military  post 
at  West  Point. 

By  far  the  most  notable  social  event  in  Somerset's  Revolution- 
ary history,  was  the  grand  fete  and  ball  given  at  Pluckamin  on 
the  eighteenth  of  February  by  the  ofiicers  of  the  army,  under  the 
direction  of  Knox.  That  general,  in  a  letter  of  the  twenty- 
eighth  of  February,  to  his  brother,  wrote  : — 

We  had  at  the  Park  on  the  eighteenth  a  most  genteel  entertainment  given  by 
self  and  officers — everybody  allows  it  to  be  the  first  of  the  kind  ever  exhibited 
in  this  state  at  least:  we  had  above  seventy  ladies— all  of  the  first  (ore  in  the 
state — we  danced  all  night — between  3  and  400  gentlemen — an  Elegant  room — 
The  Illuminating,  fire  works,  etc.,  were  more  than  pretty. 

This  celebration  was  in  honor  of  the  first  anniversary  of 
the  French  alliance ;  it  should  properly  have  taken  place 
on  the  sixth,  but  was  deferred  till  so  late  a  date  because 
of  Washington's  absence  in  Philadelphia.  The  attendance  com- 
prised aU  the  army  officers  in  that  part  of  the  country, 
prominent  citizens  and  their  families  from  this  and  adjoining 
states,  and  there  were  also  present  a  great  number  of  Jersey  peo- 
ple as  spectators.  A  large  pavilion  or  temple  was  erected,  one 
hundred  feet  long  and  of  excellent  proportions,  showing  thir- 
teen arches  supported  by  columns,  and  illuminated  with  paint- 
ings and  mottoes  descriptive  of  the  conception  and  progress  of 
American  liberty. 


The  French  Alliance  Fete.  467 

The  commander-in-chief,  with  his  staff  apd  escort,  rode  on  the 
parade  at  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  He  was  soon  followed 
by  Mrs.  Washington  in  a  coach  drawn  by  four  horses,  accom- 
panied by  a  gentleman  of  slender  form,  with  a  pleasant  face  and 
a  dark  complexion.  This  was  Henry  Laurens,  a  man  of  great 
wealth  and  social  position  in  South  Carolina,  who  had  recently 
retired  from  the  presidency  of  congress.  The  wheel  of  fortune 
was  soon  to  make  an  unhappy  revolution  for  this  person.  In  the 
next  year,  while  on  his  way  to  Holland  as  minister  plenipotenti- 
ary from  the  new  republic,  his  ship  was  overhauled  by  a  Brit- 
ish cruiser ;  he  was  carried  prisoner  to  England  and  there 
thrown  into  London  Tower,  where  he  languished  in  close  confine- 
ment for  fifteen  months.  Another  distinguished  arrival  at 
Pluckamin  camp  was  WiUiam  Duer,  ex-member  of  congress  from 
New  York.  It  was  a  prospective  alliance,  rather  than  one 
already  consummated,  that  attracted  him  to  this  fete ;  for  just 
then  he  was  fathoming  celestial  harmonies, — being  a  willing  cap- 
tive to  the  charms  of  Lady  Kitty  Stirling. 

The  guests  whom  it  was  intended  to  especially  honor  having 
arrived',  the  celebration  was  inaugurated  by  the  discharge  of 
thirteen  cannon,  whereupon  the  assembled  company  sat  down  to 
a  very  fine  dinner  served  in  the  academy.  A  writer  of  that 
time  describes  the  room  as  being  spacious,  and  recites  further : — 

The  tables  were  very  prettily  disposed  both  as  to  prospect  and  convenience. 
The  festivities  were  universal,  and  the  toasts  were  descriptive  of  the  happy 
event  which  had  given  certainty  to  liberty,  empire  and  independence. 

The  rostrum,  where  usually  the  military  lessons  were  given, 
served  as  a  convenient  orchestra-stand,  from  which  the  company 
were  entertained  with  army  music.  A  handsome  exhibition  of 
fireworks  was  given  in  the  evening  by  Colonel  Stevens  of  the 
artillery,  after  which  came  a  grand  ball,  extending  far  into  the 
night,  the  magnificence  of  which  gave  abundant  topic  for  talk 
and  reminiscence  for  that,  and  the  succeeding,  generation  of 
Pluckamin  folk. 

This  dance,  of  course,  took  place  in  the  academy.  After  the 
dining  tables  were  removed,  besides  the  space  occupied  by  dow- 
agers, wall-flowers,  and  other  on-lookers,  there  was  left  a 
"  range  for  about  thirty  couples  to  foot  it  to  no  indifferent  mea- 
sure."    What  a  scene  it  must  have  presented  for  staid  Plucka- 


468  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

min  !  Balls  in  the  ^Iden  time  lacked  much  of  the  hilarity  and 
vivacity  of  the  dances  of  to-day,  but  what  they  lost  in  the  appar- 
ent gaiety  of  the  occasion  was  more  than  compensated  for  by  the 
picturesqueness  of  the  costumes  and  by  the  stately  grace  and 
courtliness  of  the  dancers.  Scarlet  coats,  satin  short-clothes,  and 
striped  waistcoats  added  much  to  the  color  and  beauty  of  the 
scene,  as  their  wearers  stepped  the  stately  minuet,  or  went  down 
the  middle  in  the  popular  contre-dance.  No  breathless  couples 
whirled  in  the  giddy  waltz,  nor  went  tearing  across  the  room  in 
the  hoydenish  galojJ.  Over-heated  girls,  dishevelled  locks,  and 
torn  dresses  were  not  features  of  the  hour,  for  dignity  and 
decorum  ruled  supreme  in  all  social  festivals.  The  sobriety  of 
this  occasion,  notwithstanding  the  joyousness  of  the  event  it 
celebrated,  was,  without  doubt,  enhanced  by  the  presence  of 
Washington.  His  personality  always  impressed  others  with  a 
certain  degree  of  veneration  and  awe,  and  even  in  times  of  festiv- 
ity his  countenance,  while  benign,  was  said  to  be  almost  austere, 
and  his  manner  uncommonly  reserved.  Thacher  recounts  that 
even  his  most  intimate  associates  were  never  connected  with  him 
by  the  reciprocal  ties  of  friendship,  and  but  few  could  boast  of 
having  been  with  him  on  an  easy  and  a  familiar  footing. 

Doctor  Ashbel  Greene,  who,  as  chaplain  of  congress  and  pre- 
sident of  Princeton  college,  made  the  acquaintance  of  all  the 
leading  Americans  of  that  time,  has  left  on  record  that  he  found 
in  Washington  more  of  that  indefinable  quality  called  presence, 
than  in  any  other  person  he  had  ever  known.  The  reverend 
doctor  writes : — 

In  his  general  manners  he  was  eminently  courteous  and  kind  ;  and  yet,  to  the 
last  I  could  never  speak  to  him  without  feeling  a  degree  of  embarrassment  such  as 
I  have  never  felt  in  the  presence  of  any  other  man  or  woman  with  whom  I 
was  acquainted. 

Robert  Morris,  of  Philadelphia,  though  intimately  asso- 
ciated with  Washington,  has  acknowledged  being  always  over- 
come in  his  company  by  a  feeling  of  awe;  and  Lord  Erskine, 
one  of  the  greatest  of  English  advocates,  has  expressed  in  the 
following  language  how  he  was  impressed  by  the  person  and  the 
character  of  this  illustrious  man : — 

I  have  a  large  acquaintance  among  the  most  valuable  and  exalted  class  of  men; 
but  you  are  the  only  human  being  for  whom  I  ever  felt  an  awful  reverence. 


Washington  Opens  the  Ball.  469 

Mr.  Lossing  quotes  the  aged  widow  of  Alexander  Hamilton  as 
having  said  that  Washington  never  danced  ;  that  though  he  fre- 
quently attended  balls  and  assemblies,  and  always  honored  some 
lady  with  his  hand,  he  merely  walked  through  the  tigures.  The 
general's  evening  dress  is  said  to  have  been  of  black  vel- 
vet, with  knee  and  shoe  buckles,  a  steel  rapier,  and  his  hair, 
thickly  powdered,  dra^vn  back  from  the  forehead,  and  gathered  in 
a  black  silk  bag  adorned  with  a  rosette.  He  opened  the  ball 
with  Mrs.  Knox.  Cannot  you  see  him,  with  his  imperturbable 
face  and  kindly,  grave  mien,  as,  holding  aloft  his  pa,rtner's  hand, 
with  all  the  graceful  dignity  of  a  nobleman  of  nature  he  steps 
with  her  down  the  room  1  Another  partner  of  the  commander- 
in-chief  was  a  daughter  of  Judge  Linn,  and  more  than  one  beauty 
of  that  period,  now  sleeping  under  crumbling  headstones  in 
Pluckamin  and  other  churchyards,  was  made  happy,  in  after- 
years,  by  the  remembrance  that  she  danced  that  night  with  the 
"  Father  of  his  Country." 

The  society  reporter  is  not,  as  is  so  generally  supposed,  a 
modern  feature  of  journalistic  enterprise.  He  was  an  institution 
in  the  last  century,  and  the  one  wlio  tigured  aiiiong  the  guests  at 
this  Pluckamin  fete  was  evidently  not  far  behind  his  brothers  of 
the  modem  press  in  liveliness  of  fancy.  In  the  '■'  Pennsylvania 
Packet,"  of  the  sixth  of  March,  he  describes  Mrs.  Greene,  Mrs. 
Knox  and  the  other  ladies  who  surrounded  Mrs.  Washington,  as 
being  a  "  circle  of  brilliants,  the  least  of  which  was  more  valua- 
ble than  the  stone  which  the  King  of  Portugal  received  for  his 
Brazilian  possessions."  I  cannot  refrain  from  giving  a  further 
extract  from  this  Revolutionary  "  Jenkins's  "  account  of  the  fes- 
tivities on  this  anniversary  occasion.  It  is  interesting  as  show- 
ing that  in  those  patriotic  days  the  affairs  of  the  country  even 
gave  color  and  direction  to  the  pleasantries  and  ball-room 
hadinage  of  young  girls  and  gallants  : — 

As  it  is  too  late  in  the  day  for  me  to  follow  the  windings  of  a  fiddle,  I  con- 
tented myself  with  the  conversation  of  some  one  or  other  of  the  ladies  during  the 
interval  of  dancing.  I  was  particularly  amused  with  the  lively  sallies  of  a 
Miss  *  *  *.  Asking  her  if  the  roaring  of  the  British  lion  in  his  late  speech  did 
not  interrupt  the  spirit  of  the  dance  ;  "  Not  at  all,"  said  she,  "  it  rather  enlivens, 
for  I  have  heard  that  such  animals  always  increase  their  howlings  when  most 
frightened.  And  do  you  not  think,"  added  she,  "you  who  should  know  mere 
than  young  girls,  that  he  has   real  cause  of  apprehension   from   the  large  arma 


470  The  Story  of  an  Old  Fakm. 

ments  and  honorable  purpose  of  the  Spaniard?"  '•  So,"  said  I,  "you  suppose 
that  the  King  of  Spain  acts  in  politics  as  the  ladies  do  in  affairs  of  love,  smile  in 
a  man's  face,  while  they  are  spreading  out  the  net  which  is  to  entangle  him  for 
life."  "  At  what  season,"  replied  the  fair,  with  a  glance  of  ineffable  archness, 
"  do  men  lose  the  power  of  paying  such  compliments  ?" 

I  do  not  recollect  that  I  have  ever  been  more  pleased  on  any  occasion,  or  in  so 
large  a  company.  There  could  not  have  been  less  than  sixty  ladies.  Their 
charms  were  of  that  kind  which  give  a  proper  determination  to  the  spirits  and 
permanency  to  the  affections.  More  than  once  I  imagined  myself  in  a  circle  of 
Samnites,  where  beauty  and  fidelity  were  made  subservient  to  the  interest  of  the 
State,  and  reserved  for  such  citizens  as  had  distinguished  themselves  in  battle. 
Is  it  that  the  women  of  Jersey  by  holding  the  space  between  two  large  cities 
have  continued  exempt  from  the  corruptions  of  either,  and  preserved  a  purity  of 
manners  superior  to  both  ?  Or  have  I  paid  too  great  attention  to  their  charms 
and  too  little  to  those  imperfections  which  observers  tell  us  are  the  natural 
growth  of  every  soil  ? 

General  and  Mrs.  Knox  tasted  sorrow  as  well  as  pleasure, 
while  living  in  the  Van  der  Veer  house.  About  twenty-five  feet 
west  of  the  Reformed  Dutch  church  a  tombstone  is  still  to  be 
seen,  upon  which  is  the  following  inscrij^tion  : 

Under  this  stone  are  deposited  the  Remains  .of  Julia  Knox,  an  infant  who 
died  the  second  of  July,  1779,  She  was  the  second  daughter  of  Henry  and  Lucy 
Knox,  of  Boston,  in  New  England. 

Mrs.  Knox  was,  in  all,  the  mother  of  ten  children.  Seven  of 
them  may  be  said  to  have  been  laid  on  the  altar  of  her  country, 
as  that  number  died  in  infancy ;  due  without  doubt  to  the 
excitements  and  severe  bodily  and  mental  strain  incidental  to 
campaigning.  Bedminster  traditions  preserve  an  unhappy  story 
connected  with  the  death  of  this  Revolutionary  babe.  Notwith- 
standing that  Knox  was  in  the  township  defending  the  homes 
and  liberties  of  the  people,  the  consistory  of  the  Reformed  Dutch 
church  refused  to  allow  this  little  one  to  be  buried  in  the  church- 
yard. In  their  ignorance  and  superstition  the  Dutch  fathers 
considered  the  fact  of  Knpx  being  a  member  of  the  Congrega- 
tional church  of  New  England  sufficient  to  warrant  their  refus- 
ing his  child  a  sepulchre. 

The  general's  host,  old  Jacobus  Van  der  Veer — himself  one  of 
the  consistory — was  very  indignant  at  the  stand  taken  by  his  co- 
trustees. He,  poor  man,  had  suffered  from  the  same  bigotry.  A 
few  years  before,  on  the  death  of  an  insane  daughter  a  burial 
place  had  been  denied  his  child ;  this,  too,  in  the  face  of  the  fact 
that  the  church-grounds  had  been  a  gift  to  the  congregation  from 


itt  A  UBCBUUKAK.  -£n 


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t  rftfe  AbpA  puifiL.  MMMtB  kme 

Ae  HICK  esxlidBil  jgim<MBK  aff  idhe 
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Heve  Ae  ib^  were  '■^  amiaiuij  in  i^ 
[  flf  ai^K  aal  As  sIimI  «if  itiie  n  imiyiwpr ,  anl  Ae  rf:£5- 
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«■»! II n iiiiM»lj   JXpmtt  »  Hb  <ymMi lj^l|UlllHf^B lit,      AttimyedLi..!,. 

[■at «b1v tm  i^ybr  scwiMaHiiaE  Ae  Himuwi^  ina- 
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E  Uai&^B  4»  SBC  if  A^f  eaau.^  - : 


472  The  Story  ov  an  Old  Farm. 

campaigned  with  the  baron,  said  that  his  large  size,  strikingly 
martial  aspect,  together  with  his  handsome  horse-trappings  and 
enormous  holsters,  made  him  appear  as  a  perfect  personification 
of  the  "  God  of  War."  In  the  old  country  Steuben  had  been 
aide-de-camp  to  Frederic  the  Great ;  of  high  rank  in  the  ser- 
vice of  the  margrave  of  Baden,  from  whom  he  received  the 
"  Order  of  Fidelity ;"  and  grand  marshal  of  the  court  of  the 
prince  of  Hohenzollcm-Heckingen.  The  king  of  Sardinia  sought 
his  services,  and  the  emperor  of  Austria  endeavored  to  attach  him 
to  his  army.  All  of  these  brilliant  positions,  with  their  honors 
and  emoluments,  were  sacrificed  that  he  might  fight  for  Ameri- 
can independence.  There  is  no  doubt  that  his  primary  motive 
for  espousing  the  cause  of  the  colonies  was  a  desire  to  con- 
nect himself  with  a  movement  that  he  felt  confident  would 
offer  a  wide  field  for  his  military  ambitions.  But  the  baron  had 
not  long  been  allied  with  the  continental  army  before  he  became 
imbued  with  the  spirit  animating  its  officers  and  men,  and  soon 
his  deepest  sympathies  were  aroused,  and  he  became  a  patriot 
among  patriots.  On  the  thirteenth  of  July,  178-3,  he  thus  wrote 
to  the  officers  of  the  New  Jersey  line  : — 

A  desire  for  fame  was  my  ruling  motive  for  visiting  America,  but  when  I  saw 
so  many  brave,  so  many  good,  men,  encountering  every  species  of  distress  for  the 
cause  of  their  country,  the  course  of  my  ambition  was  changed,  and  my  only  wish 
was  to  be  linked  in  the  chain  of  friendship  with  tliose  supporters  of  their  coun- 
try, and  to  render  that  country  which  had  given  birth  to  so  many  patriots  every 
service  in  my  power. 

On  reaching  the  army  at  Valley  Forge  in  1778  Steuben  was 
appointed  inspector-general.  From  the  outset  of  the  war  the 
troops  had  been  in  sore  need  of  just  such  military  knowledge  as 
he  was  peculiarly  fitted  to  impart,  and  they  soon  gave  evidence 
by  increased  discipline  and  effectiveness,  of  his  ability  as  a  tacti- 
cian and  disciplinarian. 

The  baron  made  his  headquarters,  nearly  a  mile  south  of 
the  Raritan,  at  a  house  located  at  the  end  of  a  shady  lane  run- 
ning from  the  New  Brunswick  road,  then  the  residence  of  Abra- 
ham Staats,  now  owned  and  occupied  by  Cornelius  W.  La  Tour- 
ette.  Mrs.  La  Tourette  is  the  granddaughter  of  its  Revolution- 
ary owner.  Since  that  time  two  wings  have  been  added,  but 
the  central  part  of  the  house  remains  as  it  was  during  Steuben's 
occupancy.     Its  sloping  roof,  low  eaves  and  shingled  sides  speak 


Steuben  as  a  Disciplinarian. 


473 


of  times  long  by-gone,  but  it  is  still  modem  in  the  sense  of  its 
picturesque  homeliness  being  in  full  accord  with  its  turfy  setting 
and  tree-embowered  surroundings. 

It  was  during  this  spring  that  Steuben  issued  his  famous 
"Regidations  for  the  Infantry  of  the  United  States,"  but  it  is  prob- 
able that  the  work  was  completed  before  he  established  himself  at 
the  Staats  house.  He  first  wrote  the  book  in  German,  and,  after 
translating  it  into  incorrect  French,  turned  it  over  to  his  staff- 
officers.  Fleury  then  put  it  into  good  French,  when  it  was  again 
translated,  this  time  into  poor  English  by  Duponceau.  The  book 
was  then  entirely  rewritten  in  correct  English  by  Captain  Walker, 
and  when  completed,  hardly  a  word  of  it  could  be  read  by  its 
author.  General  Washington  and  his  lady  were  frequent  visitors 
at  this  old  dwelling,  and  on  several  occasions  it,  together  with  the 
surrounding  grounds,  was  the  scene  of  elegant  entertainments 
given  by  the  baron,  who  greatly  enjoyed  playing  the  role  of  a 
beneficent  host.  At  such  times  the  banquet  was  spread  in  an 
adjacent  grove.  When  Lossing  was  in  Bound  Brook,  pre- 
paring his  "Field  Notes  "  published  in  1848,  he  found  old  resi- 
dents who  well  remembered  the  foreign  appearance  that  the  dig- 
nified officer  presented,  his  magnificent  apparel,  and  the  splendor 
of  the  gold  and  diamond  decorations  he  wore  when  in  full  dress. 


CHAPTER     XXXII. 

Festivities  and  Ceremonies  at  Camp  Middlebrook — The  French 
Minister,  M.  Gerard,  and  the  Spanish  Envoy,  Don  Juan  de 
Miralles,  Visit  General  Washington — The  Grand  Review  in 
Their  Honor. 

Numerous  circumstances  conspired  to  make  the  Middlebrook 
cantonment  conspicuous  for  its  agreeable  features.  There  were 
few  or  no  annoyances  from  the  enemy,  and,  as  has  before  been 
said,  both  officers  and  men  of  the  continental  force  were  in 
excellent  temper.  The  hours  of  the  army  during  this  mild 
winter  and  spring  were  not  all  taken  up  with  work  and  drills. 
The  officers  found  time  for  social  intercourse  and  festivities, 
such  opportunities  presenting  themselves  more  readily  because 
of  a  custom  prevailing  in  the  armies  of  the  Revolution  which 
had  no  existence  in  those  of  the  late  civil  war.  We  have  seen 
that  the  generals  were  often  accompanied  by  their  wives  and 
families.  This  was  an  example  that  the  junior  officers  were  not 
loth  to  follow ;  the  result  was  a  very  respectable  contingent  of 
ladies'  society  in  the  vicinity  of  Middlebrook  camp.  In  addi- 
tion, the  young  nation's  defenders  fraternized  with  the  county 
families,  so,  altogether,  there  was  no  difficulty  in  securing  a 
goodly  assemblage  at  the  frequent  reunions  and  dances  given  by 
the  officers.  Mrs.  Washington,  Mrs.  Knox,  Mrs.  Lott  from  near 
Morristown,  and  Lady  Stirling  and  her  daughter  Kitty  being 
within  easy  driving  distance  saw  much  of  each  other,  and  always 
took  part  in  the  social  gatherings  of  the  army.  Greene,  in  a 
letter  to  Colonel  Wadsworth  on  the  nineteenth  of  March,  thus 
speaks  of  pleasant  hours  passed  in  the  Van  Veghten  house  : — 

We  had  a  little  dance  at  my  quarters  a  ie'K  evening  past.  Upon  the  whole  we 
iiad  a  pretty  little  frisk.     *    *    *    Miss  Cornelia  Lott,  and  Miss  Betsey  Living- 


Cornelia  Lott  and  Mrs.  Greene.  475 

8ton  are  with  Mrs.  Greene.    This  moment  they  have  sent  for  me  to  drink  tea.     I 
must  go. 

Cornelia  Lott  was  the  daughter  of  Abraham  Lott,  a  prominent 
merchant  who  lived  in  handsome  style  at  Beaverwyck,  eight 
miles  from  Morristown.  He  was  at  the  head  of  a  cultivated 
household,  and  during  the  war  his  substantial  mansion,  from 
which  he  dispensed  a  generous  hospitality,  was  frequently 
resorted  to  by  officers  of  the  army.  One  of  his  daughters  mar- 
ried Captain  Livingston,  an  aide-de-camp  of  Greene.  The 
general's  wife  on  the  occasion  of  her  first  visit  to  New  Jersey, 
in  1777,  spent  a  portion  of  the  summer  with  this  family.  Her 
husband  in  writing  to  her  from  Morristown,  in  May  of  that 
year,  thus  spoke  of  the  household  into  which  she  was  soon  to  be 
introduced : — 

Mr.  Lott's  household  have  engaged  you  to  spend  the  summer  there.  They  are 
one  of  the  finest  families  you  ever  saw.  The  old  gentleman  and  his  lady  are  as 
merry  as  boys  of  fourteen  ;  there  are  four  or  five  young  ladies  of  delicate  senti- 
ments and  polite  education.  They  are  all  anxious  to  see  you,  and  cultivate  your 
acquaintance.  They  long  to  see  you,  and  impatiently  wait  your  coming.  Heaven 
grant  it  be  speedy  !  Mr.  HoHman  and  ladies  of  this  place  wish  to  see  you,  as  do 
Lady  Stirling  and  Lady  Kitty,  one  of  the  finest  young  ladies  I  ever  saw.  But  Mr. 
Lott  claims  the  preference  to  your  society.  You  may  learn  music  and  French, 
too,  there.     Adieu,  my  second  self. 

Mrs.  Greene  and  Cornelia  Lott  grew  to  be  very  fond  of  each 
other ;  so  great  was  their  friendship  that  on  the  birth  of  Mrs. 
Greene's  second  daughter  the  child  was  named  Cornelia  Lott. 

Attached  to  the  line  and  staff  of  the  army  were  many  brilliant 
young  men.  In  Washington's  immediate  military  family  were 
Colonels  Alexander  Hamilton  and  Tench  Tilghman,  his  two  most 
trusted  aides.  The  manners  of  the  latter,  who  was  at  that  time 
thirty-four  years  old.  were  distinctly  those  of  one  who  had  always 
moved  in  polite  circles.  He  belonged  to  a  distinguished  Mary- 
land family,  and  was  connected  with  the  best  people  of  that 
aristocratic  province.  At  the  outset  of  the  Revolution  his  father 
adhered  to  the  Crown,  and  Philemon,  a  younger  brother,  entered 
the  British  navy.  But  Tench  was  from  the  beginning  a  sturdy 
patriot,  and  in  1776  joined  Washington's  army  as  captain  of  a 
Pennsylvania  company  that  had  volunteered  for  one  campaign. 
His  handsome  presence,  bravery  on  the  field,  together  with  his 
personal  merits  and  the  high  social  position  he  was  known  to 
occupy,  attracted  the  attention  of  his  superiors,  and  at  the  expir- 


476  The  Story  of  a\  Old  Farm. 

ation  of  a  short  term  of  service  he  was  invited  to  be  a  member 
of  Washington's  military  family.  Throughout  the  war  he  con- 
tinued near  the  general's  person  as  aide,  secretary  and  confiden- 
tial friend,  and  stood  by  his  side  at  Annapolis,  when  he  delivered 
to  congress  his  commission. 

Hamilton  was  a  bright,  particular  star  in  that  military  firma- 
ment. Though  then  but  two  and  twenty  his  dignity  of  charac- 
ter was  such  as  to  insure  for  him  all  the  consideration  due  to  one 
who  had  profited  by  the  experiences  of  many  years  ;  it  is  said 
that  when  he  entered  a  room,  notwithstanding  his  youth,  it  was 
apparent  from  the  respectful  attention  of  the  company  that  he 
was  a  distinguished  person.  Colonel  Hamilton  was  slight  in 
figure  and  of  rather  under  size,  but  possessed  a  graceful  car- 
riage and  courtly  manners,  together  with  an  air  of  much  refine- 
ment. His  cheeks  were  as  rosy  as  a  girl's,  the  color  mantling  a 
very  fair  complexion  from  which  the  powdered  hair  was  rolled 
back  and  gathered  in  a  club  behind.  On  the  first  of  March  in 
1777,  when  barely  twenty  years  old,  he  was  appointed  aide-de- 
camp to  Washington,  and,  owing  to  his  intelligence  and  sagacity, 
soon  gained  the  full  confidence  of  his  chief,  and  was  in\'ited  to 
assist  in  the  planning  for  the  concentration  and  arrangement  of 
the  new  army  then  forming.     As  says  Troup  : — 

The  pen  of  the  armj  was  held  by  Hamilton  ;  and  for  dignity  of  manner,  pith 
of  matter  and  eloquence  of  style  General  Washington's  letters  are  unrivalled  in 
mUitarj-  annals. 

Hamilton's  amiability  and  agreeable  presence  inspired  in  all 
with  whom  he  came  in  contact  the  most  affectionate  attachment. 
Campaigning  brought  him  his  faithfid  wife,  for  it  was  while  at 
headquarters  the  following  winter  that  he  met,  and  fell  in  love 
with,  the  charming  daughter  of  General  Philip  Schuyler — but 
more  .of  that  hereafter. 

These  two  aides  divided  between  them  the  honors  of  presiding 
at  General  Washington's  table,  and  of  generally  acting  as  major- 
domos  at  headquarters.  They  must  have  added  much  to  the 
pleasure  of  visitors,  especially  to  those  of  the  fair  sex.  Perhaps 
this  may  partly  explain  the  fact  of  the  Wallace  house  having 
entertained  so  many  ladies  that  spring.  There  were  several 
young  ladies  there  from  Virginia — a  Miss  Brown  is  also  spoken 
of — and    we   know   that   Governor  Livingston's  two    daughters, 


Captain"  William  Colfax.  477 

Katy  and  Betsy,  as  they  were  familiarly  called,  were  Mrs.  Wash- 
ington's frequent  guests.  The  governor's  eldest  daughter, 
Sarah,  who  had  for  five  years  been  the  wife  of  John  Jay — then 
president  of  congress — was  also  entertained.  Mrs.  Jay  was  both 
clever  hnd  beautiful,  and  considered  a  social  star,  not  only  in 
Philadelphia,  but  afterwards  in  Madrid  and  Paris,  when  she 
accompanied  her  distinguished  husband  to  the  courts  of  Spain 
and  France.  It  is  said  that  the  brilliancy  of  her  complexion 
gave  rise  to  much  speculation  in  Revolutionary  society.  Even 
Doctor  Witherspoon,  who  admired  her  greatly,  used  playfully  to 
express  to  Kitty  Livingston  his  doubts  as  to  the  genuineness  of 
her  sister's  coloring.  The  French  minister  went  so  far  as  to  lay  a 
wager  with  a  certain  Spanish  don,  whose  acquaintance  we  shall 
shortly  make,  that  Mrs.  Jay's  complexion  was  artificial.  The 
gentleman  from  France  acknowledged  his  error  by  paying  the 
bet. 

Another  young  soldier  at  headquarters  who  contributed  greatly 
to  the  social  atmosphere  of  the  army  was  William  Colfax,  an 
officer  of  Washington's  body-guard.  At  the  outset  of  the  war, 
when  but  nineteen,  he  entered  a  Coimecticut  regiment,  fought  at 
Bmaker  Hill,  and  served  until  the  peace,  being  three  times  wound- 
ed, once  dangerously.  He  was  transferred  to  the  guard  at  Valley 
Forge  in  1778.  When  at  Middlebrook,  his  buoyant  nature  and 
■engaging  appearance  won  for  him  many  friends.  He  had  dark 
hair,  always  well  powdered  and  worn  in  a  queue,  a  clean  shaven 
face,  a  clear,  florid  complexion,  and  beautifid  blue  eyes  dancing 
with  expression.  Colfax  was  a  personal  favorite  of  Mrs.  Wash- 
ington who  presented  him  with  a  linen  thread  net  for  his  queue, 
knit  by  her  own  hands,  which  is  preserved  by  his  descendants.  As 
was  the  case  with  Hamilton,  campaigning  brought  him  his  wife. 
Just  above  Pompton,  in  Bergen  county,  at  the  junction  of  the 
Wanaque  and  Hamburg  roads,  there  is  still  standing  a  venerable 
frame  dwelling,  having  a  long,  low  roof  which  slopes  almost  to  the 
ground  in  the  rear.  Its  old-time  accessories  all  speak  of  the  last 
century;  and  here  during  the  Revolution  lived  Casparus  (Jasper) 
Schuyler,  a  cousin  of  General  Philip  Schuyler,  and  a  grandson  of 
Arent  Schuyler  who  migrated  from  the  Upper  Hudson  in  1710, 
and  settled  first  at  Pompton,  where  he  acquired  a  thousand  acres 
of  land,  and  later  at  New  Barbadoe's  Neck  on  the  Passaic  river. 


478  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

The  continental  officers,  in  their  many  marches  between  the  Hud- 
son and  the  Delaware,  were  often  hospitably  entertained  in  this 
old  Dutch  mansion,  and  the  younger  men  found  the  efforts  of  their 
host  most  ably  seconded  by  his  charming  daughter,  Hester.  Her 
attractions  made  a  deep  impression  upon  the  susceptibilities  of 
young  Colfax,  who,  soldier-like,  lost  no  time  in  laying  siege  to  her 
heart.  We  may  presume  her  defences  to  have  been  weak  for 
she  soon  made  an  unconditional  surrender,  and  they  celebrated 
together  the  advent  of  peace  by  getting  married.  Colfax  settled 
at  Pompton  on  land  stUl  in  possession  of  his  descendants,  and  on 
which  he  died  at  the  age  of  eighty-two.  In  a  little  enclosure,  but 
a  few  feet  from  the  highway  and  a  short  distance  from  the  pres- 
ent family  mansion,  he  lies  buried,  the  grave  being  marked  with 
a  white  marble  pyramid  bearing  the  inscription,  "General  William 
Colfax,  Captain  of  Washington's  Life  Cruard."  Throughout  his 
life  he  continued  to  be  interested  in  military  affairs ;  he  served  in 
the  militia,  and  commanded  a  brigade  in  the  war  of  1812.  His 
son,  Schuyler,  was  the  father  of  the  late  Schuyler  Colfax. 

It  was  considered  a  great  honor  to  belong  to  the  life-guard  of 
Washington.  The  men  were  selected  with  much  care  from  the 
different  regiments,  all  states  being  represented  ;  it  was  requisite 
that  each  member  should  be  American  born,  of  good  moral  char- 
acter, finely  formed,  from  five  feet  eight  inches  to  five  feet  ten 
inches  in  height,  and  from  twenty  to  thirty  years  old.  They 
were  uniformed  in  blue  coats  faced  with  buff,  red  waistcoats, 
buckskin  breeches,  white  body  belts,  and  black  felt  cocked  hats 
bound  with  white  tape.  This  command  was  kept  thoroughly 
drilled  in  all  manner  of  infantry  manoeuvres,  that  it  might  stand 
as  a  model  for  the  army.  While  at  Middlebrook  it  contained  one 
hundred  and  eighty  men,  but  at  the  end  of  this  ye&v — 1779 — its 
number  was  increased  to  two  hundred  and  fifty,  and  Colfax  was 
given  the  command.  A  year  later  Washington  reduced  the 
guard  to  its  original  sti-ength,  and  in  1783  sixty-four  men  com- 
prised the  entire  rank  and  file.* 

The  custom  was  to  have  the  life-guard  hutted  adjacent  to  the 

*In  that  year  tlie  following  privates  were  from  New  Jersey : — Jonathan  Moore, 
Benjamin  Eaton,  Stephen  Hettield,  Lewis  Campbell,  Samuel  Bailey,  William 
Martin,  Labau  Landar,  Robert  Blair,  Benjamin  Bonnell,  and  John  Fenton, 
drummer. 


Light  Hokse  Harry  Lee  at  Bound  Brook.         479 

quarters  of  the  commander-in-chief.  Upon  an  alarm  being  given, 
the  guard  would  at  once  take  possession  of  headquarters  and 
barricade  the  entrances  ;  then,  all  the  windows  being  opened,  five 
men  would  be  placed  at  each  one,  where  with  guns  loaded  and 
cocked  they  would  remain  until  troops  from  the  camp  sur- 
roimded  the  house.  Mrs.  Washington  in  after  years  used  to  tell 
with  much  amusement  how  that  often,  on  occasions  of  false  alarms 
at  night,  she  had  been  obliged  to  bury  herself  in  the  bed  clothes 
in  order  to  be  protected  from  the  winter  winds,  which  swept 
through  the  open  windows  of  her  sleeping  rooms  while  the 
soldiers  stood  guard. 

Perhaps  one  of  the  most  popular  men  in  the  vicinity  of  Mid- 
dlebrook  camp  was  a  swarthy-faced,  graceful  youth  of  twenty- 
three — Henry  Lee,  afterwards  the  father  of  Robert  E.  Lee,  who 
gave  up  his  sword  at  Appomattox.  A  Virginian  by  birth,  he 
graduated  at  Princeton,  and  when  only  twenty  was  captain  in  the 
cavalry  regiment  which  later  came  under  the  command  of  Col- 
onel Bland.  He  early  attracted  the  attention  of  the  commander- 
in-chief,  who  at  the  battle  of  Gerraantown  selected  his  troop  as 
a  personal  guard.  Lee's  mother  is  said  to  have  been,  when 
quite  a  young  girl,  the  "  Lowland  Beauty"  who  first  taught  the 
youthful  heart  of  Washington  to  beat  tumultuously  with  thoughts 
of  love.  As  all  natures  are  human  it  is  not  impossible  that  the 
elevation  of  the  young  cavalry  officer  can  be  attributed 
to  the  general's  tender  remembrances  of  this  early  associa- 
tion ;  be  this  as  it  may,  Lee's  bravery  and  soldierly  qualities  soon 
won  for  liim  a  majority,  and  he  was  given  a  separate  command 
of  three  companies  of  light-horse.  During  the  spring  of  1779 
he  was  a  frequent  and  welcome  visitor  at  the  old  Van  Veghten 
house,  near  by.  When  Mrs.  Greene  and  the  young  Virginian 
first  met  in  camp,  their  vivacious  natures  and  merry  hearts 
proved  mutually  attractive,  and  their  acquaintance  soon  ripened 
into  a  friendship  which  lasted  through  life.  It  was  at  Mrs. 
Greene's  homo,  beneath  the  shade  of  the  palms  and  live-oaks  of 
a  Georgia  sea-island,  that  Lee  died  in  1818,  four  years  after  her 
own  death.  And  now  for  these  many  decades  the  two  friends 
have  lain  side  by  side  on  this  same  island,  in  a  little  coquina- 
walled  graveyard  hidden  in  the  depths  of  an  olive  grove  and 
surrounded  by  tropical  fruits  and  flowers. 


480  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

While  at  Camp  Middlebrook  Major  Lee  and  several  brother 
-officers  were  quartered  at  "  Phil's  Hill,"  a  large  mansion  still  to 
be  seen  on  an  elevation  north  of  the  main  road,  just  west  of  Mid- 
dlebrook stream — of  late  the  property  of  John  Herbert.  It  was 
then  the  hospitable  dwelling  of  Philip  Van  Home,  the  father  of 
five  handsome  and  well-bred  daughters  who  were  the  much 
admired  toasts  of  both  armies.  Van  Home,  himself,  as  far  as 
loyalty  was  concerned,  seems  to  have  been  a  suspicious  char- 
acter, and  at  one  time  Washington  contemplated  his  removal  to 
New  Brunswick.  Indeed,  he  was  arrested  and  put  on  his  parole, 
but  was  permitted  to  remain  at  Middlebrook,  where  he  and  his 
bright-eyed  girls  continued  to  welcome  alike  friend  and  foe,  and, 
it  is  said,  were  often  enabled  to  be  the  means  of  mitigating  the 
ferocities  of  war.  The  young  ladies  had  their  reward — they  all 
obtained  husbands.  One  of  them  married  Colonel  Stephen  Moy- 
lan  of  the  4th  Pennsylvania  light  dragoons,  the  fascinations  of 
whose  merry  nature  and  fine  appearance,  the  latter  enhanced  by 
his  red  waist-coat,  buckskin  breeches,  bright  green  coat  and 
bearskin  hat,  were  too  great  for  the  Middlebrook  beauty  to  with- 
stand. This  dashing  Irish  colonel  was  the  brother  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  bishop  of  Cork,  and  was  the  first  president  in  America 
of  the  "  Friendly  Sons  of  St.  Patrick."  After  the  war  he  became 
distinguished  as  an  old-school  gentleman  and  a  hospitable  host. 
He,  his  wife  and  two  daughters,  one  of  whom  inherited  her 
mother's  fascinations,  drew  many  persons  to  their  attractive 
home  on  the  northeast  corner  of  Walnut  and  Fourth  streets  in 
Philadelphia. 

The  Middlebrook  tavern,  a  short  distance  from  the  Van 
Home  house,  is  another  Somerset  building  that  has  a  Revo- 
lutionary story  to  tell.  When  it  was  erected  is  not  known, 
but  it  was  certainly  before  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  as,  you 
will  remember,  we  found  it  here  in  1752  when  Johannes  first 
rode  down  the  great  Raritan  road  on  his  way  to  the  post-office. 
Its  present  occupant  and  owner  is  fully  alive  to  its  old-time  asso- 
ciations, and  is  careful  to  preserve  intact  all  that  testifies  of 
ancient  days.  In  its  quaint  barroom  many  stabs  made  by  Revo- 
lutionary bayonets  are  to  be  seen  in  the  heavy  beams  of  its  low- 
studded  ceiling. 

In  reading  the  story  of  these  stirring  times,  when  thoughts  of 


Colonel  Scammel  at  Camp  Middlebkook.  481 

•war  seemed  paramount  with  all,  it  is  noteworthy  that  the  under- 
currents of  personal  feelings,  hopes,  and  sympathies  flowed  per- 
sistently on,  as  if  peace  and  plenty,  not  war  and  want,  were  the 
portion  of  this  fijeneration.  The  great  drama  of  the  Revolution 
moved  steadily  forward,  and  its  action  was  not  marred  by  the 
fact  of  its  actors,  to  some  extent,  being  hampered  and  controlled 
by  their  individual  interests.  Some  men,  at  least,  at  this  time 
rose  superior  to  individualism,  and  squared  their  conduct  by  the 
needs  of  their  country.  Among  the  young  officers  of  Camp  Mid- 
dlebrook  there  was  a  worthy  example  of  this  patriot  class  in  Col- 
onel Alexander  Scammel,  who  will  be  remembered  as  Sullivan's 
brigade-major  at  the  time  Lee  was  captured  at  Basking  Ridge. 
He  was  now  thirty-iive  years  old,  and  in  January  of  the  pi-evious 
year  had  been  appointed  by  congress  to  succeed  Colonel  Picker- 
ing as  adjutant-general  of  the  army.  He  had  a  manly  presence, 
standing  six  feet  two  in  his  stockings,  and  possessed  a  great 
heart,  with  warm  affections.  His  was  a  nature  that  sternly  real- 
ized that  it  was  vitally  essential  to  the  complete  development  of 
the  Revolutionary  scheme  that  all  individual  and  selfish  ends 
should  be  put  to  one  side  if  they  conflicted  with  the  advance- 
ment of  the  common  cause.  So  it  was  that  here  at  Middlebrook 
he  laid  down  forever  what  had  been,  next  to  his  country's  good, 
the  most  cherished  desire  of  his  life.  For  several  years  he  had 
corresponded  with  Miss  Abigail  Bishop  of  Mystic,  Connecticut, 
to  whom  he  was  devotedly  attached,  and  whom  he  had  confid- 
ently expected  to  marry.  But  the  war  proved  an  obstacle  ;  the 
young  lady  would  not  marry  a  soldiei-,  and,  though  the  colonel 
wrote  her  many  tender  and  appealing  letters  urging  his  suit, 
she  firmly  persisted  in  making  the  acceptance  of  his  hand  condi- 
tional upon  his  retiring  from  the  army.  Finally,  despairing  of 
inducing  her  to  alter  this  resolution,  he,  after  a  great  struggle, 
abandoned  all  thoughts  of  marriage. 

His  correspondence  from  Middlebrook  with  her  and  her  father 
plainly  expressed  the  keen  distress  with  which  he  faced  the 
necessity  of  breaking  the  engagement.  In  a  letter  dated  the 
thirteenth  of  April,  to  her  father,  he  ^\Tites  that,  though  her 
resolution  made  him  very  unhappy  : — 

My  fixed  determination  has  been  ever  since  liostilities  commenced  to  continue 
31 


482  The  Story  op  an  Old  Farm. 

in  the  army  so  long  as  my  bleeding  country  demanded  my  services,  and  to  prefer 
my  country's  good  to  every  self  interested  consideration. 

In  another  letter  of  the  same  month,  this  time  to  his  brother, 
he  says  that  the  rupture  with  Miss  Bishop  will  doom  him  to  old 
bachelorism,  but  he  comfortingly  adds  : — 

Let  us  establisli  our  independence  on  a  lasting  and  honorable  foundation,  and  I 
shall  be  happy  at  all  events. 

Poor  Scammel !  He  lived,  loved,  and  died  !  History  has  not 
honored  this  hero  to  the  degree  of  his  deserts.  He  made  the 
sacrifice  but  did  not  live  to  enjoy  the  reward,  or  even  to  know 
that  the  reward  was  secured.  Two  years  later,  when  in  front  of 
Yorktown,  he  commanded  a  light-infantry  regiment,  and  while 
reconnoitering  on  the  thirtieth  of  September  was  surprised  by  a 
party  of  the  enemy's  horse,  and  so  wounded  that  he  died  on  the 
sixth  of  October. 

Late  in  April  army  society  was  pleasantly  agitated  over  the 
arrival  at  Middlebrook  of  the  French  minister,  M.  Gerard,  and 
Don  Juan  de  Miralles,  a  gentleman  of  distinction  from  Spain. 
They  were  met  some  distance  from  camp  by  General  Washing- 
ton, who,  accompanied  by  the  life-guard  and  a  cavalcade  of 
prominent  officers,  escorted  them  in  honor  to  headquarters. 
M.  Gerard  was  already  well  known  to  the  chief  and  to  some 
of  his  generals,  having  been  in  the  country  since  the  preceding 
July.  He  was  looked  upon  by  all  with  peculiar  interest — not  to 
say  affection — because  of  being  the  representative  of  the  nation's 
valued  allies,  the  French.  His  visit  to  camp  was  for  the  pur- 
pose of  consulting  with  Washington  respecting  some  concert  of 
action  between  the  French  fleet  and  the  American  army.  Minis- 
ter Gerard's  impressions  of  the  commander-in-chief,  gained  on 
this  occasion,  have  been  preserved.  In  a  letter  to  Count  de 
Vergennes,  written  from  Middlebrook,  in  speaking  of  his  many 
conversations  with  the  general,  he  says  : — 

It  is  impossible  for  me  briefly  to  communicate  the  fund  of  intelligence  which  I 
have  derived  from  him  j  *  *  *  I  will  now  say.  only,  that  I  have  formed  as 
high  an  opinion  of  the  powers  of  his  mind,  his  moderation,  patriotism  and  his 
virtues,  as  I  had  before  from  common  report  conceived  of  his  military  talents, 
and  of  the  incalculable  services  he  had  rendered  his  country. 

Don  Juan  de  Miralles  was  a  recent  arrival  in  America,  and 
attracted  much  attention  because  of  the  element  of  uncertainty 


Distinguished  Visitors  in  Camp.  483 

that  seemed  to  attach  both  to  his  mission  and  to  himself.  He  was 
an  unofHcial  Spanish  agent  who  had  been  dispatched  to  the 
United  States  by  the  governor  of  Havana,  in  order  to  obtain 
information  as  to  American  affairs  which  would  enable  the 
Spaniards  to  reach  a  conclusion  as  to  the  propriety  and  wisdom 
of  recognizing  and  aiding  the  new  republic.  He  was  supposed 
to  be  endeavoring  to  further  these  ends,  but  it  was  subsequently 
discovered  that  his  personal  sympathies  ran  counter  to  the  attain- 
ment of  such  results.  The  envoy  seems  at  this  time  to  have 
created  an  excellent  impression  on  Washington,  who  in  a  letter 
to  the  governor  of  Havana  speaks  of  him  in  most  favorable 
terms.  Congress,  while  showing  the  envoy  every  consideration, 
appeared  to  be  a  little  afraid  of  him,  and,  as  he  did  not  directly 
represent  the  Spanish  court,  was  carefid  to  treat  with  him  only 
in  an  unofficial  capacity,  and  through  the  intervention  of  the 
French  minister.  Bancroft  says  that  Don  Juan  really  looked 
upon  the  United  States  as  the  natural  enemy  of  his  country  • 
and  that,  as  he  came  here  as  a  spy  and  an  intriguer,  congress 
displayed  an  unwise  coniidence  in  welcoming  him  as  the  repre- 
sentative of  an  intended  ally. 

Spain  was  at  this  time  coquetting  with  congress,  and  showed 
but  little  disposition  to  negotiate  an  alliance  except  on  the  basis 
of  the  exclusive  right  of  navigating  the  Mississippi.  She  was 
also  anxious  that  her  right  to  conquer  and  retain  Florida  should 
be  acknowledged.  Though  urged  by  France,  she  held  back  from 
entering  into  fraternal  relations,  while  there  was  yet  a  prospect 
that  by  offering  pecuniary  assistance  to  our  struggling  country 
its  legislators  could  be  allured  into  concessions  that  would  greatly 
inure  to  the  benefit  of  Spain.  To  the  average  American  of  a 
century  ago  the  matter  of  controlling  the  commerce  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi, or  of  claiming  the  territory  beyond  that  stream,  did  not 
seem  of  much  moment.     This  is  evidenced  by  a  letter  of  Gouver- 

neur  Morris,  who  wrote  at  that  time  :     "  As  to  its  navigation  " 

referring  to  the  river — "  everybody  knows  that  the  rapidity  of 
its  current  will  forever  prevent  ships  from  saUing  up  it."  While 
members  of  congress  from  the  middle  and  New  England  states 
considered  the  country  lying  east  of  the  Mississippi  quite  ample 
enough  for  the  needs  of  coming  generations,  southern  members, 
fortunately,    had   some   conception  of  the    future   value    of   the 


484  The  Story  of  an  Old  Faem. 

western  territory  and  its  mighty  water-ways.  Thus  a  congres- 
sional discussion  was  provoked,  which  continued  until  the  pro- 
cession of  events  in  Europe  had  forced  Spain  into  an  alliance 
■with  France.  Our  own  country  was  then  able  to  enjoy  all  the 
benefits  of  Spanish  assistance  without  making  those  valuable 
concessions  which  had  been  demanded. 

The  presence  of  these  guests  in  camp  added  much  to  the 
social  gaiety,  and  resulted  in  occasions  of  ceremony  and  pomp  in 
which  old  Bound  Brook  witnessed  scenes  of  military  pageantry, 
that  to  its  inhabitants  of  prosaic  to-day  would  seem  more  than 
brilliant.  A  notable  event  of  this  character  was  the  grand 
parade  and  review  given  on  the  second  of  May  in  honor  of  the 
European  envoys.  The  peaceful  spot  of  this  review,  with  its 
quiet  fields  and  hedges,  gives  now  no  signs  of  the  bustle  and 
activity  witnessed  over  one  hundred  years  ago.  But  traditions 
cluster  thickly  just  here,  and  the  journals  of  participants  are  at 
our  command,  so  we  need  not  rely  entirely  on  imagination  in 
pictm'ing  in  vivid  colors  the  scenes  and  incidents  of  this  gala 
occasion.  Great  preparations  had  been  made,  and  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  review  crowds  of  people  gathered  to  enjoy  the  display. 
A  decorated  grand-stand  had  been  erected  in  a  large  field,  on 
which  were  seated  Mrs  Washington  with  two  young  lady  visitors 
from  Virginia,  Mrs.  Knox  and  Mrs.  Greene,  and  we  are  free  to 
conclude  that,  among  others,  the  Stocktons  had  driven  over  from 
Princeton,  the  Livingstons  and  Clarks  from  Elizabethtown,  the 
Stirlings  from  Basking  Ridge,  and  the  Lotts  from  Morristown  ; 
for  we  are  told  that  dignitaries  and  leading  families  arrived  in 
carriages  from  all  parts  of  the  state. 

The  local  color  and  picturesqueness  of  the  scene  were  not 
entirely  contributed  by  flying  banners,  pacing  sentinels,  and 
imiformed  officers  hurrying  here  and  there  in  their  efforts  to 
furtlier  the  preparations  of  the  commandant  of  the  forces.  The 
"  quality  "  added  not  a  little  to  the  picture,  for  the  age  of  fine 
dress  had  not  yet  gone  out,  and  the  line  between  the  gentry  and 
the  masses  was  still  strongly  drawn  by  the  apparel  of  their 
respective  classes.  Ladies  at  festive  gatherings  were  decked  in 
lofty,  round  hats  with  tall  feathers,  and  wore  satin  petticoats, 
taff'etas  and  brocades.  Gentlemen  of  the  old  school  stiU  were 
crowned  with   full-bottomed   wigs,    though  younger    men,  more 


The  Grand  Review  at  Bound  Brook.  485 

in  the  mode,  had  their  own  or  false  hair  drawn  in  a  queue, 
stiffened  with  lard  and  powdered  with  flour.  This  custom 
provoked  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  in  his  "  Discourses,"  to  com- 
pare a  man  of  fashion  with  a  Cherokee  Indian  who  daubs 
his  face  with  red  and  yellow,  saying,  that  on  meeting,  which- 
ever of  them  laughed  first  at  the  other's  fasiiion  was  the 
barbarian.  Neither  had  the  stately  courtesy  of  colonial  days  yet 
disappeared.  In  fancy  we  can  see  the  .Jersey  gallant  with  his 
cocked  hat  under  the  arm  of  his  varied-hued  coat,  in  knee 
breeches,  striped  silk  stockings,  and  pointed  buckled  shoes,  bow- 
ing low  by  the  open  door  of  the  lumbering  vehicle  of  that  time, 
and  with  grace  and  ceremony  handing  its  fair  occupant  to  a 
seat  on  the  reviewing  stage.  The  lady,  before  seating  herself, 
salutes  the  gentleman  with  a  very  low,  well-poised  and  stately 
curtsy;  whereupon,  the  gallant,  as  was  the  custom  with  the 
polite  man  of  that  day,  not  only  raises  his  heavily-laced  cocked 
hat  and  bows  low,  but  waves  his  leg  and  scrapes  the  floor  with 
his  foot. 

Let  us,  in  imagination,  mount  the  grand-stand  and  witness 
with  the  expectant  throng  the  approaching  display.  And  now, 
salvos  of  artillery  announce  the  arrival  of  the  generals  and  their 
distinguished  guests.  They  enter  the  field  splendidly  mounted, 
forming  a  brilliant  cavalcade.  In  the  advance  is  Major  Lee — 
brave  "Light-Horse  Harry,"  the  pet  of  the  army — with  his 
legion  of  gracefid  Virginians  clad  in  green  and  white.  Superbly 
horsed,  gay  with  nodding  plumes,  and  noisy  with  clanking  sabres, 
champing  bits  and  jangling  spurs  they  prance  proudly  by,  mak- 
ing way  for  the  commander-in-chief,  on  whom  all  eyes  are 
turned.  Washington  at  this  time  is  forty-seven  years  old,  calm 
and  dignified  in  countenance,  of  stately  presence,  and  of  noble 
bearing.  Uniformed  in  blue  and  buff",  with  epaulets  of  bullion, 
varnished  boots,  ivorv-hilted  short-sword,  and  a  three-cornered 
hat  with  a  black  cockade,  he  sits  his  bright  bay  with  the  grace 
of  a  perfect  horseman,  his  martial  and  beloved  appearance  filling 
with  delight  the  eye  of  every  beholder. 

Then  come  the  generals,  their  staffs  and  oi-derlies,  and  the 
foreign  guests.  Among  them — Greene,  not  yet  thirty-seven,  tall 
and  manly,  with  a  tace  of  singular  intelligence;  big-bodied,  big- 
hearted,    merry-eyed    Knox,    on   whom    all    look    with    favor; 


486  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

Muhlenberg,  the  fighting  parson,  rolling  in  his  saddle  ;  Wayne, 
soon  at  Stony  Point  to  dictate  one  of  the  most  brilliant  pages  of 
American  history  ;  Steuben,  looking  every  inch  the  soldier  ;  and 
the  slender  and  erect  Colonel  Hamilton,  with  his  distinguished 
presence  and  aristocratic  bearing.  In  their  midst  rides  the 
courtly  Don  Juan,  in  his  suit  of  crimson  and  aiguilette  of  gold, 
and  the  French  minister,  in  an  embroidered  coat  rich  with 
jewels  and  foreign  decorations.  On  they  come  ! — amid  the  rat- 
ta-ta  of  snare-drum,  the  bum-bum  of  bass,  the  shriU  cry  of  fife, 
and  the  blare  of  trumpet !  On  they  go  ! — past  the  grand-stand 
— flashing  in  the  bright  sun-light  with  all  the  pomp  of  military 
trappings,  and  the  glint  of  gold,  silver  and  steel. 

Meanwhile,  the  infantry  and  artillery,  having  taken  possession 
of  the  spacious  field,  are  formed  on  its  two  sides,  the  regiments 
in  line  of  masses,  in  column  by  divisions.  The  commander-in- 
chief,  with  his  general  officers  and  the  foreign  envoys,  passes  in 
front  of  the  troops,  from  right  to  left,  in  review,  receiving  the 
drum-rufiles  and  military  honors  due  his  rank.  The  generals 
then  dismount  at  the  grand-stand,  and  witness  with  their  ladies  and 
guests  the  evolutions  and  field  manoeuvres  of  the  army,  together 
"with  musketry  and  cannon-firing.  This  being  concluded  the 
ceremonies  and  business  of  the  day  are  finished  by  the  troops 
passing  the  reviewing-stand,  paying  the  marching  salute. 

At  the  sound  of  a  bugle  the  line  wheels  into  column,  and  the 
men  come  swinging  down  the  left  of  the  parade,  in  cadenced  step, 
their  burnished  arms  shining  in  the  sun.  On  reaching  the  color- 
marker  they  change  direction,  bring  their  guns  to  a  carry — and 
DOW,  with  pennons  fluttering  and  flags  waving,  the  battalions  go 
sweeping  by,  in  division  fronts  and  quick  time,  each  officer 
saluting,  and  each  soldier  bearing  himself  as  if  proudly  conscious 
of  being  under  the  eye  of  the  commander.  What  wonder  that 
the  air  is  rent  with  acclamations!  that  cheer  after  cheer  rises  from 
the  throats  of  the  vast  concourse  of  spectators !  Here  in  these 
patriotic  ranks  are  men  who  shivered  on  that  bitter  Deceniber 
niglit  of  the  aflair  at  Trenton ;  who  bled  on  the  banks  of  the 
Brandy  wine;  who  fought  desperately  in  the  fogs  of  Germantown  ; 
who  suff"ered  with  hunger  and  cold  at  Valley  Forge;  and  who 
thirsted  through  the  intense  heat  of  the  bloody  field  of  Monmouth. 
From  Washington  down  to  the  smallest  man  in  the  rear  rank  of 


Steuben's  Banquet  Under  the  Trees.  487 

the  last  platoon  of  the  extreme  left  of  the  column, — what  a  con- 
gregation of  heroes  !  It  seems  to  me,  did  I  own  the  historic  tield 
of  this  review  it  would  be  prized  beyond  all  earthly  possessions, 
and  my  last  injunctions  to  those  that  are  to  follow  would  be; — Sell 
all  that  you  have !  but  do  not  part  with  the  land  that  has  trembled 
under  the  tread  of  the  illustrious  Washington,  his  generals,  and 
the  continental  army  ! 

The  review  being  over,  the  generals,  their  staffs,  and  the  dis- 
tinguished guests  remounted  their  horses  and  left  the  field. 
Being  joined  by  some  of  the  regimental  colonels — making  a 
party  of  sixty  in  all — they  rode  through  the  village,  and  clatter- 
ing over  the  Raritan  bridge  soon  turned  down  a  grassy  lane  and 
drew  rein  in  front  of  Steuben's  quarters  at  the  Staats  house, 
where,  spread  in  a  marquee  under  the  trees,  a  bountiful  repast 
was  in  waiting.  Although  Washington  was  present,  the  enter- 
tainment was  intended  to  especially  honor  the  French  minister 
who  was  warmly  attached  to  the  baron,  their  friendship  having 
begun  in  Europe.  Steuben  was  a  genial  host,  his  wit  and  pleas- 
antry making  him  a  great  favorite  in  all  social  circles.  On  this 
occasion  he  was  ably  assisted  in  entertaining  his  guests  by  the 
group  of  clever  young  men  forming  his  military  family.  Among 
them  was  Captain  Peter  S.  Duponceau,  a  jovial  French  lad  only 
nineteen  years  old,  who  was  always  ready  to  frolic  and  laugh. 
He  came  from  France  as  the  baron's  secretary,  and  he  must  have 
brought  with  him  abimdance  of  Gallic  assurance,  for,  on  landing 
at  Portsmouth,  he  celebrated  his  arrival  in  this  country  by  kiss- 
ing the  first  pretty  girl  he  met  on  the  street.  Duponceau  after 
the  war  became  prominent  as  a  lawyer  in  Philadelphia,  where  he 
died  at  the  age  of  eighty-four,  much  venerated  for  his  learning 
and  distinguished  as  a  linguist  and  philologist.  Another  of  Steu- 
ben's young  men  was  Captain  Benjamin  Walker,  then  about 
twenty-five,  who,  owing  to  his  being  an  excellent  tactician  and 
thoroughly  conversant  with  French,  had  been  transferred  from 
the  2d  New  York  regiment  to  the  staff  as  assistant-inspector. 
He  afterwards  became  a  valued  member  of  Washington's  mili- 
tary family. 

Probably  no  one  present  at  the  banquet  under  the  trees  on 
this  May-day  did  more  to  promote  the  merriment  and  hilarity  of 
the  company  than  Steuben's  aide-de-camp,  Captain  James   Fair- 


488  The  Stoey  ok  an  Old  Farm. 

lie,  a  youth  of  twenty-one.  He  was  commissioned  an  ensign  in 
a  New  York  regiment,  and  distinguished  himself  at  the  capture 
of  Burgoyne's  army.  His  amiability  and  wit  always  enlivened 
any  society  in  which  he  was  thrown,  and  it  is  said  that  even  the 
taciturn  Washington  was  not  proof  against  his  drolleries.  Irving 
tells  that  once  when  the  commander-in-chief  was  sailing  with 
some  officers  on  the  Hudson  he  was  so  overcome  by  one  of  Fair- 
lie's  stories  that  he  fell  back  in  the  boat  in  a  paroxysm  of  laugh- 
ter. No  mention  of  the  men  who  at  this  time  surrounded  the 
inspector-general  would  be  complete  without  speaking  of  his 
favorite  aide-de-camp,  William  North,  whom  he  loved  like  a  son. 
In  the  introduction  of  the  baron's  system  of  discipline  into  the 
continental  army  North  rendered  most  efficient  aid,  and  the 
friendship  of  these  two  men  continued  until  Steuben's  death, 
when  he  made  his  former  staff-officer  heir  to  half  his  fortune. 

On  the  fourteenth  of  the  same  month  there  was  another 
parade  and  review,  with  its  attendant  ceremonies.  This  time  it 
was  not  in  honor  of  representatives  of  the  civilized  courts  of 
Europe, — but  of  the  savage  and  untutored  sons  of  the  forest,  to 
whom  the  authorities  deemed  it  good  policy  to  pay  some  atten- 
tion and  courtesy.  General  Washington  was  mounted  on  a  fine 
gray  horse,  and,  ixi  addition  to  his  customary  retinue,  was 
followed  by  his  servant  "BUI."*  As  the  cortege  passed  in  front  of 
the  line,  and  received  the  salute,  it  was  a'ccompanied  by  a  band 
of  Indians,  mounted  on  mean  horses  without  saddles,  some  of 
them  with  old  ropes  and  straps  for  bridles.  The  faces  of  the  red 
men  were  painted,  they  wore  dirty  blankets,  tufts  of  hair  were 
their  only  head  covering,  and  from  their  ears  and  noses  barbaric 
jewels  were  suspended.  Altogether,  as  a  witness  has  recorded, 
''  they  exhibited  a  novel  and  truly  disgusting  spectacle." 

The  reverse  of  the  medal !     It  was  not  all  pride,  pomp,   and 

*The  full  name  of  this  faitliful  attendant  was  William  Lee.  He  was  a  mulatto 
slave,  large,  pompous,  and  alert,  and  before  the  war  acted  as  Washington's  hunts- 
man with  the  Fairfax  county  hounds.  As  long  as  his  master  lived,  he  remained 
near  his  person  and  considered  himself  only  second  in  importance.  He  made  the 
general  laugh  in  the  heat  of  the  action  at  Monmouth,  by  incontinently  fleeing  on 
the  near  approach  of  a  British  cannon-ball,  after  having  marshalled  into  line  of 
battle  a  lot  of  the  officers'  valets.  W'ashington's  will  gave  him  his  freedom,  but 
he  remained  at  Mount  V.ernon  until  his  death,  which  occurred  many  years  after 
that  of  his  master. 


An  ExECtmoN  at  Camp  Middlebrook.  489 

parade  at  the  Middlebrook  camp.  On  the  twentieth  of  April  a 
great  assemblage  of  people  and  a  detachment  of  troops  sur- 
rounded an  open  space,  wherein  five  soldiers  sat  on  their  coffins 
with  halters  around  their  necks,  under  a  gallows.  They  were 
condemned  to  an  ignominious  death  for  desertion,  and  for  a  crime 
that  the  commander-in-chief  always  found  it  hard  to  forgive, 
that  of  robbing  the  inhabitants.  With  their  open  graves  in  full 
view,  and  while  standing  under  the  beam  of  death  awaiting  the 
final  preliminaries  preceding  their  plunge  into  eternity,  three  of 
them  received  a  pardon,  and  were  conducted  from  the  gallows 
more  dead  than  alive  ;  the  other  two  were  obliged  to  submit  to 
their  fate.  Thacher,  in  his  journal,  records  that  the  scene  was 
particularly  distressiag,  owing  to  one  of  the  condemned  being 
accompanied  and  supported  at  the  fatal  moment  by  an  affection- 
ate and  sympathizing  brother.  "  They  repeatedly  kissed  and 
embraced  each  other,  and  would  not  be  separated  till  the  execu- 
tioner was  obliged  to  perform  his  duty,  when,  with  a  flood  of 
tears,  and  moui'nful  lamentations,  they  bade  each  other  an 
eternal  adieu, — the  criminal,  trembling  under  the  horrors  of  an 
untimely  and  disgraceful  death, — and  the  brother,  overwhelmed 
with  sorrow  and  anguish  for  one  he  held  most  dear." 

The  presence  of  an  occupying  army  in  the  community  must  of 
necessity  entail  upon  the  inhabitants  much  inconvenience,  and 
often  distress  and  loss.  It  was  Washington's  endeavor  to  pi-otect 
the  people  of  Somerset  from  all  unlawful  and  marauding  acts  of 
the  more  disorderly  element  in  his  army.  Thieving  and  the 
destruction  of  property  at  all  times  met  with  condign  punishment. 
The  citizens  were  very  grateful  to  the  commander-in-chief  for 
his  care  and  protection  of  their  interests.  On  the  first  of  June 
Domine  Hardenbergli,  on  behalf  of  the  consistories  and  people  of 
his  several  congregations,  addressed  a  long  letter  to  General 
Washington  expressing  the  grateful  sense  of  the  community  for 
his  own  and  his  officers'  vigilance  in  maintaining  strict  discipline 
throughout  the  army,  whereby  the  good  people  of  the  neighbor- 
hood had  been  protected  in  their  persons  and  property,  and  their 
calamities  sensibly  relieved  On  the  next  day  Washington  made- 
the  following  coui-tly  answer: — 

To  the  Minister,  Elders  and  Deacons  of  the  Keformed  Dutch  Church  of  Raritan  : 

Camp  Middlebrook,  June  2,  1779. 
Gentlemen: — To  meet  the  approbation  of  good  men  cannot  but  be  agreeable. 


490  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

Your  affectionate  expressions  make  it  more  so.  In  quartering  an  army,  and  in 
supplying  its  wants,  distress  and  inconvenience  will  often  occur  to  the  citizen.  I 
feel  myself  happy  in  the  consciousness  that  these  have  been  strictly  limited  by 
necessity,  and  your  opinion  of  my  attention  to  the  rights  of  my  fellow  citizens;  I 
thank  you.  Gentlemen,  sincerely,  for  the  sense  you  entertain  of  the  conduct  of 
the  army,  and  for  the  interest  you  take  in  my  welfare.  I  trust  the  goodness  of 
the  cause,  and  the  exertion  of  the  people  under  Divine  protection,  will  give  us  that 
honorable  peace  for  which  we  are  contending.  Suffer  me.  Gentlemen,  to  wish  the 
Keformed  Church  at  Raritan,  a  long  continuance  of  its  present  Minister  and  Con- 
sistory, and  all  the  blessings  which  flow  from  piety  and  religion. 

I  am,  etc., 

Geo.  Washington. 

It  was  here  at  Middlebrook  that  Washington  completed  his 
plans  for  an  active  campaign  against  the  northern  Indians. 
The  expedition,  which  was  placed  under  the  command  of  Sulli- 
Tan,  had  for  its  object  the  chastisement  of  the  natives  for  the 
atrocities  committed  in  Pennsylvania,  and  the  destruction  of  the 
cohesive  power  of  the  confederated  Six  Nations  in  order  to 
weaken  the  value  of  the  Indians  as  English  allies.  The  troops 
employed  by  Sullivan  were  the  brigades  of  Clinton,  Poor,  Max- 
well and  Hand,  and  some  independent  companies,  together  with 
a  park  of  artillery  under  Colonel  Procter.  Clinton's  brigade 
was  already  at  Canojoharie,  ready  to  form  a  junction  with  the 
main  body  when  it  reached  the  Susquehanna.  Maxwell's  force, 
as  has  been  said  before,  lay  at  Elizabethtown.  His  Jersey  sol- 
diers had  not  enjoyed  that  winter  the  rest  and  quiet  experienced 
by  the  men  of  the  Middlebrook  cantonment.  On  the  night  of  the 
twenty-fourth  of  February  the  enemy  attempted  the  capture  of 
the  entire  brigade.  The  British  Colonel  Sterling,  with  the  33d 
and  42(1  Regiments  and  a  light  company  of  the  guards,  embarked 
from  Long  Island  at  Red  Hook  at  nine  o'clock  and  crossed  to 
Bergen  Neck.  The  troops  then  marched  to  Newark  bay,  where 
the  boats,  which  had  passed  silently  through  the  Kills,  again 
took  them  on  board  and  landed  them  on  the  Newark  meadows. 

Colonel  Sterling  pushed  to  the  rear  of  Elizabethtown,  intend- 
ing to  guard  all  the  roads  leading  from  the  place,  and  then  to 
move  in  force  on  the  Americans.  Before  his  dispositions  were 
completed  Maxwell  learned  of  the  approach  of  the  king's  troops, 
and  hastily  retreated  by  way  of  the  Rahway  road,  the  only  one 
unguarded.  The  enemy  dashed  into  the  town  to  find  that  their 
game   had  escaped.     They  remained  there  the  greater  part  of 


Sullivan's  Indian  Campaign.  491 

the  night,  burning  the  barracks  and  storehouses  and  Stephen 
Crane's  ferry-house.  On  returning  to  their  boats  they  were 
more  or  less  cut  up  by  cannon  and  musketry,  several  men  being 
killed  and  forty  wounded. 

Marching  orders  for  the  Indian  expedition  were  received  by 
Maxwell  at  Elizabethtown  early  in  May.  Attached  to  his  bri- 
gade, besides  the  three  Jersey  regiments  under  colonels  Ogden, 
Shrieve,  and  Dayton,  were  Colonel  Spencer's  regiment,  together 
with  sixty-eight  men  from  colonel  Baldwin's  regiment,  and 
seventy-five  of  Colonel  Sheldon's  light  dragoons,  making  a  total 
brigade  strength  of  one  hundred  and  eleven  officers  and  twelve 
hundred  and  ninety-four  men.  Lieutenant  Colonel  Barber  of 
the  3d  New  Jersey  regiment  was  made  Sullivan's  chief  of  staff, 
and  Captain  Aaron  Ogden  of  the  1st  Regiment  was  detailed  as  aide 
to  General  Maxwell.  Of  Colonel  Barber  we  shall  learn  much 
hereafter.  Captain  Ogden  was  a  gallant  officer,  who  not  only 
served  with  distinction  in  the  line  but  on  several  occasions  was 
a  member  of  the  military  families  of  Generals  Stirling  and  Max- 
well. He  commanded  a  light-infantry  company  in  Lafayette's 
coi-ps  at  Yorktown,  and  after  the  war  was  a  United  States  sena- 
tor, and  the  governor  of  New  Jersey. 

This  Indian  campaign  came  at  a  very  inopportune  time  for 
the  officers  of  the  Jersey  brigade,  they  being  just  then 
indignantly  dissatisfied  with  the  authorities  for  making  no  reply 
to  their  petition  for  relief,  which  had  been  submitted  to  the 
legislature  on  the  seventeenth  of  April.  The  pecuniary  dis- 
tress of  both  officers  and  men  was  great,  for  not  only  had  their 
pay  long  been  in  arrears,  but  when  paid,  owing  to  depreciation, 
that  of  a  colonel  would  not  snpph'  his  horse  with  oats,  and  the 
four  months  pay  of  an  enlisted  man  was  only  enough  to  furnish 
his  family  with  a  single  bushel  of  wheat.  Notwithstanding  this 
discontent  immediate  steps  were  taken  to  put  the  different  com- 
mands in  a  condition  for  marching  ;  but,  fortunately,  before  break- 
ing camp  the  anxieties  of  both  officers  and  men  were  relieved  by 
the  former  receiving  two  himdred  dollars,  and  the  men  forty  dol- 
lars, each.  On  the  eleventh  of  May,  the  1st  Regiment  took  up  its 
line  of  march  from  Elizabethtown  to  Easton,  which  point  Sullivan 
reached  on  the  nineteenth.  The  3d  Regiment  arrived  at  Easton 
on  the  twenty-sixth,  and  Colonel  Shrieve's  regiment,  the  2d,  left 


492  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

Elizabetlitown  on  the  twenty-uinth,  marching  to  Easton  by  way  of 
the  forks  of  the  Raritan,  and  Pittstown.  The  officers  before 
their  departure  were  entertained  by  the  citizens  who  also  formed  a 
cavalcade  and  escorted  the  regiment  from  the  village.  We  may 
imagine  that  the  men  of  this  command,  as  they  marched  along  the 
Raritan  road  through  Middlebrook,  received  warm  greetings  from 
their  comrades  of  the  continental  army,  who  doubtless  envied 
them  the  prospective  excitements  of  an  active  campaign  through 
a  new  country.  Returning  from  the  expedition  the  Jersey  bri- 
gade crossed  the  Delaware  on  the  twenth-sixth  of  October,  camp- 
ing the  next  night  at  Oxford,  marching  thence  by  way  of  Sussex 
Court-house,  Pompton,  Morristown  and  Springfield,  to  Scotch 
Plains,  which  place  was  reached  on  the  fifth  of  November.  This 
expedition  against  the  Indians  was  in  every  respect  successful. 
The  little  army  penetrated  1;o  the  heart  of  the  Seneca  country,  deso- 
lating the  lands  and  homes  of  the  Six  Nations  of  the  North,  burn- 
ing forty  of  their  towns,  and  destroying  over  one  hundred  and 
sixty  thousand  bushels  of  com.  During  the  campaign  but  forty- 
two  men  were  killed  or  died,  though  but  three  hundred  horses 
returned  out  of  fourteen  hundred  that  liad  started  on  the  expe- 
dition. 

The  Somerset  encampment  did  not  break  up  till  June  and 
July,  when  the  troops  marched  northeasterly  over  the  hills  to 
Morristown,  and  from  there,  by  the  way  of  Paramus  and  Ramapo, 
to  the  Highlands  of  the  Hudson.  On  the  fifteenth  of  Jidy  "  Mad 
Anthony  Wayne "  made  his  famous  charge  on  the  rugged 
heights  of  Stony  Point,  covering  himself  and  his  men  with 
glory  ;  and  on  the  nineteenth  of  August  Major  Lee  attacked  and 
captured  the  fort  at  Powles  Hook,  securing  one  hundred  and 
fifty  officers  and  men  as  prisoners. 


CHAPTER     XXXIII, 

The  Wedding  of  William  Diier  and  Lady  Kitty  Stirling — 
Princeton  College  in  the  Bcvohdion — The  Famous  Raid  of 
the  Queen^s  Hangers  Through  the  Baritg,n   Valley. 

When  the  continental  army  marched  northward  to  the  Hudson 
it  did  not  altogether  deprive  Somerset  from  being  a  locality  on 
which  public  interest  centred.  Befoi'b  the  close  of  the  year  1779 
several  events  transpired  in  the  county  which  were  important 
enough  to  attract  much  attention. 

On  the  twenty-seventh  of  July  there  were  great  festivities  at 
Basking  Ridge,  the  occasion  being  the  marriage  of  William  Duer 
to  Lady  Kitty  Stirling.  The  spacious  Stirling  mansion  was  filled 
with  guests,  including  many  prominent  officers  of  the  army,  and 
civil  and  social  magnates  from  New  York  and  New  Jersey. 
Family  traditions  aver  that  the  soldiers  from  a  near-by  camp 
assembled  in  front  of  the  house  and  clamored  loudly  for  a  view 
of  the  bride.  Whereupon,  the  dainty  Lady  Kitty,  in  full  bridal 
array,  stepped  in  her  satin  slippers  out  on  the  lawn,  and  there 
received  the  congratulations  of  her  fathei-'s  fellow-campaigners. 
This  is  about  the  last  mention  we  have  of  this  family  in  our  state, 
for  in  a  few  years  their  handsome  seat,  with  its  broad  surrounding 
acres,  passed  into  the  hands  of  strangers.  A  writer  who  had 
visited  Lady  Stirling's  household  at  the  time  it  counted  General 
Greene  among  its  number,  and  who  returned  to  Basking  Ridge 
ten  years  later,  speaks  in  a  pathetic  way  of  the  scene  of  neglect 
and  decay  that  met  her  eye.     The  great  house  stood 

"  In  faded  majesty,  as  if  to  mourn 
The  dissolution  of  an  ancient  race." 

Its  grand  hall  and  decorated  drawing-room  were  used  as  a 
store-house,  and  piled  with  sacks  of  corn  and  wheat.     Pigs  and 


494  The  Stoet  of  an  Old  Farm. 

poultry  roamed  at  will  in  the  paved  quadrangle,  and  its  surround- 
ing stables  and  coach-house  were  fast  going  to  ruin.  Through 
the  unhinged  door  of  the  latter  was  to  be  seen  the  great  family 
coach;  its  glory  had  departed,  for  the  medallions,  coronets,  and 
gilt  were  bespattered  and  stained,  hens  made  their  nests  on  its 
formerly  sumptuous  cushions,  and  roosted  at  night  on  the  high 
dash  and  huge  leathera  springs.  As  has  been  said  before,  Lord 
Stirling's  earthly  reward  for  his  valuable  services  to  the  country 
was  an  early  grave,  and  the  affectionate  and  grateful  remem- 
brance of  his  countrymen.  To  his  family  he  left  an  honored 
name  and — adversity.  At  the  outset  of  the  war  his  landed  prop- 
erty in  New  York  and  New  Jersey  was  estimated  to  be  worth 
one  hundred  thousand  colonial  jjounds,  above  encumbrances. 
When  public  tranquillity  was  first  disturbed  he  at  once  recognized 
that  he  should  be  forced  to  neglect  his  private  affairs  while  dis- 
cussing with  his  sword  the  great  questions  at  issue.  "To  meet 
with  a  failure  is  one  thing,  but  to  commit  one  is  another,"  and 
Lord  Stirling's  poverty  at  the  time  of  his  death  was  not  due  to 
want  of  forethought.  The  unhappy  condition  of  his  affairs  was 
the  outcome  of  the  general  prostration  of  the  country  at  the  close 
of  the  war,  and  the  great  changes  in  currency  values.  On  enter- 
ing the  army  he  obtained  from  the  legislature  an  act  which 
empowered  commissioners  to  sell  the  most  of  his  New  Jersey 
lands,  and,  after  paying  indebtednesses,  to  invest  the  proceeds 
for  his  benefit.  The  properties  were  sold  while  the  continental 
money  was  yet  a  lawful  tender,  but  before  the  debts  could  be  paid 
the  tender  act  had  been  repealed.  The  currency  rapidly  depre- 
ciated, and  before  his  death,  in  1784,  he  had  to  face  the  fact  that 
his  efforts  to  provide  for  the  future  of  his  family  had  resulted  in 
his  being  left  without  his  estates, — without  any  value  to  the  pro- 
ceeds of  their  sales, — and  without  his  debts  being  paid.  Credi- 
tors within  the  British  lines  attached  and  sold  his  New  York  prop- 
erty, his  obligations  soon  swallowed  up  the  homestead,  and  he  was 
thus  stripped  of  everything. 

Although  Lord  Stirling  left  his  family  without  fortune,  his 
daughter  was  not  forced  to  become  acquainted  with  poverty. 
Her  marriage  brought  wealth,  and  gave  her  a  social  setting  which 
secured  all  the  enjoyments  flowing  fi'om  the  possession  of 
superabundant  personal  luxuries,  and  the  companionship  of  culti- 


> 


PiiiNCETON  College  in  the  Revolution.  495 

vated  and  distinguished  people.  Manasseli  Cutler,  in  his  journal 
of  1784,  mentions  having  dined  with  Colonel  Duer  that  summer 
in  New  York.  He  found  him  living  in  the  style  of  a  nobleman, 
displaying  on  his  table  fourteen  different  kinds  of  wine  before  a 
large  company  of  guests.  Mr.  Cutler  speaks  of  his  hostess.  Lady 
Kitty,  as  an  accomplished,  sociable  woman,  who  most  gracefully 
performed  aU  the  honors  of  the  board,  attended  by  two  servants 
in  livery. 

Another  occasion  of  that  year,  sufficiently  important  to  be 
noticed  on  these  pages,  was  the  college  commencement  held  in 
September  at  Princeton,  when  six  students  received  their  diplo- 
mas. These  were  the  first  graduates  since  1775,  as  mitil  this 
year  there  had  been  no  classes  since  early  in  1776,  although 
partial  instruction  had  been  given  to  a  few  students  by  the  presi- 
dent and  one  of  the  professors  in  the  summer  of  1778.  Previous 
to  1779  Nassau  Hall  had  been  used  as  a  barrack  by  both  armies, 
which,  of  course,  left  it  in  a  very  dilapidated  and  polluted  condi- 
tion. We  have  already  learned  of  Washington  having  been 
forced,  on  that  frosty  morning  of  the  third  of  January,  1777, 
to  train  his  own  guns  on  the  walls  of  this  building,  in  order  to 
dislodge  a  detachment  of  the  40th  British  regiment  that  had 
there  sought  refuge  fi"om  the  victorious  Americans.  A  cannon 
ball  is  said  to  have  entered  the  chapel,  and  to  have  passed 
through  a  jjortrait  of  George  II.  which  occupied  the  same  frame 
in  which  is  now  Peale's  noted  picture  of  Washington.  This 
chapel,  together  with  the  library,  was  stripped  of  furniture  and 
ornaments.  Governor  Belcher's  portrait  was  stolen,  and  all  the 
books  disappeared,  some  of  them  being  afterwards  found  in 
North  Carolina,  where  they  had  been  left  by  Cornwallis's  men. 

The  Presbyterian  church  had  also  been  in  use  by  the  troops, 
and  much  mutilated.  A  fireplace  was  built  against  the  wall,  the 
chimney  being  carried  up  through  the  roof.  But  little  was  done 
towards  repairing  either  the  church  or  college  building  until  the 
summer  of  1783,  when  preparations  were  made  for  the  autumn 
commencement,  which  was  by  far  the  most  important  one  held 
for  eight  years.  General  Washington  and  continental  congress, 
by  being  present,  gave  an  unusual  dignity  to  the  occasion,  the 
sittings  of  the  national  legislature  being  then  in  the  library-room 
of  Nassau  Hall.     The  members,  and  their  president  Doctor  Elias 


496  The  Story  of  ax  Old  Farm. 

Boudinot.  together  ■with  General  Washington  and  the  ministers 
of  France  and  Holland,  occupied  seats  in  the  church  and  listened 
to  the  valedictorian.  Ashbel  Green — afterwards  president  of  the 
college — who  was  highly  complimented  for  his  effort  by  the 
general.  At  the  close  of  the  proceedings  Washington  handed  to 
the  college  trustees  a  purse  of  fifty  guineas  as  a  contribution 
toward  the  repairs  of  Nassau  Hall.  The  coUege  dons,  however, 
appropriated  the  sum  to  the  securing  of  Peale's  famous  portrait 
of  the  American  Fabius. 

I  wonder  how  many  of  the  undergraduates  and  alumni  of  the 
''  College  of  New  Jersey  "  are  aware  that  their  being  able  to 
sing  of  the  glories  of  "  Old  Nassau,"  on  campus  and  at  annual 
banquet,  is  due  to  the  humility  of  a  colonial  governor  f  In  1756, 
one  year  before  the  death  of  Governor  Jonathan  Belcher,  that 
dignitary  presented  his  library  to  the  college.  In  gratitude  for 
the  gift  the  trustees  requested  that  they  might  be  allowed  to 
give  his  name  to  the  now  venerable  building,  then  being  erected, 
which  for  so  many  years  has  housed  the  faculty  and  students  of 
this  ancient  seat  of  learning.  His  excellency  declined  the  prof- 
fered distinction.  He  requested  that  it  should  be  named  to 
"  express  the  honor  we  retain,"  to  quote  his  words,  "  in  this  remote 
part  of  the  globe,  to  the  immortal  memory  of  the  glorious  King 
William  III.,  who  was  a  branch  of  the  illustrious  house  of  Nas- 
sau, and  who,  under  God,  was  the  great  deliverer  of  the  British 
nation  from  those  two  monstrous  furies — Popery  and  Slavery." 
And  so  it  was  that  the  trustees  decided  that  the  new  collegiate 
building,  "  in  all  time  to  come,"  should  be  called  "  Nassau 
Hall." 

This  was  not  the  ''  beginning  of  things "  for  the  College  of 
New  Jersey.  The  sturdy  oak  of  alma  mater,  whose  vast  cir- 
cumference of  shade  now  shelters  some  six  hundred  students 
and  fifty  professors  and  officers,  is  the  one  hundred  and  forty 
years'  growth  from  a  little  acorn  that  was  planted  in  Presby- 
terian soil  in  Elizabethtowu  in  the  year  1746.  Its  founder  and 
fii'st  president  was  the  Reverend  Jonathan  Dickinson,  for  forty 
years  the  pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  church  of  that  town, 
whose  congregation  was  the  earliest  organized  in  the  colony  for 
the  worship  of  God  in  the  English  language.  An  old  academy 
which  occupied  the  site  of  the  present  lecture-room  of  the  First 


Episcopalians  axd  Isdepe>'dexts.  497 

Presbyterian  church,  and  which  was  burned  by  the  enemy  during 
the  Revolution,  contained  the  class  recitation-rooms  of  the  new  col- 
lege, while  the  students,  twenty  in  number,  boarded  with  families 
in  the  ^-illage.  President  Dickinson's  duties  were  many  and  vari- 
ous. He  and  an  usher  were  the  only,  teachers  of  the  college, 
and  his  ministerial  work  was  severe,  as  the  members  of  his  large 
congregation  were  scattered  over  the  country  as  far  as 
Eahway,  "Westfield,  Connecticut  Farms,  and  Springfield.  In 
addition  to  the  labors  of  so  extended  a  parish  the  pastor  was 
compelled,  owing  to  his  meagre  salary,  to  cultivate  a  farm.  He 
also  practised  medicine,  and  obtained  a  high  reputation  as  a 
physician.  The  Massachusetts  Historical  Society  possesses  a 
copy  of  a  pamphlet  published  by  him  in  1740,  in  which  he 
gives  his  views  of  the  "  Throat  Distemper,"  a  disease  since 
known  as  diphtheria.  It  was  not  uncommon  in  colonial  days  for 
the  clergy  to  attempt  the  healing  of  the  bodies  of  the  people  as 
well  as  their  souls ;  indeed,  early  in  the  last  century  the  minis- 
ters were  almost  the  only  physicians  in  the  Xew  Jersey  province. 
President  Dickinson  was  spared  to  sers-e  the  college  but  for 
one  year,  as  he  died  in  October,  1747.  The  loss  of  this  godlv 
man  was  greatly  deplored  by  the  entire  community — he  hav-ing 
even  won  the  esteem  and  affection  of  those  in  the  communion  of 
the  church  of  England.  This  circumstance  is  worthy  of  note,  as 
in  the  last  century  there  was  little  sympathy  between  the  Pres- 
byterians and  the  Episcopalians.  St.  John's  Episcopal  church 
in  Elizabeth  had  been  organized  in  1704  by  the  Reverend  John 
Brooke,  a  missionary  of  the  London  "  Society  for  the  Propagation 
of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts."  Extracts  from  the  correspon- 
dence between  this  society  and  its  Xew  Jersey  missionaries  wiU 
show  the  sentiment  prevailing  among  churchmen  at  that  time 
as  to  dissenters.  The  Reverend  Edward  Vaughan,  in  a  letter 
written  in  1 709,  speaking  of  the  great  number  of  Independents, 
Baptists  and  Quakers  in  New  Jersey,  thus  wrote  : — 

From  which  absurdities  Mr.  Brooke  brought  a  considerable  number  of  them  to 
embrace  our  most  pure  and  holy  Religion,  and  I  hope  that  my  labors  will  be 
attended  with  no  less  success,  and  observe  that  those  late  converts  are  much 
more  zealous  than  those  who  sucked  their  milk  in  their  infancy. 

Writing   again  in  1711,  he  speaks  of  the  mission    at  "Wood- 
bridge,  and  of  several  families   in  that  village  as  displapng  a 
32 


498         The  Story  of  an  Old  Fakm. 

disposition,  "  to  embrace  the  Christian  faith  instead  of  the  erro- 
neous opinions  of  the  Quakers  and  Independents."  In  another 
letter,  in  1717,  he  writes  as  follows  of  religious  beliefs  : — 

Elizabeth  town  is  a  considerable  village,  and  equals,  if  not  exceeds,  any  in  the 
Province,  as  well  in  bigness  aS  in  numbers  of  Inhabitants  ;  custom  and  education 
has  engaged  them  for  the  most  part  in  the  Congregational  way,  but  notwith- 
standing they  are  not  so  very  rigid  in  that  persuasion  as  altogether  to  deny  their 
attendance  on  my  ministry,  and  to  resist  the  force  of  reason  and  argument  by 
which  many  of  them  have  been  (and  will  questionless  be)  gained  upon  and  per- 
suaded to  leave  their  errors  and  to  join  in  Worship  and  Communion  with  the 
Established  Church. 

The  following  is  a  quotation  from  a  letter  of  Mr.  Halliday, 
another  missionary,  to  the  secretary  of  the  society,  dated  in 
November,  1716  : — 

lu  this  part  of  east  Jersey  there  are  three  large  Townships,  Newark,  Elizabeth- 
town  and  Woodbridge,  which  consists  of  upwards  of  a  thousand  families,  the 
chief  settlers  of  which  were  New  England  Independents,  who  are  now  old  and 
confirmed  in  their  erroneous  way.  In  each  of  these  towns  there  is  a  large  Inde- 
pendent Congregation  who  support  their  preachers.  The  Church  are  only  one 
handful  of  People  from  England  and  Scotland,  not  passing  sixty  families  in  any 
Congregation  in  this  Division.  By  which  it  appears  that  the  generality  of  the 
Country,  being  bound  to  their  Preachers  by  the  prejudice  of  their  Education 
leave  but  a  small  number  of  the  people  to  us. 

The  above  extracts  are  given  as  going  to  show  that  the  first 
president  of  the  college  must  have  been  a  man  of  rare  virtues  and 
sympathies  to  gain  the  affectionate  respect  of  a  people  who 
apparently  considered  him  a  teacher  of  error.  It  is  evident  that 
he  quite  won  the  heart  of  Mr.  Vaughan,  who  himself  was  much 
beloved.  This  missionary,  though  properly  the  rector  of  St. 
John's  at  Elizabethtown,  also  supplied  the  pulpits  of  several 
adjacent  parishes,  and  in  a  pastorate  of  nearly  four  decades  did 
a  valuable  work  in  thoroughly  establishing  Episcopacy  in  East 
New  Jersey.  His  parishioners,  in  a  letter  to  the  "  Propagation 
Society,"  expressing  their  happiness  under  his  pastoral  care,  wrote 
that : — 

He  has  to  the  great  comfort  and  edification  of  our  families,  in  these  dark  and 
distant  regions  of  the  world,  prosecuted  the  duties  of  his  holy  calling  with  the 
utmost  application  and  diligence  ;  adorned  his  behaviour  with  an  exemplary  life 
and  conversation  ;  and  so  behaved  himself  with  all  due  prudence  and  fidelity 
that  they  who  are  of  a  contrary  part  have  no  evil  thing  to  say  of  him. 

These  two  clergymen,  after  laboring   in   adjoining  vineyards 


The  College  op  New  Jersey.  499 

for  nearly  forty  years,  lay  dying  at  almost  the   same  hour.     In 
Doctor  Murray's  "  Notes  on  Elizabeth  Town,"  it  is  stated  : — 

The  news  of  the  death  of  Mr.  Dickinson  (with  wliom  Mr.  Vaughan's  personal 
relations  wereahvavs  of  the  most  pleasant  character)  was  carried  to  Mr.  Vaugiian 
just  as  he  was  dying,  and  among  the  last  audible  words  that  he  was  heard  to  utter 
were  these:  "O  that  I  had  hold  of  the  skirts  of  brother  Jonathan." 

At  this  time  the  Eeverend  Aaron  Burr — the  father  of  the 
slayer  of  Alexander  Hamilton — was  the  Presbyterian  minis- 
ter at  Newark,  and  eminent  both  as  a  scholar  and  as  a  divine. 
On  the  death  of  Mr.  Dickinson  the  trustees  of  the  college  con- 
fided the  students  to  his  care.  Under  Mr.  Burr's  presidency 
the  institution  flourished  at  Newark  for  eight  years,  when,  the 
under-graduates  having  increased  to  seventy  in  number,  it  was 
decided  to  locate  the  college  permanently  at  Princeton.  After 
much  opposition  on  the  part  of  the  congregation  of  the  Presby- 
terian church,  who  protested  against  the  loss  of  their  pastor,  Mr. 
Burr  and  his  young  men,  in  October,  1757,  betook  themselves 
southward.*  At  this  time  Princeton  was  already  a  village  of 
some  importance.  Being  located  on  the  thoroughfare  between 
New  York  and  Philadelphia  —  the  ''  King's  highway  "  —  its 
vicinity  was  well  peopled  while  the  greater  part  of  New  Jersey 
was  yet  mantled  in  continuous  forest.  Professor  Kalm,  the 
Swedish  botanist,  who  passed  through  Princeton  in  the  year 
1748,  found  it  :— 

A  town  of  wooden  houses,  witli  gardens  and  pastures  between  them.  The 
woods  were  cut  away,  and  the  country  so  cultivated  tliat  one  might  have  imagined 
himself  in  Europe. 


•  Aaron  Burr  married  a  daughter  of  Jonathan  Edwards,  the  celebrated  divine 
who  succeeded  hira  in  the  presidential  chair  of  the  College  of  New  Jersey. 
Joseph  Shippen,  Jr.,  while  a  college  student  at  Newark,  wrote  to  his  father  in 
Philadelphia  on  the  6th  of  July,  1752,  saying,  "Mr.  Burr  on  the  last  of  May 
made  a  journey  into  New  England,  and  during  his  absence  made  a  visit  of  about 
three  days  to  the  Eev.  Mr.  Edwards'  daughter  at  Stockbridge,  in  which  short 
time,  though  he  had  no  acquaintance  with,  nor  indeed,  had  even  seen  the  lady 
these  six  years,  I  suppose  he  accomplished  his  whole  design  ;  for  it  was  not  above 
a  fortnight  before  he  sent  a  young  fellow,  who  came  out  of  college  last  fall,  into 
New  England  to  conduct  her  and  her  mother  down  here.  They  came  to  town  on 
Saturday,  the  27th  ult.,  and  on  the  Monday  evening  following  the  nuptial  cere- 
monies were  celebrated  between  Mr.  Burr  and  the  young  lady."  The  writer  goes 
on  to  say  that  bethinks  Miss  Edwards  a  person  of  great  beauty,  but  rather  too 
young  for  the  president.  She  was  then  twenty-one  while  Mr.  Burr  had  reached 
his  thirty-seventh  year. 


500  The  Stoet  of  an  Old  Farm. 

We  shall  not  be  much  out  of  the  way  in  classing  the  college  at 
that  time  with  grammar  schools  of  the  present  day,  as  many  of 
the  pupils  of  such  schools  are  now  familiar  with  studies  of  which 
even  the  names  were  unknown  to  the  Princeton  lads  of  the  last 
centui-y.  Students  under  the  presidency  of  Aai'on  Burr,  or 
even  of  Doctor  Stanhope  Smith,  would  have  been  aghast  at 
much  of  the  required  and  elective  work  of  the  present  curricu- 
lum. '''Ologies"  were  largely  unknown;  metaphysics,  psycho- 
logy, biology,  and  even  applied  chemistry  were  not  thought  of, 
and  the  course  of  studies  was  mostly  confined  to  those  that 
would  now  be  considered  fundamental.  Even  college  presidents 
of  the  early  days  had  but  a  limited  knowledge  of  what  would 
now  be  included  in  a  broad  education ;  their  most  pronounced 
strength  lay  in  the  direction  of  polemic  and  didactic  theology. 
The  Reverend  W.  W.  Blauvelt,  the  late  emeritus  pastor  of  Lam- 
ington  Presbyterian  church  of  Somerset  county,  at  the  time  of  his 
recent  death  was  the  oldest  graduate  of  another  New  Jersey 
college — Rutgers.  He  was  of  the  class  of  1814,  having  received 
his  degree  when  only  fourteen  years  old.  In  some  interesting 
reminiscences  published  by  him  a  few  years  ago,  he  speaks  as 
follows  of  the  head  of  Rutgers'  faculty  : — 

Our  venerable  President  (Dr.  Livingston)  remarked  in  my  presence :"  The 
chemists  talk  of  their  oxygen  and  nitrogen  and  hydrogen.  Fools,  fools  !  what  do 
they  know  about  it?  After  all  it  is  nothing  but  matter."  This  aged  father 
found  it  difiicult  to  admit  that  there  hud  been  any  advance  in  science  since  the 
time  when,  sixty  years  before,  he  completed  his  course  at  the  University  of  Ley- 
den  in  Holland. 

Speaking  of  Doctor  Blauvelt  having  graduated  at  the  age  of 
fourteen  brings  to  mind  the  fact  that  in  the  olden  time  the  course 
was  short  at  Princeton.  Among  its  students  we  find  that  Doctor 
Benjamin  Rush,  of  the  class  of  1760,  graduated  at  fifteen  ;  Aaron 
Burr,  our  comitry's  third  vice-president,  of  the  class  of  1772,  at 
sixteen  ;  Adjutant-General  Joseph  Reed,  whose  local  knowledge 
contributed  so  greatly  to  Washington's  success  at  the  battle  of 
Princeton,  of  the  class  of  1757,  graduated  at  sixteen ;  and 
"  Light-Horse  Harry  Lee,"  of  the  class  of  1774,  at  seventeen. 
In  fact,  most  students  of  the  last  century,  and  even  early  in  the 
present  one,  received  their  parchments  at  an  age  when  now  they 
would  be  but  thinking  of  matriculation. 


The  Queen's  American  Rangers.  501 

A  third  event  that  especially  marks  the  year  1779  in  New 
Jersey's  Revolutionary  history  is  the  noted  raid  of  the  Queen's 
Rangers  in  October  through  Middlesex  and  Somerset  counties. 
In  cleverness  of  conception  and  in  rapidity  and  dash  of  execu- 
tion this  military  enterprise  was  considered  by  both  armies  as 
being  among  the  most  brilliant  of  the  war.  The  germ  or  nucleus 
of  this  command  is  to  be  found  in  a  corps  of  partisan  rangers, 
half  hunters,  half  woodsmen,  who  were  held  in  high  repute  in 
colonial  times.  Their  first  commander  was  Major  Robert  Rogers 
of  New  Hampshire,  and  under  him  they  performed  many  ardu- 
ous and  valuable  services  on  the  French  and  English  fighting- 
ground  between  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point.  This  officer 
disciplined  his  men  until  they  were  equally  at  home  in  the  open 
country  or  on  forest  trails,  in  whaleboats,  canoes,  or  on  snow- 
shoes,  in  civilized  or  in  savage  warfare.  He  was  thoroughly 
versed  in  all  the  arts  of  woodcraft,  his  endurance  and  fearless 
bravery  were  phenomenal,  and  until  the  Revolution  he  and  his 
rangers  were  never  mentioned  without  honor.  * 

After  the  victory  of  Wolfe  at  Quebec,  the  capitulation  of  the 
French  and  the  surrender  of  all  Canada  Rogers  was  given  com- 
mand of  the  expedition  that  was  sent  to  the  west  to  take  posses- 
sion of  those  outposts  on  the  extreme  frontier  where  still  floated 
the  lilies  of  France.  While  on  this  hazardous  journey,  at  the 
present  site  of  Cleveland,  the  English  for  the  first  time  met  the 
savage  warrior  Pontiac,  whose  conspiracy  a  few  years  later  made 
famous. 

At  the  breaking  out  of  the  Revolution  Rogers,  adhering  to  the 
Crown,  was  commissioned  a  major  and  authorized  to  raise  a  corps 
of  hussars  and  infantry,  to  be  called  the  Queen's  American  Rangers. 
He  procured  his  men  mainly  from  among  the  refugees  of  New 
York  and  Connecticut,  and  did  excellent  service  during  the  early 
part  of  the  war.  In  1777  he  resigned  and  went  to  England.  While 
there,  he  was  appointed,  with  the  rank  of  lieutenant-colon elj  to 
the  command  of  the  King's  Rangers,  another  refugee  corps. 
Among  the  oificers  in  this  second  body  of  rangers  were   several 

*  Rogers'  Rock  on  Lake  George  derives  its  name  from  this  partisan  soldier. 
During  the  French  war,  one  day — so  runs  the  story — after  performing  prodigies 
of  valor,  he  escaped  from  a  pursuing  party  of  Indians  by  sliding  on  snowslioes 
down  its  precipitous  side  to  the  frozen  lake  below. 


502  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

renegade  Jerseymen,  including  that  Captain  John  Hatfield  who, 
it  if3  supposed,  so  cruelly  hung  the  poor  butcher.  Ball,  at  Bergen 
Point,  and  Lieutenant  Richard  Lippencott,  the  dastard  who  cer- 
tainly did  hang  Captain  Joshua  Huddy  in  1782,  near  Sandy 
Hook.  When  Rogers  resigned  from  the  Queen's  Rangers,  John 
Graves  Simcoe,  a  brave  young  officer  of  the  40th  British  regi- 
ment of  foot,  who  had  distinguished  himself  at  the  battle  of 
Brandywine,  applied  for  and  received  the  command,  with  the 
rank  of  major.  The  Queen's  Rangers  under  his  control  was  always 
in  the  advance  or  on  the  flank  of  the  British  army  and  became 
the  most  efficient  legionary  corps  in  the  English  service  ;  its  men 
won  laurels  for  themselves  and  their  young  commander  in  many 
well-conducted  raids  and  brilliant  actions.  Simcoe,  who  was 
soon  promoted  to  be  a  lieutenant-colonel,  was  ever  on  the  alert ; 
he  infused  into  his  men  his  own  spirit  of  tireless  energy,  and  Sir 
Henry  Clinton,  in  one  of  his  reports  to  his  government,  asserts 
that  the  rangers  within  three  years  after  this  dashing  young 
officer  had  taken  command,  killed,  or  made  prisoners,  twice  their 
own  number. 

Simcoe  was  born  in  1753,  and  at  an  early  age  passed  through 
Eton  and  Oxford  with  much  honor.  Though  a  student  who 
always  stood  foremost  among  his  fellows,  his  aspirations  were 
ever  in  the  direction  of  a  military  life,  and  when  but  nineteen 
years  old  he  was  commissioned  an  ensign  in  the  army.  He  con- 
tinued to  be  a  most  diligent  student;  it  is  said  that  Tacitus  and 
Xenophen  were  his  companions  in  camp,  and  that  few  retired 
scholars  read  more  than  did  this  officer,  even  when  employed  on 
the  most  active  duties.  He  rapidly  rose  to  a  high  rank,  and  died 
a  lieutenant-general  at  the  age  of  fifty-four  years,  after  having 
enjoyed  many  titles  and  preferments — among  others  that  of  gover- 
nor-general of  Canada.  Simcoe  was  an  honest  fighter  and  a  good 
hater,  and  never  outgrew  his  antipathy  to  anything  and  every- 
thing American.  In  his  orders  he  did  not  hesitate  to  charact-erize 
his  foes  as  a  ''mean  and  despicable  enemy,"  and  his  journal, 
though  published  by  himself  long  after  the  war,  invariably  speaks 
of  the  American  army  as  "the  rebels,"  and  its  commander-in- 
chief  as  "Mr.  Washington."  Many  years  later,  when  he  was 
raling  Canada,  the  Duke  of  Rochefoucault-Liancourt  wrote  of  him 
as  follows: — 


Simcoe's  Raid  in  the  Raritan  Valley.  503 

But  for  this  inveterate  hatred  against  the  United  States,  which  lie  too  loudly 
professes,  and  which  carries  him  too  far.  General  Simcoe  appears  in  the  most 
advantageons  light.  He  is  just,  active,  enlightened,  brave,  frank,  and  possesses  the 
confidence  of  the  country,  of  the  troops,  and  of  all  those  who  join  him  in  the 
administration  of  public  affairs. 

It  was  on  the  morning  of  the  twenty-sixth  of  October  that  this 
famous  raid  of  the  Queen's  Rangers  through  the  Raritan  valley 
occurred.  Its  object  is  said  to  have  been  two-fold, — the  capture 
of  Governor  Livingston,  whom  Simcoe  had  been  falsely  informed 
was  staying  with  Philip  Van  Home  at  "  Phil's  Hill  "—Middle- 
brook;  and  the  destruction  of  fifty  large  flat-boats  which  he  had 
been  told  were  at  Van  Veghten's  bridge,  on  their  way  to  the  army. 
These  boats  had  been  built  on  the  Delaware  by  Washington's 
orders  so  as  to  be  ready  to  aid  in  an  attack  on  New  York  city  which 
he  was  then  meditating.  They  held  seventy  men  each,  and  had  been 
hauled  across  country  on  wheels  to  the  Raritan.  Simcoe's  plan 
was  to  move  with  his  cavalry  with  great  expedition  from  Amboy 
to  Bound  Brook  and  Van  Veghten's  bridge;  and  then  hastily 
return  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Raritan.  When  nearing  New 
Brunswick  he  pm-posed  bearing  off  to  the  south,  in  the  hopes  of 
being  able  to  entice  the  militia  and  others,  that  by  this  time  might 
be  following  him,  into  an  ambuscade  near  the  South  river,  where 
a  supporting  force  of  his  infantry  were  to  lie  in  wait  for  the 
expected  victims. 

To  execute  this  purpose  Major  Richard  Armstrong,  who  com- 
manded the  foot,  was  despatched  to  South  Amboy,  from  which 
place  he  was  directed  to  march  with  haste  and  in  silence  six 
miles  to  the  bridge  crossing  South  river,  the  point  where  his 
troops  were  to  await  in  ambush  the  arrival  of  the  cavalry  with, 
it  was  hoped,  the  Jersey  militia  in  pursuit.  Colonel  Simcoe, 
with  a  mounted  force  of  about  eighty  picked  men,  had  expected  to 
embark  at  Billop's-point,  Staten  Island,  for  Perth  Amboy  early  on 
the  night  of  the  twenty-fifth,  but  owing  to  the  lateness  of  the  hour 
at  which  his  bateaux  arrived  it  was  six  in  the  morning  before  he 
was  fairly  on  the  march.  Major  Armstrong,  with  the  foot,  who 
had  crossed  with  Simcoe  in  order  to  guard  the  approaches  to  the 
town,  then  re-embarked  for  South  Amboy.  The  raiding  column 
embraced  forty-six  men  of  the  Ranger  hussars,  twenty-two  of  the 
Buck's  light  dragoons,  (a  Pennsylvania  refugee  corps),  com- 
manded by  Captain  Sandford,  and  a  few  guides  and  volunteers, 


504  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

under  Lieutenant  James  Stewart.  This  last  officer  was  a  loyalist 
Jerseyman,  and  well  kno^vn  and  hated  in  Middlesex  and  Somerset 
as  "Tory  Jim." 

Simcoe  moved  with  great  rapidity  through  Piscataway  town- 
ship to  Quibbletown — New  Market — taking  pains  on  the  way  to 
impress  everyone  met  with  the  idea  that  his  force  was  a  body  of 
Americans.  This  he  was  the  better  able  to  do  because  the 
uniform  of  his  command  differed  but  little  from  that  of  Lee's 
legion,  the  men  wearing  green  coatees,  leather  breeches,  and 
cocked  hats  bound  with  white  braid.  Indeed,  Lee,  who  greatly 
admired  Simcoe,  says  in  his  memoirs  that  the  colonel,  with  the 
most  successful  audacity,  stopped  during  the  march  at  a  depot  of 
forage,  and  announced  to  the  commissary  that  his  force  was  the 
Virginia  light-horse.  He  drew  the  forage  he  needed,  paying  the 
customary  vouchers  therefor,  signing  them  in  the  name  of  Lee's 
quartermaster.  Before  reaching  Quibbletown  one  Justice  Crow 
was  overtaken,  whom  the  colonel,  in  order  to  make  him  believe 
that  the  raiders  were  from  Washington's  army,  charged  with  being 
a  tory:  to  further  the  belief  the  justice  for  a  time  was  carried 
along,  under  guard,  with  the  detachment,  notwithstanding  the 
protestations  of  the  countryman  that  he  had  "  only  been 
a-sparkin'." 

A  short  halt  was  made  at  the  Quibbletown  tavern,  ostensibly  to 
look  for  tories ;  then  the  troopers  hurried  on  to  Bound  Brook 
where  they  rested  for  a  little  while  at  a  public  house  kept  by 
Peter  Harpending,  and  afterwards  known  as  the  Frelinghuysen 
tavern.  It  stood  on  the  main  street  where  is  now  the  store  and 
dwelling  of  B.  B.  Matthews.  Its  boniface  was  a  stanch  patriot 
and  was  one  of  the  men  of  Somerset  whom  the  Howes  stigmatised 
as  "arch-traitors,"  and  excepted  from  the  general  amnesty  offered 
in  1776.  This  was  not  the  first  appearance  of  the  Queen's 
Rangers  in  Bound  Brook.  An  affidavit  made  in  1782,  by  the 
widow  of  Ennis  Graham,  shows  that  on  the  nineteenth  of  Decem- 
ber, 1776,  this  partisan  corps  suddenly  dashed  into  the  village 
under  the  guidance  of  George  H.  Fisher,  a  tory  refugee.  Among 
the  other  inhabitants  who  suffered  at  their  hands  was  her  husband, 
who  was  robbed  of  cash,  watches,  and  jewelry.  A  few  days  later 
he  went  to  New  Brunswick  hoping  to  obtain  some  satisfaction  from 
British  headquarters;  his  satisfaction  proved  to  be  the  further  loss 


SiMCOE  AT  Van  Veghten's  Bridge.  505 

of  the  fine  horse  he  rode,  which  was  taken  from  him   "  for  his 
majesty's  service." 

On  leaving  Bound  Brook  Colonel  Simcoe,  having  secured  a 
guide  in  a  country  lad,  made  his  way  up  the  heights  toward 
Chimney  Rock,  to  Washington's  camp  of  the  j^ear  before. 
According  to  an  account  published  in  "Rivington's  Grazette"  by  a 
junior  officer  accompanying  the  expedition  it  was  intended  to 
destroy  the  huts  and  buildings,  but  on  learning  that  they  had 
been  sold  to  some  of  the  inhabitants  the  colonel  decided  to  leave 
them  standing.  The  raiders'  next  stop  was  at  Philip  Van 
Home's,  Middlebrook,  where  they  were  disappointed  at  not 
finding  Governor  Livingston.  Here,  in  lieu  of  nobler  game, 
they  captured  a  captain,  a  lieutenant,  and  another  person,  who 
being  sick  were  placed  under  parole.  The  troops  then  contin- 
ued their  march  to  Van  Veghten's  bridge,  on  the  Raritan.  The 
greater  part  of  the  boats  they  expected  to  find  there  had  been 
sent  forward,  but,  with  hand-grenades  brought  for  the  purpose, 
they  destroyed  eighteen  that  were  left,  together  with  their  trav- 
eling carriages,  an  amnunition  wagon,  some  harness,  and  a  quan- 
tity of  forage  and  stores.  Here  they  committed  what  the 
Reverend  Doctor  Messier  characterizes  as  a  barbarous  action — 
the  burning  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  church  building.  Simcoe, 
in  his  report  of  the  raid,  excused  this  act  by  saying  that  the 
"Dutch  Meeting" — as  he  termed  it — had  been  converted  into 
a  forage  depot,  and  that  a  rifle  shot  was  tired  at  the  soldiers  from 
the  opposite  side  of  the  river.  Messier  insists  that  this  is  not 
true ;  asserting  that  he  was  informed  by  a  creditable  eye-^vit- 
ness  that  the  only  forage  was  the  ropes  and  tackle  used  in  bring- 
ing the  boats  from  the  Delaware  ;  that  the  shot  was  from  a 
young  man  "out  shooting  pigeons,"  who,  at  a  distance  of  six 
hundred  feet,  to  alarm  the  dragoons  discharged  his  fowling- 
piece,  and  then  ran  off  to  escape  capture. 

The  rangers  were  not  over  one  hour  at  Van  Veghten's  bridge ; 
they  then  crossed  the  Raritan  and  pushed  on  to  Hillsborough — 
Millstone.  There  they  burned  the  Somerset  court-house,  after 
first  releasing  from  jail  three  loyalist  prisoners,  one  of  them, 
according  to  Simcoe's  report,  being  a  dreadfid  spectacle  ;  "  he 
appeared  to  have  been  almost  starved  and  was  chained  to  the 
floor."     This  county  building  stood  about  twelve  rods   west  of 


506  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

the  present  bridge  over  the  Millstone.  While  burning,  its  flames 
ignited  and  consumed  the  near-by  dwellings  of  William  Cocks 
and  Cornelius  Lott,  the  latter  being  valued,  according  to  its  own- 
er's affidavit,  at  six  hundred  and  twenty  pounds  ten  shillings  and 
eleven  pence.  By  this  time  the  country  people  were  up  in  arms 
and  the  militia  gathering,  so  the  column  was  soon  again  in 
motion.  Filing  to  the  east  it  crossed  the  river  and  hurried 
along  the  AmweU  road  in  the  direction  of  New  Brunswick. 
Simcoe's  plan  was,  on  reaching  the  dwelling  of  Garret  Voor- 
hees,  which  was  supposed  to  be  standing  at  the  comer  of  a 
cross-road  leading  into  the  Princeton  road,  to  turn  to  the  right 
and  make  his  way  rapidly  to  the  South  river,  where  he  hoped  to 
pilot  his  pursuers  into  the  ambuscade.  Both  he  and  his  guide 
kept  a  bright  lookout  for  the  house  which  was  to  mark  the  diverg- 
ing road.  Unhappily  for  the  success  of  the  expedition  they  were 
neither  of  them  aware  that  this  was  one  of  the  many  buildings 
that  the  British  had  wantonly  destroyed  when  they  retreated 
from  Millstone,  in  June,  1777.  Consequently  the  rangers  passed 
this  cross-road  at  a  sharp  ti-ot  without  recognizing  it,  and  were 
within  two  miles  of  New  Brunswick  before  the  error  was  known. 
During  the  early  part  of  the  march  of  this  command  its  char- 
acter had  not  been  discovered,  but  on  reaching  Quibbletown 
some  one  at  the  tavern  recognized  Colonel  Simcoe.  A  messen- 
ger was  at  once  dispatched  to  New  Brunswick,  whereupon  Col- 
onel John  Neilson  moved  with  his  regiment — the  2d  Middlesex 
militia — to  Raritan  Landing,  where  the  smoke  from  the  burning 
buildings  at  Millstone  announced  the  position  of  the  enemy.  Had 
Neilson  crossed  the  river,  with  but  little  doubt  the  raiding  column 
would  have  been  either  captured  or  destroyed  ;  but  he,  thinking 
that  the  rangers  must  re-embark  where  they  had  landed  in  the 
morning,  remained  on  the  Middlesex  side  to  oppose  their  passage 
of  the  bridge.  Meanwhile  he  sent  forward  Captain  Moses 
Guest  with  thirty-five  men  to  harass  the  foe  on  the  march.  This 
officer,  on  reaching  a  point  where  the  narrow  AmweU  road  was 
flanked  by  thick  woods,  ambushed  his  men  and  awaited  the  com- 
ing of  the  enemy.  The  British  colonel's  situation  had  now 
grown  distressing.  He  well  knew  that  his  guide  was  at  fault  and 
had  missed  the  cross-road  ;  shots  were  popping  on  his  flanks,  a 
Captain  Voorhees,  with  some  militia  horsemen,  was   pressing  on 


I 


Captuke  of  Colonel  Simcoe.  507 

his  rear,  and  he  was  in  great  concern  over  possible  ambuscades 
in  front.  When  the  wood  was  reached  where  Guest  and  his  men 
lay  concealed,  Simcoe,  who  was  riding  in  advance  with  the 
guide,  was  fearful  that  it  contained  an  ambushed  enemy.  On 
discovering  an  opening  in  the  fence  he  wheeled  his  horse,  intend- 
ing to  lead  his  men  to  the  right,  and  thus  avoid  the  possible  dan- 
ger. Just  then,  as  he  said  in  his  report,  he  heard  the  words 
"  Now  !  Now !"  and  knew  nothing  more  until  he  found  himself  a 
prisoner  in  the  hands  of  the  Americans.  A  sudden  fusillade  had 
killed  his  horse  with  five  bullets,  and  stretclied  liim  on  the 
ground,  stunned  by  the  violence  of  the  fall.  His  troopers,  being 
on  the  canter,  swept  by  without  discovering  that  it  was  intended 
to  leave  the  highway.  The  timber  was  too  dense  to  admit  of 
charging  the  enemy,  so  the  rangers  pushed  on  through  the  woods, 
in  open  files,  receiving  a  volley  from  the  militia  which  killed  one 
man.  and  wounded  three  others  and  some  horses. 

The  command  now  devolved  on  Captain  Sandford  of  the 
Bucks  county  troop,  who,  supposing  the  colonel  to  be  killed, 
continued  toward  New  Brunswick  at  an  increasing  pace.  The 
raiders  found  themselves  in  a  critical  situation.  The  mounted 
force  hanging  on  their  rear  were  increasing  in  numbers,  and  the 
militiamen  in  their  front  were  rapidly  multiplying  to  oppose 
their  further  advance.  But  the  desire  of  the  rangers  was  to 
avoid,  not  to  enter.  New  Brunswick,  so,  on  reaching  a  point 
within  the  present  city  limits  where  Town  lane  and  George's 
road  come  together,  Captain  Sandford  suddenly  faced  about  his 
squadron  and  charged  the  pursuers,  putting  them  to  fliglit.  Their 
leader.  Captain  Peter  V.  Voorhees,  in  attempting  to  break 
through  a  fence  became  entangled,  and  was  so  cut  and  slashed 
by  the  troopers'  sabres  that  he  died  in  a  few  hours.  The  kill- 
ing of  this  officer  was  considered  by  the  Americans  little  less 
than. a  murder,  as  he  was  wholly  in  the  enemy's  hands  and  incap- 
able of  resistance.  Captain  Voorhees'  death  was  greatly 
lamented ;  he  was  a  brother-in-law  of  Colonel  Neilson  of  New 
Brunswick,  and  a  gallant  officer  of  the  continental  line,  having 
entered  the  service  in  1775  as  a  second-lieutenant  in  New  Jer- 
sey's first  establishment  of  troops.  Since  November,  1  777,  he 
had  commanded  a  company  in  Colonel  Matthias  Ogden's  1st 
Regiment  of  the  New  Jersey  line,  with  which  he  had  just  made 


508  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

the  campaign  under  General  Sullivan  against  the  Six  Nations. 
He  was  on  leave,  and  was  to  have  been  married  on  the  following 
day — indeed,  it  is  said  that  he  was  on  his  way  to  visit  his  fiancee 
when  he  came  upon  a  party  of  militia  in  pursuit  of  the  Queen's 
Rangers,  and  put  himself  at  their  head. 

Captain  Sandford's  anxiety  was  now  to  reach  his  body  of  sup- 
porting infantry,  so,  as  recounted  in  the  before  quoted  junior 
officer's  report  of  the  expedition,  in  order  to  delude  the  enemy 
in  his  front  he  marched  to  the  left  as  if  intending  to  enter  New 
Brunswick.  The  Americans  in  front  then  pushed  to  their  right, 
in  order  to  check  a  retreat  in  that  direction.  Whereupon  the 
rangers,  taking  advantage  of  that  move,  retraced  their  steps 
and  with  a  sharp  gallop  gained  the  left  flank  of  the  Jerseymen, 
and  thus  made  their  escape  in  the  direction  of  South  river. 
Before  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  Captain  Sandford  with  his 
cavalry  had  joined  Major  Armstrong  and  the  foot  at  the  bridge, 
and  that  night  the  combined  forces  crossed  from  South  Amboyto 
Staten  Island.  There  was  some  little  skirmishing  on  the  way 
with  small  parties  of  militia,  without  much  result ;  there  were 
wounds  given  on  both  sides;  one  hussar — MoUoy — was  killed, 
and  two  Americans  made  prisoners.  Although  the  expedition 
failed  in  drawing  the  militia  into  the  ambuscade,  the  exploit,  alto- 
gether, reflected  great  credit  on  the  British  arms,  and  but  for  the 
loss  of  Simcoe  it  would  have  been  considered  brilliantly  success- 
ful. At  least  sixty  miles  of  hostile  country  were  passed  over 
with  the  loss  of  but  few  men,  about  thirty  prisoners  were 
secured,  much  property  destroyed,  and  many  bad  horses 
exchanged  for  good  ones  taken  from  the  prisoners  and  the 
country  people. 

When  Simcoe's  horse  was  shot  from  under  him,  and  he  fell 
stunned  to  the  ground.  Doctor  Messier  says  that  he  would  have 
been  killed  had  not  James  Schureman,  of  New  Brunswick,  saved 
his  life  by  thrusting  aside  the  bayonet  of  a  militia  private  who 
lunged  at  him  with  murderous  intent.  Others  claim  that  it  was 
Jonathan  Ford  Morris,  a  young  medical  student,  who  so  deftly 
averted  the  soldier's  blow.  He  it  was,  at  least,  who  propped  the 
British  colonel  against  a  tree,  bled  him  until  restored  to  conscious- 
ness, and  bestowed  on  him  other  medical  and  friendly  attentions. 
Morris  was  at  this  time  but  nineteen  years  old,  having  one  year 


The  Burning  of  Raritan  Church.  509 

before  resigned  a  lieutenancy  in  Procter's  artillery  regiment.  He 
entered  the  army  at  the  early  age  of  sixteen  and  served  with 
merit  as  a  private,  surgeon's  mate  and  lieutenant ;  his  love  of 
country,  or  of  adventure,  had  led  him  to  march  with  the  militia 
as  a  volunteer  when  they  set  off  from  New  Brunswick  on  that 
October  day  to  check  the  progress  of  the  Queen's  Rangers. 
After  the  war  he  became  a  popular  and  successful  physician  and 
surgeon,  settling  first  at  Bound  Brook,  and  later  at  Somerville 
where  he  died  in  1810.  Colonel  Simcoe  was  ever  grateful  to 
Doctor  Morris  for  his  services  on  this  occasion,  and,  when  gover- 
nor-general of  Canada,  wrote  him  urging  that  he  should  remove 
to  the  British  Possessions  in  order  to  receive  substantial  proof  of 
an  Englishman's  gratitude.  But  Morris  was  unwilling  to 
exchange  his  flag  and  fealty  in  order  to  secure  personal  favor 
and  advancement. 

It  is  always  both  curious  and  interesting  to  observe  the  rela- 
tion existing  between  events  and  consequences.  As  to  the 
former  we  are  prone  to  reach  immediate  and  often  false  conclu- 
sions, for  it  is  only  in  the  light  of  subsequent  years  that  their 
true  value  can  be  ascertained.  Had  Colonel  Siracoe  magnani- 
mously spared  the  "  Dutch  meeting,"  and  the  court-house  at 
Hillsborough  it  is  not  impossible  that  to-day  there  would  be  no 
Somerville,  or  at  least  that  that  town  would  not  now  flourish  as 
the  county-seat  of  Somerset.  The  people  of  Bridgewater  town- 
ship, therefore,  can  at  the  present  time  reflect  with  equanimity 
upon  the  devastations  perpetrated  during  this  famous  raid.  But 
when  these  two  most  valued  buildings  in  the  community  were 
burned,  the  loss  was  considered  most  grievous.  This  is  espe- 
cially true  as  to  the  destruction  of  the  Dutch  house  of  worship  ; 
for  over  half  a  century  it  had  been  the  rallying  point  for  the 
religious  and  social  interests  of  a  majority  of  the  citizens.  Here 
they  and  their  fathers  had  gathered  to  listen  to  that  inspired  Hol- 
land worthy,  Theodorus  Jacobus  Frelinghuysen,  and  to  his  no  less 
beloved  son,  John  ;  here  they  had  brought  their  children  to  be 
baptized,  and  here  under  the  sods  surrounding  its  walls  lay  two 
generations  of  their  dead. 

Being  without  a  church  building  had  a  most  baneful  influence 
upon  the  cause  of  religion,  and,  together  with  the  evil  efl'ects 
produced  by  the  war,  produced  a  low   condition   of  morals  that 


510  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

was  most  hurtful  to  the  community.  Owing  to  the  poverty  of 
the  times  it  was  several  years  before  the  congregation  could  pro- 
vide a  respectable  edifice  for  church  services.  A  temporary 
structure  was  secured  at  the  joint  expense  of  the  county  free- 
holders and  the  church  consistory,  by  moving  up  from  Camp 
Middlebrook  to  the  present  site  of  Soiuerville  a  log  building  that 
had  been  used  by  the  army  for  court-martial  and  other  purposes. 
This  served  as  a  court  and  church  building  until  1784  when, 
after  much  discussion  as  to  the  locality  most  available  for  estab- 
lishing the  county  town,  a  log  court-house  was  built  about  twelve 
rods  east  of  the  present  structure.  In  1798  the  present  court- 
house was  erected,  and  three  years  later  we  have  the  first  official 
record  of  the  name,  Somerville.  In  1784  it  was  resolved  at  a 
public  meeting  that  a  new  church  edifice  should  be  buUt,  and  a 
subscription  list  was  started  in  which  it  was  permitted  sub- 
scribers to  indicate  whether  their  preferences  were  for  the  new 
location,  then  called  Tunison's  tavern,  or  the  old  one  at  Van 
Veghten's  bridge.  The  building  of  the  new  court-house  had 
insured  the  nucleus  of  a  population  at  the  former  place,  conse- 
quently, the  majority  of  the  subscribers  favoring  Somerset  court- 
house, the  new  church  was  there  built,  and  completed  in  1788 — 
a  brick  structure,  by  far  the  most  substantial  in  the  county. 
Doctor  Messier  records  that,  though  many  alterations  and  addi- 
tions have  been  made,  the  building  remains  essentially  the  same 
as  when  erected — now  one  hundred  years  ago. 


CHAPTER     XXXIV. 

The  Cold  Winter  of  1780 — Washington^  Army  Again  in 
Morristown — Varied  and  Interesting  Camp  Experiences — 
Fighting  at  Connecticut  Farms  and  Springfield. 

A  work  of  this  character  necessarily  covers  periods  of  time 
devoid  of  interest.  This  particularly  applies  to  those  parts 
chronicling  the  affairs  of  the  occupants  of  the  "  Old  Stone 
House."  It  is  hardly  to  be  supposed  that  their  daily  experiences 
could  at  all  times  have  been  so  replete  with  incidents  as  to  add 
to  the  weight  of  this  narrative.  During  these  days  of  Revolu- 
tionary turmoil  the  current  of  domestic  life  in  this  dwelling  flowed 
peacefully  on  in  sober  comfort,  for  within  its  walls  was  an  orderly 
and  a  cheerful  household,  where  love  and  duty  kindly  blended,  and 
where  each  day's  busy  hours  wore  away  in  the  homely  toils  and 
pleasures  usual  with  farm  families.  Aaron's  children  now  num- 
bered five, — the  fiaal  complement, — Margaret  having  been  bom 
on  the  twenty-second  of  December,  1767,  and  Maria,  on  the 
twenty-fourth  of  March,  1771.  John,  who  had  long  ere  this  been 
released  from  the  clutches  of  the  British,  was  again  off  soldiering, 
this  time  with  the  continental  line.  Daniel,  now  a  sturdy  boy  of 
sixteen,  was  aiding  his  father  in  the  tannery  and  on  the  farm, 
and  educating  himself  so  as  to  eventually  become  an  able  man  of 
business  and  his  father's  partner.  Two  of  the  girls  were  old 
enough  to  take  upon  themselves  much  of  the  cares  of  indoors ; 
and,  doubtless,  as  was  the  custom  with  farmer's  daughters, 
waited  each  night  at  the  bars,  with  clinking  pails  and  wooden 
stools,  while  the  motherly  brown  cows  came  lowing  up  the  lane, 
with  big  depending  bags  ready  to  give  down  the  milky  torrents. 
War-times  naturally  brought  privations  and  some  discomforts, 
but  there  were   compensations,  not   only   in  the   increased  value 


512  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

given  to  farm  and  tannery  products,  but  in  the  many  excite- 
ments that  ruled  the  hour,  which  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose 
must  have  given  added  zest  to  the  ordinarily  quiet  life  of  this 
rural  community.  Later  on  it  is  not  improbable  that  we  shall 
find  material  in  the  daily  routine  of  this  family's  existence  that 
will  make  interesting  reading ;  but  before  again  taking  up  such 
homely  topics  we  must  wait  until  camps  and  their  influences 
have  disappeared  from  the  neighborhood.  Just  now  we  will  turn 
once  more  to  the  continental  army,  which  is  to  spend  this  winter 
and  spring — 1780 — on  the  northeast  border  of  Somerset. 

"  Gaine's  Mercury"  announced  on  the  sixth  of  December  that, 
with  the  exception  of  a  number  of  Eastern  men  to  be  hutted  on 
the  east  side  of  the  North  river  under  the  command  of  Gates,  and 
a  garrison  of  twelve  hundred  left  at  West  Point,  "  aU  the  army 
are  marching  down  the  country  in  divisions  under  their  proper 
generals,  supposed  for  Morris  county."  This  journal  was  right  as 
to  the  destination  of  the  troops.  Early  in  December  the  army 
went  into  winter  quarters  between  Morristown  and  Mendliam, 
\Vashington  establishing  himself  at  the  residence  of  the  widow  of 
Colonel  Jacob  Ford,  on  the  Newark  turnpike — now  the  "  Wash- 
ington Headquarters."  Her  family  gave  up  all  of  the  building 
excepting  two  rooms,  but  as  the  general's  household  comprised 
eighteen  persons  he  was  much  inconvenienced  for  want  of  space. 
He  wrote  to  Greene,  who  was  still  quartermaster-general,  in  Jan- 
uary, complainiiig  of  his  contracted  quarters,  saying  : — "  all  Mrs. 
Ford's  family  are  crowded  together  in  her  kitchen,  and  scarce  one 
of  them  able  to  talk  for  colds  they  have  caught."  This  resulted 
in  a  small  log  kitchen  being  attached  to  the  east  end  of  the  man- 
sion, and  a  larger  log  house  being  erected  which  furnished  offices 
for  the  commander-in-chief,  his  aides  and  secretaries.  The  life 
guard  were  barracked  in  fifty  rude  huts  that  were  set  up  in  a  tri- 
angular bit  of  meadow  just  east  of  the  dwelling,  from  where,  in 
case  of  alarm,  the  house  could  in  a  few  moments  be  reached  and 
surrounded. 

Washington's  first  letter  after  the  establishment  of  the  camp 
was  dated  the  seventh  of  December ;  in  it  he  recites  that  "the 
main  army  lies  within  three  or  four  miles  of  the  town."  The 
exact  location  was  on  KimbaU  Hill  about  four  miles  southwest 
of  Morristown,  midway  between,  and  on  a  crossroad  leading  from, 


The  Camp  on  Kimball  Hill.  513 

the  roads  running  to  Basking  Ridge  and  to  Mendhara.  About 
one  thousand  acres  were  occupied,  embracing  properties  then 
known  as  the  Kimball  and  Wicks'  farms,  a  portion  of  the  latter 
now  being  owned  by  Samuel  B.  Axtell.  The  Wicks  dwelling  is 
still  extant,  and  serves  as  an  excellent  example  of  colonial  farm 
architecture.  "  Kimball  HiU  "  commands  extensive  views  rang- 
ing from  Schooley's  mountain  on  the  west  to  the  Short  Hills  on 
the  east,  and  from  the  New  York  Highlands  on  the  north  to  the 
heights  above  the  Raritan  on  the  south.  The  encampment  was 
pitched  on  this  commanding  elevation  becauseof  its  being  anatural 
watch-tower,  enabling  the  army  to  be  ever  on  the  alert  against 
surprise  or  invasion.  During  each  night  men  were  constantly 
scanning  the  horizon  to  discover  the  first  tongue  of  flame  leaping 
heavenward  from  any  of  the  many  beacons  that  were  planted  on 
the  spurs  of  the  encircling  hills  between  the  Delaware,  Hudson, 
and  Shrewsbury.  During  the  day,  in  case  of  an  alarm,  signal 
guns  were  fired  from  the  beacon-posts.  The  cannon  that  oftenest 
had  occasion  to  shriek  warnings  fi-om  its  iron  throat  became  his- 
torically known  as  the  "Old  Sow;"  it  was  an  eighteen-pounder 
set  up  at  the  beacon-post  on  the  Short  Hills  just  back  of  Springfield. 
However  advantageous  Kimball  Hill  may  have  been  in  a 
military  sense  it  proved  a  very  bleak  and  inhospitable  camping 
ground,  and  it  was  not  long  before  some  of  the  line  officers  of 
the  army  were  making  unfavorable  comparisons  between  this 
exposed  situation  and  the  warm,  near-by  Lowantica  valley  that 
had  sheltered  the  encampment  of  three  years  before.  The 
weather  this  winter  was  in  extraordinary  contrast  to  the  mildness 
of  the  preceding  one  ;  the  cold  was  the  severest  ever  known  in 
the  colonies,  and  the  snow  fell  almost  continuously  from  the  tenth 
of  November  until  far  into  March.  The  Lower  bay.  New  York 
bay  and  Hudson  river  were  equally  firm  as  the  land,  and  people 
crossed  Long  Island  sound  from  Connecticut  to  Lloyd's  Neck,  a 
distance  of  twelve  miles,  as  if  on  a  prairie.  The  ice  of  New 
York  bay  was  thick  enough  to  enable  two  hundred  sleigh-loads 
of  provisions,  drawn  by  two  horses  each  and  escorted  by  two 
hundred  cavalry,  to  cross  from  New  York  to  Staten  Island.  The 
Raritan  river  was  frozen  solid  for  four  months,  during  which  time 
its  surface  was  more  used  as  a  thoroughfare  for  teams  than  were 
the  highways  on  its  banks. 
33 


514  The  Story  of  an  Old  Faum. 

In  January  the  Somerset  militia  were  called  out — not  to  fight 
the  king  of  England — this  time  the  enemy  was  the  king  of 
storms,  for  on  the  night  of  the  third  the  greatest  body  of  snow 
fell  known  during  the  war.  The  whole  face  of  the  country  lay 
buried  from  three  to  five  feet  deep ;  roads,  fences  and  frozen 
streams  were  obliterated,  and,  as  the  storm  had  been  accompanied 
by  a  very  high  wind,  in  places  the  drifts  were  piled  ten  to  twelve 
feet  high.  The  army  on  Kimball  HUl  suffered  severely,  as  the 
weather  was  intensely  cold.  Thacher  tells  that  officers  were 
almost  smothered  in  the  snow  because  of  the  collapsing  of  their 
tents  by  the  high  winds ;  and,  to  quote  another  witness  and  suf- 
ferer: "No  man  could  endure  the  violence  of  the  storm  many 
minutes  without  danger  of  his  life."  The  roads  being  blocked, 
great  difficulty  was  experienced  in  procuring  fuel  and  supplies, 
and  the  army  was  on  the  point  of  disbanding  for  want  of  pro- 
visions. So  it  was  that  the  militia  were  called  upon  to  break  the 
roads  from  Morristown  to  Hackettstown  on  the  north,  and  to 
Princeton  on  the  south.  In  addition,  the  people  were  requested 
to  come  to  the  aid  of  the  militia  with  their  teams.  Greene  wrote 
to  Colonel  Hathaway  : — 

The  roads  must  be  kept  open  by  the  inhabitants  or  the  army  cannot  be  sub- 
sisted ;  and  unless  good  people  immediately  lend  assistance  to  forward  supplies 
the  army  must  disband.  The  dreadful  consequences  of  such  an  event  I  will  not 
torture  your  feelings  with  a  description  of;  but  remember,  the  surrounding 
inhabitants  will  experience  the  first  melancholy  efi'ects  of  such  a  raging  evil.  *  *  * 
You  will  call  to  your  aid  the  overseers  of  highways  and  every  other  order  of 
men  who  can  give  despatch  and  success  to  the  business. 

Notwithstanding  the  aid  furnished  by  militia  and  inhabitants 
in  breaking  the  roads,  such  a  great  body  of  snow  paralyzed  all 
arteries  of  travel,  and  the  army  was  soon  in  an  extremity  for 
provisions.  Washington  was  forced  to  levy  on  the  inhabitants 
for  cattle,  flour  and  grain.  He  called  upon  the  magistrates  of 
the  respective  counties  to  undertake  the  business  of  relieving 
the  distresses  of  the  troops ;  taking  care  at  the  same  time  to 
notify  them  that  a  force  had  been  detailed  to  impress  the  neces- 
sary supplies,  should  the  people  fail  to  voluntarily  alleviate  the 
sufferings  of  the  men.  The  commanders  of  the  forces  were 
directed  to  show  great  tenderness  toward  the  inhabitants  in  case 
such  extreme  measures  became  necessary  ;  care  was  to  be  taken 
that  families  should   not  be  deprived  of  their  milch  cows,  or  of 


Currency  Depreciation  in  1780.  515 

needed  subsistence.  The  necessity  for  a  recourse  to  severity 
happily  did  not  arise,  as  the  sympathies  of  the  people  were  at 
once  enlisted,  and  relief  was  afforded  without  delay  or  indecision. 

The  distressing  situation  of  the  army  was  not  altogether  due 
to  the  transportation  of  supplies  being  obstructed  by  the  uncom- 
mon rigor  of  the  weather.  The  depreciation  of  the  currency  had 
increased  to  an  alarming  extent.  Congress  had  made  continen- 
tal paper  legal  tender  for  debts,  however  contracted  ;  but  its 
value  steadily  decreased,  until  by  1780  it  was  almost  impos- 
sible to  determine  how  much  paper  money  represented  one 
Spanish  milled  dollar,  which  at  that  time  was  the  unit  of  value. 
Credit  was  thus  prostrated  and  the  commissaries  found  them- 
selves without  a  current  purchasing  medium  with  which  to 
secure  adequate  supplies.  In  looking  over  old  files  of  that  time 
it  is  interesting  to  observe  the  ruling  prices  in  continental  money. 
In  1779  a  horse  was  sold  at  Camp  Middlebrook  for  six  hundred 
dollars  currency  that  had  been  offered  for  eighty  silver  dollars. 
A  year  later  paper  values  had  so  much  more  decreased  that  a 
mare  of  eleven  years  sold  at  a  vendue  held  in  February,  1780, 
for  eight  hundred  and  five  pounds.  At  the  same  auction  a  fry- 
ing-pan brought  twenty-five  pounds ;  a  wood-saw,  thirty-seven 
pounds,  ten  shillings  ;  three  rusty  bone-handle  knives  and  forks, 
twenty-two  pounds,  ten  shillings  ;  an  old  eight-day  clock  in  a 
walnut  case,  two  hundred  and  fifty  pounds;  fifty  sheaves  of  oats 
eighty  pounds,  and  other  sales  were  made  in  like  proportion. 

Notwithstanding  that  at  this  time  the  troops  were  in  a  deplor- 
able condition  as  to  provisions  and  clothing,  Washington  was  not 
willing  to  let  pass  an  apparently  opportune  moment  for  striking  a 
blow  at  the  enemy  on  Staten  Island.  The  frost  had  converted 
the  KiUs  into  a  solid  bridge.  On  the  afternoon  of  the  fourteenth 
of  January  a  detachment  of  foot  and  artillery  set  out  from  the. 
Morristown  pai'ade  on  sleds  to  reinforce  the  brigade  lying  at 
Elizabethtown.  Early  on  the  fifteenth  the  party,  twentv-five 
hundred  strong,  commanded  by  Lord  Stirling,  crossed  at  De 
Hart's  point  and  marched  on  the  enemy's  works.  The  enter- 
prise proved  a  failure.  The  British  garrison  having  been 
strongly  reinforced  an  assault  was  not  attempted  ;  after  some 
skirmishing  the  Americans  retired,  bringing  with  them  a  few 
prisoners,  the  casualties  being  not  many  on  either  side.     Ten 


516  The  Stoey  op  an  Old  Fakm. 

days  later  the  British  made  a  return  visit  to  the  Jersey  shore, 
their  enterprise  being  crowned  with  more  success  than  had  the 
Americans'  sally  on  Staten  Island.  At  midnight  on  the  twenty- 
fifth  of  January  about  four  hundred  infantry  and  one  hundred 
dragoons,  commanded  by  the  tory  Lieutenant-Colonel  Buskirk, 
crossed  on  the  ice  at  Trembly's  point  and  surprised  Elizabeth- 
town.  Four  officers  and  about  sixty  privates  were  captxu'ed,  the 
inhabitants  were  plundered,  and  the  court-house  and  the  Presby- 
terian church  burned.  The  same  night  a  small  party  attacked 
Newark  with  equal  success,  burning  the  academy. 

Human  nature  is  ever  the  same.  Many  a  brave  Englishman 
prepared  for  death  at  Waterloo  by  dancing  the  night  before  at 
the  Duchess  of  Richmond's  ball.  Ho  it  was  with  our  Revolution- 
ary soldiers — recreations  must  be  had  even  in  the  face  of  the 
most  adverse  circumstances.  Early  in  the  winter  subscription 
balls,  or  assemblies,  were  established  at  Morristown,  Washington 
and  his  leading  generals  heading  the  subscription  list.  As  was 
usual  with  each  annual  encampment  there  was  a  fair  sprinkling 
of  ladies'  with  the  army.  Mrs.  AVashington  arrived  before*  the 
first  of  the  yeai-,  having  passed  through  Trenton  on  the  twenty- 
eighth  of  December,  where  a  troop  of  horse  paraded  in  her 
honor  ;  Mrs.  Greene  and  Mrs.  Knox  were  in  camp,  and  many 
other  ladies  had  joined  their  husbands.  General  Greene's  sec- 
ond son,  Nathanael,  was  born  at  this  encampment.  This  fledge- 
ling of  turbulent  war  times,  whose  genesis  was  horizoned  by  the 
hills  of  Morris,  was  destined  to  live  eighty  useful  years,  and  to 
be  the  father  of  the  general's  biographer,  Professor  George  W. 
Greene. 

A  young  lady  reached  Morristown  during  the  winter  whose 
arrival  created  a  flutter  in  camp  society,  especially  among  the 
young  men  surrounding  headquarters.  It  was  Miss  Betsey 
Schuyler,  who  came  to  visit  her  friend,  the  wife  of  Doctor  Coch- 
ran who  occupied  a  cottage  in  the  village.  This  physician  was 
one  of  the  best  known  men  in  the  army,  his  cheery  nature  and 
abundant  good  humor  securing  for  him  hosts  of  friends.  From 
April,  1777,  he  had  been  surgeon-general  in  the  general  hospi- 
tal, and  in  October,  1780,  he  was  taken  into  Washington's  mili- 
tary family,  being  appointed  chief  physician  and  surgeon  to  the 
army.     Elizabeth  Schuyler  was  the  second  daughter   of  General 


Colonel  Hamilton  Meets  Elizabeth  Schuyler.     517 

Philip  Schuyler,  who,  having  recently  resigned  from  the  array, 
had  on  the  sixteenth  of  November  taken  his  seat  in  congress  as 
delegate  from  New  York.  She  was  a  beauty  and  a  belle,  very 
small  and  delicately  formed,  with  an  oval  face  and  bewitching 
black  eyes.  Colonel  Tench  Tilghman,  on  meeting  her  for  the 
first  time,  described  her  as  being  : — 

A  brunette,  with  the  most  good-natured  lively  dark  eyes  that  I  ever  saw, 
which  threw  a  beam  of  good  temper  and  benevolence  over  her  entire  counte- 
nance. 

This  handsome  staff-officer  was  just  then  proof  against  her 
fascinations,  being  no  longer  fancy  free.  His  affections  were 
already  enlisted  in  the  direction  of  his  cousin,  Anna  Maria  Tilgh- 
man, whom  he  had  met  for  the  first  time  a  few  months  before 
while  on  a  furlough,  and  who  subsequently  became  his  wife.  It 
was  not  so,  however,  with  his  brother  staff-officer,  the  distin- 
guished Colonel  Hamilton,  who  succumbed  at  once  to  the  attrac- 
tions of  this  imperious  little  beauty.  Tlioir  friendship  (juickly 
grew  into  a  sweeter  bondage  ;  anon  the  god  of  war  lost  that  first 
place  he  had  held  so  long  in  the  interests  of  the  young  soldier  ; 
rugged  Mars  made  way  for  the  gentler  god,  who  soon  guided  the 
barque  of  these  young  people — freighted  with  their  new  afi^ec- 
tions — into  the  safe  harbor  of  matrimony. 

On  the  nineteenth  of  April  the  Chevalier  de  la  Luzerne,  who 
had  succeeded  Grerard  as  minister  from  France,  and  Don  Juan 
de  Miralles,  whose  acquaintance  we  made  at  Camp  Middle- 
brook,  with  their  suites,  arrived  at  headquarters  on  a  visit. 
They  were  received  with  great  honors ;  salvos  of  artillery  were 
fired,  and  a  brilliant  escort  of  officers  and  orderlies  was  sent  to 
meet  them  at  the  Somerset  county  line.  Out  of  compliment  to 
these  distinguished  guests,  on  the  tweuty-fourth  four  brigades  of 
the  army  were  paraded  in  review.  The  ceremonies  began  with 
the  discharge  of  thirteen  cannon,  whereupon,  as  a  witness 
recites  : — 

The  foreign  officers  entered  the  field  mounted  on  elegant  horses,  which  with 
General  W;ishington,  the  general  oflicers  of  our  army  with  their  aides  and  servants, 
formed  a  most  splendid  cavalcade,  which  attracted  the  attention  of  a  vast  con- 
course of  spectators. 

A  reviewing  stand  had  been  erected,  upon  which  were  seated 
Governor  Livingston,  his  wife  and  daughters,  as  well  as  many 


518  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

gentlemen  and  ladies  of  distinction  from  different  parts  of  the 
country.  The  generals  and  guests  received  the  review  mounted, 
and  then  from  the  grand-stand  witnessed  the  evolutions  of  the 
brigades.  In  the  evening  there  was  an  exhibition  of  fireworks, 
after  which  the  excitements  and  pleasures  of  the  day  terminated 
with  a  grand  ball,  which  was  long  talked  of  as  one  of  the  most 
noted  of  New  Jersey's  social  events. 

One  of  the  guests  for  whom  all  this  display  had  been  prepared 
was  unable  to  be  present.  Don  Juan  de  Miralles,  the  Spanish 
envoy,  on  this  all-important  day  was  tossing  with  fever  in  one  of 
the  upper  chambers  of  the  Ford  mansion,  fie  grew  rapidly 
worse,  and  four  days  later,  to  the  great  consternation  and  regret 
of  his  hosts,  died.  His  funeral  on  the  following  day  was  literally 
attended  by  thousands  of  persons,  the  procession  of  soldiers  and 
civilians  on  foot,  which  included  General  Washington  and  several 
members  of  congress,  extended  for  a  mQe.  While  the  funeral 
cortege  with  its  vast  escort  moved,  with  solemn  slowness  to  the 
music  of  muffled  drums,  from  headquarters  to  the  Presbyterian 
burying-ground,  minute  guns  were  fired,  and  every  military  honor 
accorded  to  the  remains  of  the  distinguished  stranger.  A  Span- 
ish priest  recited  the  Roman  Catholic  service  for  the  dead  at  the 
grave,  the  details  of  the  burial  being  attended  with  much  pomp 
and  ceremony.  Lest  some  predatory  soldier  should  be  tempted 
to  dig  for  hidden  treasure  a  guard  was  left  in  the  churchyard,  'iliis 
was  considered  necessary  because  of  the  Spanish  dignitary  hav- 
ing been  buried  in  fuU  regalia.  He  was  arrayed  for  interment 
in  a  scarlet  coat  embroidered  with  heavy  gold  lace ;  a  three-cor- 
nered gold-laced  hat  and  a  well  curled  wig  were  on  his  head,  and 
a  costly  gold  watch,  set  with  diamonds,  in  his  pocket  ;  diamond 
rings  were  on  his  fingers,  and  several  rich  seals  depended  from 
his  watch  guard.  Surgeon  Thacher  recites  that  the  body  was 
laid  out  in  a  coffin  covered  with  rich  black  velvet  ornamented  in 
a  superb  manner.  This  leads  one  to  wonder  where  in  so  short  a 
space  of  time  such  burial  magnificence  could  have  been  procured. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  the  soldiers  should  have  inwardly 
protested  against  so  much  of  value  being  placed  under  ground 
with  the  dead,  when  live  men,  serving  their  country,  were  in 
sorest  need  of  the  merest  necessities.  Although  the  response 
made  by   the  citizens  in   January   to   Washington's  appeal  had 


Sufferings  ok  the  Army  at  Morristown.  519 

saved  the  army  from  the  immediate  danger  of  starving  or  dis- 
banding, it  had  very  far  from  ended  the  sufferings  of  the  sol- 
diers. Throughout  the  winter  and  spring  the  privations  and 
want  almost  equalled  the  unhappy  experiences  of  the  memorable 
encampment  at  Valley  Forge.  For  weeks  the  men  were  on  half 
rations,  often  without  meat,  often  without  bread,  much  of  the 
time  nearly  frozen  for  need  of  blankets  and  clothing.  Fre- 
quently the  horses  were  destitute  of  forage,  and  the  hospital  had 
neither  sugar,  coffee,  tea,  wine  nor  liquors.  The  military  chest 
was  empty  and  the  army  was  unpaid  for  five  months ;  even 
when  the  soldiers  received  their  pay,  owing  to  the  diminished 
value  of  government  money  it  was  of  but  little  avail.  As  previously 
mentioned  a  memorial  of  a  few  months  before  from  the  Jersey  line 
to  the  legislature  showed  that  fnir  months'  pay  of  a  private  woidd 
not  procure  a  bushel  of  wheat,  that  the  pay  of  a  colonel  would  not 
keep  his  horse  in  oats,  and  that  a  common  laborer,  whose  wages 
were  in  hard  money,  received  four  times  as  much  as  an  Ameri- 
can officer.  The  memorial  further  urged,  "  that  unless  a  speedy 
and  ample  remedy  was  provided  the  total  dissolution  of  their 
line  was  inevitable,"  and  in  conclusion  it  said,  "  that  their  pay 
should  either  be  made  up  in  Mexican  dollars  or  in  something 
equivalent." 

Under  such  a  tide  of  misfortunes  it  speaks  well  for  the  disci- 
pline and  temper  of  the  men  that  they,  when  so  destitute  of 
every  comfort,  neither  inaugurated  a  war  of  plunder  on  the 
inhabitants  nor  deserted  to  the  enemy.  At  this  time  the  Ameri- 
can camp  was  flooded  with  circulars  calling  upon  the  men  to  fly 
from  sickness,  famine,  and  nakedness  to  the  British  army,  where 
they  would  be  received  with  open  arms,  and  fed,  clothed,  and 
paid.  Upon  Washington  fefl  the  embarrassments  and  responsi- 
bilities of  this  time.  The  citizens  looked  upon  him  as  their 
protector  from  the  marauding  of  an  impoverished  and  a  fam- 
ished soldiery,  while  the  army  relied  upon  him  for  provisions. 
To  satisfy  both  was  no  small  undertaking ;  but  Washington 
seemed  equal  even  to  such  an  emergency.  He  not  only  guarded 
the  interests  of  the  inhabitants  but  retained  the  army  in  service, 
and  preserved  the  affections  of  his  soldiers.  To  secure  order 
and  subordination  great  firmness  was  necessary,  and  sometimes 
he  was   forced  to   resort  to  severe  punishments.     One  unhappy 


520  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

day  in  May  eight  soldiers,  who  had  been  court-martialed  for 
thievery,  desertion,  and  other  crimes,  were  brought  in  carts  to 
the  gallows  for  execution.  After  being  addressed  by  the  chap- 
lain as  to  the  wickedness  of  their  lives  and  the  justice  of  their 
sentences,  they  were  placed  under  the  fatal  beam  on  one  scaf- 
fold, halters  about  their  necks,  their  coffins  on  the  ground  before 
them,  and  their  open  graves  in  plain  view.  When  the  con- 
demned with  their  eyes  bandaged  were  groaning  and  appealing 
to  Heaven  in  their  extremity,  and  the  thousands  of  spectators 
stood  in  awe-stricken  expectation  of  momentarily  beholding 
their  final  agonies,  an  officer  suddenly  rode  forward  and  read 
the  commander-in-chief's  reprieve  of  seven  of  the  culprits.  It 
would  be  impossible  to  describe  the  emotion  of  the  pardoned  ; 
weak  and  agitated  by  the  excitements  of  the  occasion,  it  was 
almost  necessary  to  carry  them  from  the  scaffold.  After  they 
had  somewhat  recovered,  the  chaplain  urged  them  to  remember 
the  awful  fate  they  had  escaped  by  the  clemency  of  the  general, 
and  begged  that  their  future  lives  might  in  consequence  be 
devoted  to  a  faithful  discharge  of  duty. 

The  one  poor  wretch  remaining  to  be  executed  was  a  brave 
fellow,  and,  before  starting  on  his  journey  alone,  addressed  the 
soldiers,  urging  them  to  take  warning  by  his  fate  and  to  be  true 
to  their  duties  and  coimtry.  The  offense  for  which  he  suffered 
was  that  of  forging  discharges,  whereby  he  and  over  one  hun- 
dred men  had  escaped  from  service.  When  the  fatal  moment 
had  arrived  he  placed  the  noose  about  his  neck,  himself,  and 
adjusted  the  knot,  at  the  same  time  protesting  that  the  halter  was 
not  strong  enough  to  bear  his  weight.  When  swung  off,  the 
rope  broke  and  the  unhappy  man  was  dashed  on  the  ground  and 
much  bruised.  On  mounting  the  scaffold  again  he  cried  out : — 
*'I  told  you  the  rope  was  not  strong  enough,  do  get  a  stronger 
one  !"  A  new  halter  was  procured,  and  upon  a  second  attempt 
being  made  he  was  successfully  launched  into  eternity.  The 
admonition  of  the  chaplain  had  no  effect  upon  one  of  the  re- 
prieved soldiers,  for  on  the  sixteenth  of  June  the  hardened 
wretch  was  hvmg  for  deserting  to  the  enemy. 

And  so,  with  the  varied  experiences  of  happiness  and  misery, 
incidental  to  camp  as  well  as  to  ordinaiy  life,  the  spring  wore 
on  to  early  summer.     In  May  the  entire  continental  troops  con- 


Von  Knyphausen  Enters  New  Jersey  in  1780.      521 

sisted  of  seven  thousand  men,  while  in  June  Washington  had 
but  thirty-seven  hundred  and  fifty  with  him  at  Morristown. 
This  did  not  include  Maxwell's  Jersey  brigade,  which  lay  at 
Elizabethtown,  and  the  militia,  a  considerable  body  of  which  was 
at  the  same  place,  under  Colonel  Dayton.  During  the  winter 
Sir  Henry  Clinton,  leaving  von  Knyphausen  in  command  at  New 
York,  sailed  southward  with  a  large  detachment  of  troops,  and 
invested  Charleston.  After  a  prolonged  defence,  on  the  eleventh 
of  May  the  garrison  of  three  thousand  under  General  Lincoln 
capitulated  to  a  British  force  of  nine  thousand  men.  Including 
the  adult  inhabitants  of  the  city  the  enemy  secured  five  thous- 
and prisoners,  among  them  seven  generals  and  two  hundred  and 
thirty-eight  other  officers.  It  was  a  severe  blow  to  the  Ameri- 
can arms  and  added  much  to  the  depression  of  the  public  mind. 
Owing  to  this  loss,  and  to  the  discontent  of  Washington's  army 
because  of  the  lack  of  clothing  and  pay,  the  British  were  led  to 
believe  that  the  whole  country,  including  citizens  and  troops, 
would  welcome  the  royal  standard,  and,  provided  they  felt  sure 
of  English  support,  would  again  give  their  fealty  to  the  Crown. 
In  order  to  foster  this  feeling  and  encourage  disaffection  the 
enemy  landed  in  force  on  the  sixth  of  June  at  Elizabethtown- 
point,  intending  to  penetrate  in  the  direction  of  Morristown. 
The  invading  troops  were  six  thousand  strong,  composed  of  three 
divisions  under  Generals  Sterling,  Matthews  and  Tryon,  wnth 
von  Knyphausen  in  command.  The  column  took  up  its  line  of 
march  early  on  the  morning  of  Wednesday  the  seventh,  moving 
in  closed  ranks  down  what  is  now  Elizabeth  avenue.  It  was  the 
flower  of  the  British  army,  the  celebrated  Coldstream  Guards 
being  in  one  of  the  divisions.  An  eye-witness  thus  describes 
their  appearance  : — 

In  the  van  marched  a  squadron  of  dragoons,  known  as  the  Queen's  Rangers, 
with  drawn  swords  and  glittering  helmets,  mounted  on  very  large  and  beautiful 
horses.  Then  followed  the  infantry  composed  of  English  and  Hessian  troops, 
and  every  man,  horsemen  and  foot,  clad  in  new  uniforms,  complete  in  panoply, 
and  gorgeous  with  burnished  brass  and  polished  steel. 

This  eye  wdtness  was  in  error  as  to  the  dragoons  in  the  van 
being  the  "■  Queen's  Rangers  " — the}'  were  the  "  Queen's  Own  " 
— the  same  command  to  which  Harcourt's  troopers  that  captured 
General    Lee   belonged.       The    Rangers    wore    three-cornered 


522  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

braided  hats,  but  the  "  Queen's  Own "  were  distinctive  as 
being  arrayed  in  polished  helmets  and  rich  uniforms. 

Von  Knyphausen  expected  to  be  met  with  open  arms.  Nor 
was  he  disappointed — at  least  not  in  fact,  though  perhaps  in 
kind.  His  men  were  not  fairly  on  the  march  before  arms 
opened  to  them  on  every  side.  When  the  head  of  the  column 
moving  towards  Elizabethtown  reached  where  the  Old  and  New 
Point  roads  divide,  a  small  guard  of  militia  fired  and  fled.  Gren- 
eral  Sterling,  who  led  the  first  division,  was  unhorsed  and  his 
thigh  fractured.  Just  at  sunrise  the  advance  turned  north  into 
Broad  street,  filing  again  to  the  west  on  what  is  now  Jersey 
street.  Marching  down  this  then  country  road  the  foreign  host 
crossed  the  present  line  of  the  Central  railroad  at  where  is  now 
El  Mora  station,  and  so  proceeded  in  good  order  by  way  of  the 
Galloping  HiU  road  to  Connecticut  Farms. 

The  welcome  that  the  marching  column  received  was  a  very  dif- 
ferent one  from  what  had  been  anticipated.  Puffs  of  smoke  and  the 
spatter  of  bullets  greeted  the  soldiers  from  trees  and  hedges,  and 
the  citizens  seemed  relentlessly  alert,  ready  to  make  targets  of 
English  grenadiers  or  of  Hessian  horse  and  foot.  The  conduct  of 
the  Mew  Jersey  militia  was  magnificent.  General  Irvine,  in  speak- 
ing of  them  in  a  letter  to  his  wife  on  the  eighteenth  of  June,  said 
that  they  "  not  only  turn  out,  but  fight  and  die  bravely  defend- 
ing their  families."  Soon  the  invading  force  was  fearfully  galled 
and  so  angered  as  to  be  ready  to  wreak  vengeance  on  all  things 
animate  and  inanimate.  Dwellings,  church,  and  people  alike  fell 
a  prey  to  the  frenzied  soldiers  ;  even  a  weak  and  unoftending 
woman  was  not  safe  from  their  vengeful  slaughter.  When  the 
troops  passed  the  parsonage  at  Connecticut  Farms  a  red-coat 
jumped  over  the  fence,  and  pointing  his  gun  in  an  open  window, 
fired  two  balls  through  the  body  of  the  wife  of  the  Reverend 
James  Caldwell,  of  the  first  Presbyterian  church  at  Elizabeth- 
town,  stretching  her  dead  on  the  floor.  Mr.  Caldwell  had  moved 
his  family  to  the  viUage,  thinking  that  retired  spot  to  be  more 
secure  from  chance  incursions  of  the  enemy.  The  brutal  murder 
of  this  estimable  lady,  who  was  the  mother  of  nine  little  children, 
caused  a  great  cry  of  horror  to  go  up  from  the  entire  country, 
and  served  to  greatly  increase  the  feeling  of  hatred  toward 
everything  British. 


Connecticut  Farms  and  Springfield.  523 

The  flames  ignited  by  the  invaders  soon  licked  up  this  little 
village,  including  the  church  of  the  Presbyterian  congregation, 
which  had  stood  since  1730  as  the  first  offshoot  of  the  Elizabeth- 
town  church.  When  von  Knyphausen  crossed  from  Staten 
Island,  the  previous  day.  Maxwell  with  his  brigade  was  at  Eliza- 
bethtown,  but  on  the  landing  of  the  enemy  he  retired  to  Connec- 
ticut Farms.  At  the  same  time  notice  of  the  enemy's  approach 
was  sent  to  Washington.  Colonel  Dayton  had  established  a 
system  of  fleet-footed  scouts,  who,  running  rapidly  one  to  the 
other,  were  able  to  quickly  convey  intelligence  to  Morristown. 
Clayton,  in  his  *'  History  of  Union  County,"  says  that  Mrs. 
Elizabeth  Say  re,  who  died  in  1850  in  her  ninety-second  year, 
used  to  tell  in  her  old  age  of  having  entertained,  refreshed  and 
comforted  these  weary  runners  in  their  hurried  flight  across  the 
state  ;  her  homestead,  on  the  corner  of  the  Deanstown  road  in 
the  valley  below  the  Short  Hills,  is  still  standing.  Wash- 
ington, being  thus  apprised  of  the  British  movement,  was 
early  on  the  march,  and  late  in  the  afternoon  reinforced  Max- 
well. But  during  the  day  the  Jersey  brigade  and  the  militia 
opposed  the  enemy  with  great  stubbornness  ;  first  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  Farm's  meeting-house,  where  they  checked  their  advance 
for  nearly  three  hours.  The  Americans  then  fell  back  slowly  in 
the  direction  of  Springfield,  when  a  stand  was  made,  an  action 
following,  which  Maxwell,  in  a  letter  to  ''  His  Excellency  Gov- 
ernor Livingston,"  characterized  as  the  closest  he  had  seen  during 
the  war.     To  quote  from  the  general's  letter  : — 

Never  did  troops,  either  continental  or  militia,  behave  better  than  ours  did. 
Ever}'  one  that  liad  an  opportunity — which  they  mostly  all  had — vied  with  each 
other  who  could  serve  the  country  most.  In  the  latter  part  of  the  day  the 
militia  flocked  from  all  quarters,  and  gave  the  enemy  no  respite  till  night  closed 
the  scene.  .\t  the  middle  of  the  night  the  enemy  sneaked  off  and  put  their 
backsides  to  the  Sound  near  Elizabethtown. 

The  doughty  commandant  of  the  Jersey  line,  in  addressing 
"  His  Excellency,"  was  not  very  choice  in  his  language,  but  he 
fidly  explained  the  situation.  Early  in  the  day  the  British  had 
learned  that  the  royal  standard  was  not  to  be  a  talisman  with 
which  to  convert  disloyalty  into  loyalty.  The  object  of  the 
expedition  was  plainly  not  to  be  attained,  and,  although  wagons 
containing  seven  days'  provisions  had  accompanied  the  march,  it 


524  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

was  decided,  after  learning  of  Washington's  coming  up,  to 
retreat  to  Elizabethtown.  This  was  done  under  cover  of  the  night, 
while  the  Americans  lay  on  their  arms  expecting  an  engage- 
ment in  the  morning. 

When  the  American  army  marched  to  Connecticut  Farms  in 
support  of  Maxwell,  Mrs.  Washington  was  left  at  Morristown 
with  a  temporary  guard,  commanded  by  Captain  John  Steele. 
This  officer  was  a  Pennsylvanian  who,  though  but  twenty-one 
years  old,  was  already  gray,  due  to  the  fact  of  his  having  laid 
for  a  long  time  on  the  field  of  Brandywine,  far  spent  with  loss 
of  blood  from  a  wound  in  his  shoulder.  His  recovery  was 
despaired  of  for  many  months,  and  when  convalescent  his  hair 
blanched  and  his  face  failed  to  regain  the  ruddy  hue  of  health. 
On  the  fourteenth  of  June,  in  a  letter  to  his  brother  regarding 
his  temporary  command,  he  wrote  : — 

I  am  liappy  in  the  importance  of  my  charge  as  well  as  in  the  presence  of  the 
most  amiable  woman  on  earth,  whose  character  should  I  attempt  to  describe,  I 
could  not  do  justice  to,  but  will  only  say  that  I  think  it  unexceptionable. 

One  night  during  Washington's  absence  there  was  an  alarm, 
and  four  members  of  congress,  who  were  in  camp  in  order  to  learn 
the  needs  of  the  army,  joined  Captain  Steele's  detachment  as 
volunteers.  In  speaking  of  them,  in  his  letter,  the  young  officer 
expressed  a  wish  that  he  had  a  company  of  congressmen  for  the 
next  campaign,  as  it  would  surely  result  in  the  army's  being  bet- 
ter victualled  ; — to  quote  him  : — 

The  rations  they  have  consumed  considerably  overbalanced  all  their  services 
done  as  volunteers,  for  they  have  dined  with  us  every  day  since,  almost,  and  drank 
as  much  wine  as  they  would  earn  in  six  months. 

Von  Knyphausen  with  his  royal  detachment  did  not  recross  to 
Staten  Island  but  remained  behind  intrenchments  at  the  Point. 
While  there,  Sir  Henry  Clinton  returned  from  the  South  ;  elated 
by  his  success  at  Charleston  he  determined  to  reinforce  the  Hes- 
sian general,  scad  again  endeavor  to  beat  up  the  Americans'  base 
of  supplies  at  Morristown.  To  ensure  success  he  first  made  a 
feint  northward  in  order  to  draw  Washington  from  New  Jersey. 
This  ruse  was  successful.  The  American  general  suspecting  a 
design  against  West  Point  moved  his  army  on  the  twenty-first  in 
that  direction,  leaving  Greene  with  two  brigades  to  protect  the 
stores,  and  support  Maxwell  in  guarding  the  lower  country.      At 


TiiK  British  Bt  kn  Springfield.  525 

five  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  twenty-third  the  enemy 
advanced  from  Elizabethtown,  their  numbers  increased  by  a  large 
body  of  cavalry  and  fifteen  or  twenty  pieces  of  artillery.  They 
moved  rapidly  in  two  columns,  though  considerably  harrassed  by 
Lee's  legion  and  the  militia.  Greene,  collecting  all  his  available 
troops  at  Springfield,  there  met  the  euemy  and  opposed  their 
march  with  great  spirit.  The  British  manoeuvered  for  two  hours 
in  a  futile  eifort  to  flank  their  opponents,  after  which  a  general 
action  ensued  lasting  about  forty  minutes,  when,  as  Greene  says 
in  his  report  of  the  operations  of  the  day,  "superior  numbers 
overcame  obstinate  bravery,  and  forced  our  troops  to  retire." 
The  American  general  fell  back  to  the  first  range  of  hills  where 
he  advantageously  posted  himself  so  as  to  check  any  effort  of  his 
foes  to  gain  the  heights.  The  British  showed  no  disposition  to 
advance  further  but  contented  themselves  with  wasting  and  ravag- 
ing the  country.  In  a  few  hours  four  houses  were  all  that  was 
left  of  what  had  been  the  flourishing  village  of  Springfield  ;  two 
of  them,  as  I  am  informed,  are  still  preserved  as  mementoes  of 
that  exciting  and  unhappy  day.  One,  the  Jonathan  Dayton  house, 
bears  the  scars  of  war  in  the  shape  of  a  hole  made  by  a  cannon 
ball  ;  the  other  is  the  second  house  east  of  the  church  and  was 
at  one  time  the  residence  of  Abraham  Clark,  a  signer  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence. 

Thus  ended  the  last  pitched  battle  of  the  Revolution  on 
New  Jersey  soil.  The  honors  remained  with  the  Americans — 
the  dishonors  and  greatest  loss  of  men  with  the  British.  Testi- 
mony is  universal  as  to  the  good  order  and  discipline  displayed 
by  the  soldiers  of  the  republic,  and  Washington  in  his  report  to 
congress  pays  another  of  his  many  tributes  to  the  Jersey  militia, 
by  saying  :  "  They  flew  to  arms  universally,  and  acted  with  a 
spirit  equal  to  anything  I  have  seen  during  the  war."  The 
British  fell  back  early  in  the  day,  their  line  of  retreat  being 
marked  by  dead  and  wounded  men  ;  the  militia  were  on  their 
rear  and  flanks  for  the  entire  distance,  keeping  up  a  continuous 
fire  upon  them  until  they  reached  Elizabethtown,  at  sunset.  At 
midnight  the  enemy  evacuated  the  state,  removing  their  pontoon 
bridge ;  and  so  ended  another  of  their  many  varied  and  calami- 
tous misadventures  in  New  Jersey. 
•v^The  departure  of  the  British  was  followed  by  the  breaking  up 


526  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

of  the  camp  on  Kimball  Hill.  Among  the  stories  preserved  of  that 
time  is  one  illustrative  of  the  spirit  clisplayed  by  farmer  Wicks' 
daughter,  Tempe,  on  the  occasion  of  a  sudden  and  unexpected 
emergency.  This  young  woman  was  a  fearless  rider,  and  the 
owner  of  a  valuable  saddle-horse.  When  the  regiments  were  on 
the  move  some  soldiers  attempted  to  steal  her  favorite,  claiming 
him  to  be  wanted  for  army  purposes.  Horses  being  scarce  were 
much  needed,  and  this  spirited  animal,  even  were  this  not  so, 
would  have  been  a  tempting  bait  for  careless  campaigners  not 
over-particular  as  to  the  rights  of  property.  Miss  Wicks,  when 
mounted  and  a  short  distance  from  home,  was  surrounded ;  but 
with  a  bold  dash  she  escaped  from  her  captors  and  rode  rapidly 
up  the  hill  to  the  house.  Springing  to  the  ground  she  led  her 
steed  through  the  kitchen  and  parlor  into  a  rear  spare  bed- 
room, which  had  but  one  window  guarded  by  a  closed  wooden 
shutter.  The  disappointed  soldiers  repeatedly  searched  the 
farm  in  vain  for  the  coveted  horse,  but  the  courageous  young  lady 
kept  him  secreted  in  the  house  until  the  last  of  the  troops  had 
left  the  neighborhood.  Miss  Wicks  afterwards  married  Captain 
William  Tuttle,  of  the  3d  New  Jersey  regiment. 

The  rest  of  the  year  wore  away  without  much  advantage  to 
the  American  cause.  The  surrender  at  Charleston  was  supple- 
mented by  the  reverse  at  Camden,  where  Gates  lost  much  of  the 
prestige  gained  at  Saratoga.  With  an  empty  military  chest,  a 
barren  commissariat  and  an  army  in  need  of  almost  everything 
it  was  impossible  for  Washington  to  engage  in  an  active  cam- 
paign. The  best  that  could  be  done  was  to  present  a  bold  front 
north  of  New  York  city  and  watch  the  enemy.  On  the  tenth  of 
July,  to  the  great  joy  of  the  country,  the  long  expected  succor 
from  France  reached  our  shores.  On  that  day  a  French  fleet, 
with  six  thousand  troops  under  the  command  of  Lieutenant- 
Greneral  Count  de  Rochambeau,  arrived  at  Rhode  Island.  The 
expectations  of  the  Americans  were  raised  to  the  highest  pitch, 
as  it  was  supposed  that  the  cooperating  armies  would  now  be 
able  to  strike  a  decisive  blow.  All  such  hopes  were  blasted  by 
the  arrival  of  a  superior  British  fleet  which  blockaded  the  French 
ships  and  army  at  Rhode  Island,  incapacitating  the  allies  for  the 
time  being,  from  aiding  the  Americans.  And  so  the  cam- 
paign   of   1780  early    closed   in    chagrin    and    disappointment. 


The  Year  1780  Closes  in  Gloom. 


527 


The  gloom  of  this  period  was  further  darkened  by  the  black 
treachery  of  Benedict  Arnold,  which  resulted  in  the  necessary 
sacrifice  of  that  handsome  and  gifted  youth,  Major  Andre — a 
tragedy  which  brought  honest  grief  to  both  armies. 


CHAPTER     XXXV. 


The  Mutinies  of  the  Pennsylvania  and  New  Jersey  Lines  in  1781 
— The  French  Army  in  Somerset  on  the  Way  to  Virginia — 
Tlic  Hanging  of  Captain  Joshua  Huddy  and  the  Case  of 
Captain  Asgill. 

The  next  twelve  months  will  see  the  end  of  campaigning  in 
Somerset  county,  and  we  shall  then  be  able  to  tm-n  our  attention 
in  other  directions  than  in  that  of  following  the  line  of  march  of 
columns  of  soldiers.  Wherever  the  continentals  may  drift  before 
finally  disbanding  we  may  be  sure  that  their  route  will  lay  amid 
no  pleasanter  bits  of  landscape  that  when  they  were  trailing  along 
the  highways  and  by-ways  of  Morris  and  Bedminster. 

At  the  end  of  November  the  army  was  in  winter  quarters, 
Washington  establishing  himself  at  New  Windsor  on  the  Hud- 
son, where  the  eastern  troops  were  cantoned.  The  French  con- 
tinued at  Newport,  excepting  Lauzun's  legion  which  was  sta- 
tioned at  Lebanon,  Connecticut.  The  New  Jersey  and  Pennsyl- 
vania lines  were  in  our  state  ;  the  former  at  Pompton,  the  latter 
on  Kimball  Hill,  near  Morristown,  both  being  under  the  command 
of  General  Anthony  Wayne.  This  officer,  in  writing  on  the 
sixth  of  December  from  "Mount  Kemble"  to  General  Irvine, 
says  : — 

We  arrived  here  the  30th  ultimo  and  found  a  very  great  proportion  of  the 
Hutts  destroyed,  but  by  coUectiug  tlie  materials  still  left  on  the  ground  occupied 
by  Gen.  Hand's  Brigade  and  improving  those  of  his  yet  standing,  we  shall  get 
under  cover  during  the  week. 

In  another  letter  Wayne  writes  :— ^ 

The  men  are  poorly  clothed,  badly  fed,  and  worse  paid,  some  of  them  not  hav- 
ing received  a  paper  dollar  for  near  twelve  months  ;  exposed  to  winter's  pierc- 
ing cold,  to  drifting  snows,  and  chilling  blasts,  with  no  protection  but  old  worn- 
out  coats,  tattered  linen  overalls,  and  but  one  blanket  between  three  men. 


The  Mutiny  on  Kimball  Hill.  529 

What  wonder  that  such  sufferings  should  have  fomented  in 
the  troops  a  feeling  of  discontent  and  bitterness  I  Another  cause 
for  dissatisfaction  was  a  disagreement  that  had  arisen  between 
the  officers  and  men  as  to  the  true  interpretation  of  the  phrase- 
ology of  the  enlistment  papers.  By  them  the  men  were  bound 
to  serve  for  ''  three  years  or  during  the  war."  Those  who  had 
been  in  the  army  over  three  years  claimed  that  their  ser- 
vices were  being  prolonged  beyond  the  term  of  enlistment — con- 
tending that  the  election  was  with  them  whether  to  remain  at 
the  end  of  that  time.  The  officers  maintained  that  the  alter- 
native was  with  the  government,  and  that  the  war  not  having 
ended  the  men  could  be  held  until  the  cessation  of  hostilities. 

The  feeling  of  discontent  bred  by  such  a  condition  of  affairs 
rapidly  increased,  until  on  the  night  of  the  first  of  January  it 
resulted  in  an  open  revolt.  The  men  of  several  regiments 
refused  longer  to  obey  their  officers,  and  declared  the  intention  of 
marching  at  once  to  Philadelphia  to  demand  of  congress  the 
redress  of  their  grievances.  A  vain  attempt  was  made  to  arrest 
their  departure ;  coercion  only  resulted  in  a  spread  of  the 
mutiny.  Shots  were  fired  on  both  sides,  wounds  inflicted,  and 
several  of  the  insurgents  killed.  They  in  their  turn  gave  a 
death-wound  to  a  Captain  Billings,  who  was  endeavoring  to 
bring  them  under  subjection.  A  black-oak  tree  on  the  side  of 
the  Jockey  HoUow  road,  which  runs  over  Kimball  Hill  east  of 
the  Wick's  house,  is  still  pointed  out  as  the  spot  where  this  offi- 
cer was  shot  by  the  rebels.  He  was  buried  where  he  fell. 
General  Wayne  found  himself  powerless  to  quell  the  mutiny. 
With  a  cocked  pistol  in  his  hand  he  exhorted  his  men  to  return 
to  their  duty,  threatening  that  a  failure  to  do  so  would  entail  the 
direst  punishments.  They  replied  through  their  spokesman  with 
great  firmness,  saying  : — "We  love  and  respect  you,  but  you  are 
a  dead  man  if  you  fire.  Do  not  mistake  us  ;  we  are  not  going  to 
the  enemy ;  were  they  now  to  come  out  you  would  see  us  fight 
under  your  orders  with  as  much  resolution  and  alacrity  as  ever." 
Just  before  midnight  the  mutineers,  thirteen  hundred  strong, 
armed  and  under  command  of  their  non-commissioned  officers, 
set  off  in  good  order  from  camp  taking  with  them  six  field  pieces 
and  an  adequate  number  of  artillery  horses. 

Bad  news  travels  quickly.     By  the  next   morning  the   people 
34 


530     "  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

of  Bedminster  and  the  surrounding  country  knew  that  the  army 
was  in  revolt,  and  much  anxiety  was  felt  lest  the  soldiers  should 
commit  excesses  during  their  march  southward.  Nor  were  their 
fears  without  reason,  but  happily  this  danger  was  averted  by  the 
sagacity  of  Wayne.  This  general,  upon  considtation  with  his  offi- 
cers after  the  rebels  had  started,  determined  that  if  he  could  not 
command  his  men  he  would  at  least  follow  in  their  wake,  and 
by  judicious  management  and  by  seeing  that  they  were  sup- 
plied with  provisions  prevent  plundering  and  depredation.  In 
the  morning,  accompanied  by  regimental  Colonels  Stewart  and 
Butler,  he  overtook  the  insurgents  bivouacked  at  Vealtown  and 
immediately  had  an  interview  with  the  non-commissioned  offi- 
cers. This  resulted  in  a  committee  of  the  sergeants  being 
appointed,  who  drew  up  a  specification  of  grievances  and  who 
made  the  most  solemn  promises  to  preserve  good  order  during 
the  march.  Wayne  dispatched  couriers  to  Philadelphia  announc- 
ing the  unfortunate  condition  of  affairs,  and  urging  that  congress 
be  prepared  to  treat  with  the  men.  Whereupon  a  committee 
from  that  body  was  appointed,  which  with  President  Reed  at  its 
head  proceeded  to  Princeton,  where  the  insurgents  were  met  and 
negotiations  were  at  once  entered  into  for  an  accommodation  of 
all  differences. 

The  tories  were  prompt  to  carry  intelligence  of  this  insurrection 
to  the  enemy,  who  falsely  concluded  that  it  would  be  the  desire  of 
the  insurgents  to  make  their  way  to  the  British  lines.  Acting  on 
this  supposition  Sir  Henry  Clinton  collected  a  number  of  boats 
opposite  Perth  Amboy,  and  dispatched  five  thousand  troops  to  the 
lower  end  of  Staten  Island.  He  then  sent  a  New  Jersey  tory  named 
Ogden  and  a  British  sergeant  to  the  rebels,  telling  what  arrange- 
ments had  been  made  in  support  of  their  movement,  and  offering 
to  discharge  all  debts  due  them  from  the  United  States  without 
demanding  military  service  in  return.  The  board  of  sergeants 
to  whom  the  propositions  were  made  immediately  turned  the 
bearers,  together  with  their  papers,  over  to  Wayne,  and  eventu- 
ally these  emissaries  were  hung  as  spies.  The  soldiers  were 
indignant  that  their  loyalty  to  the  government  was  suspected ; 
"See,  comrades,"  said  one  of  the  sergeants,  on  reading  aloud 
Clinton's  message,  "he  takes  us  for  traitors  !  Let  us  show  him 
that  the  American  army  can  furnish  but  one  Arnold,  and  that 


The  Jersey  Brigade  Mutiny.  531 

America  has  no  truer  friends  than  we."  Such  a  spirit  on  the 
part  of  the  men  had  a  powerful  influence  in  securing  for  them  a 
favorable  adjustment  of  their  difficulties.  A  compromise  nuitiially 
advantageous  was  eifected,  whereby  some  of  their  just  demands 
were  complied  with  and  many  of  the  soldiers  were  discharged, 
their  places  in  the  Pennsylvania  line  being  filled  by  recruits  in 
the  spring.  So  most  fortunately  terminated  an  affair  which,  had 
it  been  managed  on  both  sides  with  less  discretion,  might  have 
led  to  the  disruption  of  the  entire  array. 

So  great  a  breach  of  discipline  was  not  without  its  evil  effects 
upon  other  portions  of  the  continental  force.  In  the  middle  of  Jan- 
uary some  of  the  Jersey  line  at  Pompton,  encouraged  by  the  suc- 
•cess  of  the  Pennsylvanians,  refused  longer  to  do  duty.  Washing- 
ton fearing  further  trouble  had  already  taken  the  precaution  of 
having  a  trusted  command  of  one  thousand  men  under  arms,  ready 
to  march  from  headquarters  at  a  moment's  notice.  This  detachment 
made  a  rapid  move  on  the  Jersey  camp,  when  the  refractory 
soldiers  were  forced  to  parade  without  arms  and  deliver  up  their 
ringleaders.  Three  of  the  latter,  who  had  been  at  the  head  of 
the  revolt,  were  at  once  tried  by  drum-head  court-martial,  sen- 
tenced, and  two  of  them  executed  on  the  spot,  twelve  of  the  most 
guilty  of  their  associates  being  obliged  to  serve  as  the  firing 
party.  In  such  a  terrible  but  effective  manner  was  this  second 
mutiny  throttled  at  its  birth.  It  seems  severe  measures  to  have 
meted  out  to  our  Jersey  soldiers  when  the  Pennsylvania  line 
had  been  dealt  with  so  leniently,  but  it  must  be  remembered  that 
the  latter  were  in  force,  that  they  were  in  excellent  temper,  and 
that  the  goverament  was  taken  unawares  and  obliged  to  meet  the 
difficulty  as  best  it  could.  This  last  insurrection,  however,  found 
Washington  prepared  to  cope  with  the  exigency  ;  it  was  absolute- 
ly necessary  to  nip  this  second  attemjit  in  the  bud,  for  had  it  pre- 
vailed it  would  have  meant  the  utter  destruction  of  the  army. 

The  next  incident  of  interest  in  the  Revolutionary  story  of 
Somerset  is  the  memorable  march  of  the  allied  armies  across  the 
county  on  their  way  to  the  triumphant  campaign  in  Virginia. 
When  Sir  Henry  Clinton  returned  in  June,  1780,  from  his  suc- 
cess at  Charleston,  he  left  at  that  place  four  thousand  men  under 
Lord  Cornwallis.  After  the  capture  of  Lincoln  no  continent.' 1 
force  remained  south  of  Pennsylvania.       To  fill   this    void    the 


\ 


532  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

Maryland  and  Delaware  troops  were  despatched  southward  under 
the  command  of  DeKalb,  whose  troops  also  included  militia  from 
both  the  Carolinas  ;  he  was  soon  succeeded  by  Gates.  The  latter 
general's  campaign  ended  with  the  disaster  at  Camden,  and  on 
the  thirtieth  of  October  he  retired  in  favor  of  Greene,  who  was 
transferred  from  the  quartermaster's  department  to  the  command 
of  the  Southern  army. 

The  achievements  of  this  able  general  produced  a  marked 
change  in  the  aspect  of  affairs,  for  with  an  inconsiderable  and 
miserably  provided  army  he  successfully  contended  with  a 
regular  British  force,  his  efforts  culminating  in  the  biiUiant  vic- 
tories of  Cowpens  and  Eutaw  Springs.  Before  the  first  of  April, 
with  alternate  marching  and  fighting,  the  opposing  armies  had 
crossed  the  two  Carolinas,  and  CornwaUis  had  entered  Virginia. 
By  this  time  the  British  general  had  been  largely  reinforced  and 
had  divided  his  command.  At  the  Virginia  line  Greene  aban- 
doned the  pursuit  of  CornwaUis  and  turned  back  to  meet  the 
other  division.  The  Earl  continued  to  Winchester,  and  to  Peters- 
burg where  he  combined  with  General  PhUips,  and  being  there 
fui-ther  reinforced  by  fifteen  hundred  men  from  New  York  he  found 
himself  at  the  head  of  a  formidable  army,  seven  thousand  strong. 
He  advanced  from  Petersburg,  opposed  guardedly  by  Lafayette, 
who  in  February,  1781,  had  marched  to  Virginia  with  twelve  hun- 
di'ed  men  to  operate  against  Arnold,  that  traitor  having  been  for 
some  months  conducting  a  predatory  warfare  in  that  state.  This 
force  of  the  marquis  was  formed  into  three  battalions.  One  of 
them  was  comjiosed  of  light-infantry  companies  detailed  from 
the  New  Jersey  line,  consisting  of  thirteen  officers  and  one  hun- 
dred and  forty-eight  enlisted  men,  with  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Francis  Barber  at  their  head.  Lafayette  declared  his  light- 
infantry  to  be  the  best  troops  that  had  ever  taken  the  field, 
and  that  an  equal  number  of  British  never  ventured  to  meet 
them.  Stryker,  in  his  monograph  on  the  Virginia  campaign, 
affirms  that  this  splendid  New  Jersey  command  bore  a  conspicu- 
ous and  honorable  part  throughout  all  the  movements  that  cul- 
minated in  the  fall  of  Yorktown. 

Colonel  Barber  at  the  outset  of  the  war  was  the  master  of  an 
Elizabethtown  grammar-school,  but  his  patriotism  soon  carried 
him  into  the  army,  and  being  natui-ally   a  student  he   rapidly 


Lafayette  in  Somerset  County.  533 

acquired  a  knowledge  of  the  art  of  war.  At  different  times  he 
served  with  distinction  on  the  staffs  of  Sullivan,  Stirling,  Greene 
and  Steuben,  and  during  the  struggle  was  distinguished  for 
bravery  and  ability  ;  notably  in  the  famous  assault  on  the  redoubts 
of  Yorktown,  when  his  light-infantry  acted  as  a  supporting  col- 
umn. With  the  strange  irony  of  fate,  Colonel  Barber,  after 
passing  nearly  unscathed  through  the  many  dangers  of  the  pro- 
longed Revolutionary  contest,  was  accidentally  killed  in  1783, 
just  eight  days  before  the  announcement  of  the  cessation  of  hos- 
tilities. Wliile  riding  from  camp  to  his  quarters,  near  New 
Windsor  on  the  Hudson,  on  the  eleventh  of  February,  a  tree 
suddenly  fell  across  his  path  striking  him  dead  from  his  horse. 

The  passage  of  Lafayette's  little  army  across  New  Jersey,  on 
its  way  to  Virginia,  was  the  most  rapid  movement  of  troops 
chronicled  during  the  war.  Although  the  roads  were  deep  with 
mud  but  two  days  were  consumed  in  marching  from  Morris- 
town  to  Princeton.  He  was  at  Pompton  on  the  twenty-third  of 
February  and  embarked  at  Trenton  on  the  first  of  March,  reach- 
ing the  Head  of  Elk  on  the  third.  Messengers  had  been  sent  ahead 
to  notify  the  New  .lersey  people  of  Lafayette's  proposed  rapid 
march,  and  the  citizens  cheerfully  aided  the  progress  of  the 
detachment.  Its  commandant  wrote  AVashington  that  when- 
ever he  halted  his  troops  he  found  wood  and  cover  in  waiting, 
and  not  the  least  complaint  had  been  made  by  the  inhabitants. 
During  the  spring  the  marquis  had  been  reinforced  by  Steuben 
with  Virginia  militia  and  by  Wayne  with  Pennsylvania  regu- 
lars. Cornwallis,  deciding  to  make  Virginia  the  seat  of  future 
operations,  proceeded  to  Yorktown,  where  he  strongly  fortified 
himself  and  awaited  the  arrival  of  a  British  fleet  from  the  West 
Indies,  by  which  help  he  hoped  to  prosecute  a  vigorous  cam- 
paign. All  this  time  Washington  was  not  unmindful  of  what 
was  transpiring  in  the  south.  Knowing  that  a  French  fleet 
would  soon  arrive  at  the  Virginia  capes,  he  believed  that  he  saw 
an  opportunity  in  conjunction  with  the  allied  army  for  striking  a 
deadly  blow  at  the  enemy.  His  preparations  accordingly  were 
secretly  and  effectively  made. 

During  the  entire  summer  of  1781  the  British  garrison  and 
tory  residents  of  New  York  city  were  in  constant  trepidation 
because  of  the  proximity  of  the  combined  American  and  French 


534  The  Story  of  an  Old  Faem. 

forces.  Early  in  July  Washington's  army  was  encamped  at 
Dobb's  Ferry,  and  by  the  sixth  of  that  month  he  was  reinforced 
by  Rochambeau  from  Newport.  The  enemy  had  good  cause  for 
fearing  an  immediate  attack  and  Clinton  had  grave  doubts  of 
the  favorable  results  of  an  encounter,  his  force  having  been 
much  weakened  by  drafts  on  him  from  Cornwallis.  Washington 
was  well  informed  of  the  fears  and  apprehensions  of  the  British 
general,  and,  by  a  series  of  feints  and  movements,  did  what  he 
could  to  add  to  his  discomfitures  and  to  prolong  his  anxieties. 
Clinton  learned  from  his  spies  and  scouts  that  on  the  twenty- 
second  of  July  the  Americans  and  French,  five  thousand  strong, 
were  marching  and  countermarching  on  the  heights  north  of 
Harlem,  that  on  the  twenty-third  Washington  and  Rochambeau 
dined  at  the  Van  Courtlaud  mansion  at  King's  Bridge,  and  that 
a  few  days  later  they  were  reconnoilering  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
British  outposts. 

Washington  and  his  leading  generals  kept  their  own  counsels, 
and  the  continental  officers,  generally,  -were  as  curious  as  were 
the  English  as  to  what  was  to  be  the  outcome  of  the  many  pre- 
parations being  made  within  the  American  lines.  Camps  were 
established,  earth  works  were  thrown  up,  bread-ovens  erected, 
and  much  else  done  by  oi'der  of  the  commander-in-chief  calcu- 
lated to  alarm  the  enemy  and  deceive  his  own  army.  Mean- 
while the  position  of  Cornwallis  in  Virginia  was  growing  perilous 
in  the  extreme.  Though  Clinton  had  nearly  eighteen  thousand 
men  on  and  about  Manhattan  Island,  while  menaced  by  Washing- 
ton he  dared  not  detach  a  single  company  to  reinforce  the  south- 
ern army.  This  explains  the  American  general's  masterly 
manoeuvres.  He  was  biding  his  time.  When  the  news  came 
that  Count  de  Grasse,  with  twenty-eight  ships  of  the  line  carry- 
ing four  thousand  soldiers,  had  entered  the  Chesapeake  he 
showed  his  hand — at  least  to  his  own  force.  On  the  nineteenth 
of  August  small  detachments  were  sent  against  New  York  and 
Staten  Island  to  occupy  the  enemy,  while  the  main  allied  army 
broke  camp,  crossed  the  Hudson,  and  hastily  marched  southward. 
.So  sudden  and  unannounced  was  this  movement  that  the  armies 
were  well  on  their  way  through  New  Jersey  before  the  officers 
laarned  that  they  were  bound  for  Virginia.  It  was  for  a  long 
time   controverted   whether  Washington  had   really  intended  a 


The  Allied  Armies  in  New  Jersey.  535 

stroke  at  New  York,  and  whether  it  was  the  opportune  informa- 
tion that  Count  de  G-rasse  was  approaching  the  Delaware  capes 
that  fixed  his  determination  to  attack  the  enemy  in  Virginia,  as 
being  a  more  vulnerable  quarter.  All  doubts  on  this  scoro  were 
set  at  rest  in  1788  by  a  letter  from  Washington,  published  in 
"  Carey's  Museum,"  in  which  an  explicit  statement  was  made 
that  : — 

It  never  was  in  contemplation  to  attack  New  York,  unless  the  garrison  should 
first  have  heen  so  far  degarnished  to  carry  on  the  southern  operations  as  to  ren- 
der our  success  in  the  siege  of  that  place  as  infallible  as  any  future  military  event 
can  ever  be  made.  *  *  *  that  much  trouble  was  taken  and  finesse  used  to 
misguide  and  bewilder  Sir  Henry  Clinton  in  regard  to  the  real  object  is  certain ; 
nor  were  less  pains  taken  to  deceive  our  own  army,  for  I  had  always  conceived, 
where  the  imposition  does  not  completely  take  place  at  home  it  would  never  suf- 
ficiently succeed  abroad. 

The  allied  armies  in  crossing  New  Jersey  marched  by  differ- 
ent routes  in  four  divisions,  two  American  and  two  French. 
The  right  column  of  the  continentals,  composed  of  Hazen's  regi- 
ment, the  corps  of  sappers  and  miners,  the  artillery,  stores,  bag- 
gage and  thirty  flatboats  on  carriages,  passed  through  northern 
Somerset  on  the  twenty-eighth,  marching  on  that  day  from  Chat- 
ham to  Bound  Brook  On  the  night  of  the  thirtieth  this  divi- 
sion encamped  at  Princeton,  and  on  the  following  day  was  at 
Trenton  where  the  heavy  ordnance,  baggage,  stores  and  a  por- 
tion of  the  troops  were  embarked  for  Philadelphia.  The  Ameri- 
can left  column,  under  Major-General  Lincoln,  comprised  the 
light-infantry  commanded  by  Colonel  Scammell  in  the  van,  the 
two  New  York  regiments  under  Brigadier-General  Clinton  on  the 
left,  and  "the  Jersey  brigade  and  the  Rhode  Island  regiments  in 
the  centre.  This  division  separated  from  the  right  at  Chatham 
on  the  twenty-eighth,  joining  it  again  on  the  thirty-first  at  Tren- 
ton, having  marched  by  the  way  of  New  Brunswick  and  Prince- 
ton. An  old  order  book  of  the  light-infantry,  now  before  me, 
presents  some  interesting  glimpses  of  the  experiences  of  this  left 
column  while  on  the  march.  Assembly  was  beat  each  morning 
at  half  after  three  and  the  troops  were  in  motion  at  four.  The 
column  was  preceded  by  the  commissaries  with  a  drove  of  cattle, 
who,  on  reaching  the  place  of  encampment  for  the  night, 
slaughtered  the  necessary  stock  and  had  the  rations  of  beef 
ready  to  be  issued  on  the  arrival  of  the   troops.     Brigade-com- 


536  Thf:  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

manders  were  ordered  on  reaching  camp-ground  to  make  imme- 
diate application  to  the  commissary  for  fresh  beef,  "and  if  it  was 
not  killed  and  ready  to  serve  out  They  are  to  demand  the  Rea- 
son and  report  it."  Each  regiment  was  allowed  one  uncovered 
and  three  covered  wagons  for  carrying  baggage  and  tents,  which 
were  ordered  to  fall  in  between  the  New  York  brigade  and  the 
rear-guard.  In  addition  two  empty  wagons  followed  each, 
brigade  in  which  were  placed  men  too  sick  or  lame  to 
march.  Wagoners  who  permitted  such  persons  to  ride  with- 
out written  permission  from  the  corps  commanders  were  to 
be  punished  at  the  first  halt.  The  women  contingent  of  this 
force  appear  to  have  caused  considerable  annoyance.  They  were 
inclined  to  steal  rides  from  the  wagons,  and  evidently  were  not 
amenable  to  military  discipline.  One  of  the  orders  relating  to 
them  recites  : — 

Prior  to  the  commencement  of  our  march  this  raorning  the  commanding  offi- 
cers will  inform  the  women  of  their  respective  corps  that  the  General  saw  many 
of  them  yesterday  from  their  proper  line  of  march,  strolling  in  gardens  and  orch- 
ards, an  irregularity  which  must  not  be  repeated.  Should  any  attempt  it  here- 
after they  will  be  denied  their  rations  and  prevented  farther  from  following  the 
army. 

But  it  was  the  passage  of  the  French  divisions  that  excited 
the  liveliest  interest  among  the  Jersey  people.  The  allies'  right 
column  consisted  of  Lauzun's  legion  ;  the  regiment  Bourbonnais, 
uniformed  in  black  turned  up  with  red  ;  the  Royal  Deux-Ponts^ 
in  white  broadcloth  coats  faced  with  green ;  and  the  heavy 
artillery,  the  men  of  which  were  uniformed  in  blue  with  white 
facings.  The  left  column  of  the  French  army  contained  all  the 
stores  and  baggage,  together  with  the  regiments  Saintonge  and 
Soissonnais,  the  men  of  the  former  being  arrayed  in  white  and 
green,  while  the  white  uniforms  of  the  latter  were  faced  with 
pink,  their  grenadier  caps  being  gay  with  floating  pink  plumes. 
Attached  to  each  regiment  were  companies  of  chasseurs  formed 
of  light  active  men,  and  of  grenadiers  who  were  always  soldiers  of 
good  size  and  appearance.  The  latter  were  considered  the  elite 
©f  the  corps,  being  men  of  long  service  and  acknowledged 
bravery ;  they  wore  high  bearskin  hats  and  distinctive  uni- 
forms, and  always  marched  at  the  head  of  each  battalion. 

The  two  French  divisions  lay  at  Whippany  on  the  night  of 
the  twenty-eighth,  where  the  left  column  rested  on  the  following 


The  French  Itineraky  in  Somerset.  537 

day  while  the  right  inarched  to  "  Bullion's  tavern,"*  in  Bernards 
township.  This  first  division  on  the  thirtieth  pushed  on  through 
Bedminster  and  Bridgewater  to  Somerset  Court-house  (Mill- 
stone), the  second  division  reaching  "  Bullion's  tavern  "  on  the 
same  night.  The  next  halt  of  the  right  column  was  at  Prince- 
ton on  the  night  of  the  thirty-first,  the  left  occupying  the  same 
night  the  camp  that  the  right  had  vacated  in  the  morning.  So  the 
two  French  divisions  continued  their  march  one  day  apart,  on 
through  Trenton  to  Philadelphia,  which  they  entered  on  the 
third  and  fourth  of  September,  camping  one  mile  beyond  the 
city.  There  has  been  left  us  numerous  notices  of  the  passage  of 
the  foreign  troops  through  our  county.  The  Abbe  Robin,  the 
chaplain  of  the  regiment  Soissonnais,  furnishes  us  with  the 
dates  of  the  halts  of  his  division,  and  records  that  the  conduct  of 
the  men  was  admirable,  there  not  even  being  a  single  instance 
of  one  of  the  soldiers  taking  an  apple  or  a  peach  from  an  orchard 
without  obtaining  leave.  The  Duponceau  manuscripts  recite : 
"  It  was  given  out  in  general  orders  that  if  a  Frenchman  should 
have  a  dispute  with  an  American  the  Frenchman  should  be  pun- 
ished, whether  he  was  in  the  right  or  in  the  wrong." 

The  "  Journal  of  Claude  Blanchard,"  commissary  of  the  French 
army,  records  many  of  that  officer's  impressions  of  the  Somerset 
country.  He  foimd  the  dwellings  of  Bernards  township  "  always 
unique."     He  says  : — 

They  have  no  gardens,  no  fruit  walls,  only  some  apple  trees,  some  peach  trees 
and  some  scattered  cherry  trees,  all  forming  what  we  call  orchard.  The  road 
which  I  took  to  reach  "  Bullion's  Tavern  "  is  not  disagreeable,  but  the  farms  are 
still  middling,  they  were  sown  with  maise  and  buckwheat ;  I  also  saw  a  little 
hemp  there. 

Princeton  seems  to  have  found  favor  with  the  commissary, 
which  he  calls  : — 

A  pretty  village  of  about  sixty  houses ;  the  inns  there  are  handsome  and  very 
clean.  A  very  handsome  college  is  also  to  be  seen  there,  built  in  the  same  style 
as  that  at  Providence. 


*  The  location  of  this  tavern,  which  is  often  spoken  of  in  Revolutionary  itiner- 
aries, has  long  been  in  dispute.  It  has  been  claimed  by  Liberty  Corner,  Basking 
Ridge,  and  Bernardsville  (Vealtown).  The  preponderance  of  testimony  is  alto- 
gether in  favor  of  the  site  of  the  present  tavern  at  the  latter  place,  opposite  the 
"  Vealtown  Spring." 


538  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

Another  diarist  furnishes  us  with  an  interesting  account  of  some 
of  the  French  officers  from  one  of  the  divisions  having  been  enter- 
tained at  John  Morton's  residence,  near  the  church  at  Basking 
Ridge.  Mrs.  Morton's  parents, — Mr.  and  Mrs  Kemper — who  had 
emigrated  from  Germany  eai"]y  in  the  century,  were  at  this  time 
visiting  their  children  at  Basking  Ridge.  While  all  the  other 
members  of  the  household  were  delighted  with  the  appearance  of 
the  French  soldiers,  and  vied  with  each  other  in  their  entertain- 
ment, the  old  gentleman  and  his  wife  retired  to  their  chamber. 
They  could  not  forget  the  sufferings  of  fatherland  under  (lallic 
oppression,  and  were  confident  that  no  good  would  come  to  the 
American  cause  by  the  employment  of  such  allies. 

The  foreign  troops  while  swinging  through  Bedminster  on 
their  hurried  march  made  a  magnificent  appearance.  As  soldiers 
the  Frenchmen  were  a  revelation  to  the  inhabitants,  presenting  a 
marked  contrast  to  the  poorly  clad  and  equipped  continentals. 
The  view  of  such  perfect  phalanxes,  thronging  helms  and  thick 
array  of  waving  banners  was  a  new  military  experience  for  Bed- 
minster people,  and  when  the  tambour-majors,  resplendent  in 
panache,  aiguillette  and  tinsel,  flourished  their  ponderous  batons, 
making  the  hills  and  valleys  vocal  with  the  melody  of  the  Gallic 
bands,  the  acme  of  warlike  splendor  seemed  to  have  been 
reached.  The  private  soldiers  in  their  handsome  and  varied 
uniforms  appeared  as  neat  as  their  officers  ;  easy,  debonair,  and 
with  natures  proverbially  gay,  they  were  not  stern-looking,  grim- 
yisaged  warriors,  as  though  wielding  the  offensive  blade  from 
love  of  carnage,  or  eager  to  sack  cities  and  devastate  and  raze 
villages.  But  do  not  for  a  moment  make  the  mistake  of  thinking 
that  these  Frenchmen  were  mere  holiday  soldiers.  They  could 
fight, — and  they  did  fight,  like  gladiators  when  the  time  came. 
On  the  fourteenth  of  October  one-third  of  the  Regiment  Gatenois 
— afterwards  the  royal  Auvergne — which  had  landed  from  Count 
de  Grasse's  fleet,  fell  in  the  trenches  near  Yorktown  when  storm- 
ing a  redoubt.  Heavy  pockets  make  light  hearts.  Perhaps  that 
is  why  the  French  soldiers  bore  such  cheerful  countenances,  as 
they  were  paid  regularly  every  two  weeks.  They  had  other 
causes  for  being  contented  with  their  military  lot.  One  James 
Tilton,  in  a  letter  from  Williamsburg,  Virginia,  in  December, 
1781,  to  Captain  Thomas  Rodney  of  Delaware,  wrote : — 


The  Duke  of  Lauzun's  Legion.  539 

It  must  be  mortifying  for  our  poor  devils  to  observe  the  comfortable  and  happy 
life  of  French  soldiers.  They  appear  on  parade  every  day  like  fine  gentlemen. 
*  *  *  The  officers  treat  the  soldiers  with  attention,  humanity  and  respect, 
and  appear  to  employ  all  the  means  necessary  to  inspire  them  with  sentiments  of 
honor.  Tlieft  is  said  to  be  a  crime  held  in  universal  abhorrence  among  them.  I 
have  not  seen  or  heard  of  any  instance  yet  of  a  French  soldier  being  whipped. 
Their  desertions,  I  believe,  have  been  rare,  and  tlieir  sickness  but  little.  When 
will  our  army  bear  this  compari.son  ? 

The  Jersey  people  especially  marvelled  at  the  brave  show 
made  by  the  Duke  of  Lauzun's  legion,  a  corps  of  six  hundred 
men,  hussars  and  infantry,  the  very  pick  of  the  French  army. 
These  soldiers,  especially  the  hussars,  were  sparkling  with  life 
and  activity  and  seemed  to  look  upon  the  march  as  a  holiday 
excursion.  Their  officers  were  all  tall  young  men  with  hand- 
some faces  and  noble  bearings,  who  made  a  superb  appearance 
mounted  on  fine  horses,  richlj'  caparisoned.  Their  distinctive 
characteristics — which  were  quite  new  on  this  side  of  the  water 
— were  the  moustaches  they  all  wore.  We  may  easily  figure 
the  interest  and  admiration  that  these  volatile,  laughter-loving 
beaux  sabreurs  must  have  excited  in  the  hearts  and  minds  of  the 
American  girls  met  during  their  campaign.  It  is  said  that  fol- 
lowing the  impulses  of  their  gay  dispositions,  more  than  once 
after  a  day's  inarch  their  assurance  and  captivating  manners 
secured  for  them  partners  for  an  evening  dance.  The  legion 
had  quartered  during  the  winter  and  spring  at  Lebanon,  Con- 
necticut, where  the  corps  was  most  hospitably  entertained.  In 
return,  the  officers  had  given  many  dances  and  dinners,  and 
altogether  had  endeared  themselves  to  the  people  of  the  neigh- 
borhood. 

The  Buc  de  Lauzun-Biron  was  a  nobleman  of  great  wealth, 
and  celebrated  alike  for  beauty,  bravery  and  wit ;  by  his  pre- 
possessing manners  he  made  himself  very  agreeable  to  the 
Americans,  those  with  whom  he  was  intimate  always  remember- 
ing him  with  much  affection.  His  career,  which  in  the  begin- 
ning gave  great  promise,  came  to  a  tragic  end  on  the  last  day  of 
the  year  1793,  when  he  was  guillotined  at  Paris,  charged  with 
favoring  the  Vendeans.  Two  of  his  officers — brothers  by  the 
name  of  Dillon — one,  a  major,  the  other,  a  captain,  who  had 
made  excellent  impressions  in  America,  suffered  the  same  fate. 
A  violent  death  was  in  later  years  the   dire  lot  of  a  number  of 


540  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

the  men  who  officered  the  French  contingent  force  during  the 
Virginia  campaign.  Among  them  was  Count  de  Custine — 
otherwise  Adam  Philipe — who  commanded  the  regiment  Sain- 
tonge.  On  returning  to  France,  after  serving  with  distinction  in 
America,  although  a  nobleman  he  joined  the  revoKitionary  party, 
and  in  1792  was  at  the  head  of  the  French  army  on  the  lower 
Rhine.  His  nobility  having  always  made  him  an  object  of  sus- 
picion, in  the  following  year  he  was  accused  of  treason,  and, 
though  protesting  to  the  last  his  loyalty  to  the  cause,  was  guillo- 
tined on  the  twenty-seventh  of  August. 

The  death  of  another  officer  was  still  more  at  variance  with 
the  brilliancy  of  his  career.  This  was  that  of  Count  Jean  Axel 
de  Fersen — a  Swede.  At  the  early  age  of  nineteen  he  went  to 
France  and  was  made  colonel  of  the  king's  Swedish  body-guard. 
His  singxdar  beauty  attracted  universal  attention,  and  even  the 
queen  became  so  sensible  of  his  fascinations  as  to  expose  her- 
self to  adverse  criticism.  It  is  said  that  the  count's  advent  in 
America  was  due  to  his  regard  for  her  majesty's  reputation,  for 
fearing  that  her  too  openly  expressed  preference  for  him  would 
cause  scandal  he  decided  to  avoid  such  a  catastrophe  by  entering 
the  military  family  of  Rochambeau  as  an  aide-de-camp.  At 
Newport  he  became  a  great  favorite  in  society  and  won  the  affec- 
tions of  all  the  women.  His  character  as  well  as  his  person  was 
much  admired,  and  his  success  with  the  sex,  and  with  the  Ameri- 
cans generally,  was  the  greater  because  speaking  their  language. 
He  did  excellently  well  at  Yorktown,  being  complimented  by 
Washington  for  his  soldierly  qualities  and  conduct.  The  life  of 
this  well-favored  young  officer  was  strangely  full  of  adventure. 
He  it  was  who,  disguised  as  a  coachman,  drove  Louis  XVI  and 
Marie  Antoinette  from  Paris  to  Varennes,  on  the  occasion  of 
their  unsuccessful  attempt  to  escape  from  their  loving  subjects. 
The  count  met  his  tragic  end  in  1810  at  Stockholm.  He  was 
suspected  of  conniving  at  the  death  of  the  young  king.  Christian 
Augustus,  and  was  murdered  by  a  mob  while  attending  that 
monarch's  funeral. 

The  combined  armies  were  quickly  beyond  the  Delaware.  It 
was  the  thirtieth  of  August — by  which  time  the  French  and 
American  generals  were  being  enthusiastically  welcomed  at 
Philadelphia — before  Sir   Henry  Clinton,  almost  wild  with  anger 


The  P'all  ok  Yorktown.  541 

and  humiliation,  discovered  that  the  British  had  again  been  out- 
generaled— that  his  army  was  again  the  victim  of  the  superior 
strategy  of  the  American  Fabius.  On  the  eighth  of  September, 
while  Greene  was  whipping  the  enemy  at  Eutaw  Springs  Wash- 
ington was  in  Baltimore,  and  on  the  evening  of  the  ninth  he  was 
at  Mount  Vernon — his  first  visit  in  six  years.  Here  two  days 
were  spent  in  entertaining  distinguished  .guests  from  the  two 
armies.  The  generals  and  their  retinues  on  the  fourteenth 
joined  Lafayette  at  Williamsburg  ;  by  the  twenty-eighth,  all  the 
divisions  of  both  nations  havuig  come  up,  the  combined  armies 
moved  on  Yorktown,  and  by  the  fifth  of  October  the  place  was 
completely  invested.  Shortly  after  midnight  of  the  twentieth, 
people  living  in  the  vicinity  of  High  and  Second  streets  in  Phil- 
adelphia were  disturbed  by  a  loud  pounding  on  the  front  door  of 
the  dwelling  of  Thomas  McKean,  president  of  congress.  It  was 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Tench  Tilghman,  who  had  ridden  express 
from  General  Washington  bearing  dispatches,  annomicing  that 
on  the  previous  day  seven  thousand  British  and  German  soldiers 
had  laid  down  their  arms,  and  that  with  them  Lord  Coniwallis,  the 
king  of  England's  ablest  general,  was  a  prisoner.  Soon,  boom- 
ing cannons,  clanging  bells,  and  loud-voiced  watchmen  carried 
the  glad  news  to  every  quarter  of  the  city.  When  the  morning 
light  was  breaking,  couriers  were  flying  in  all  directions  convey- 
ing intelligence  to  the  country  that  the  darkness  was  disappearing 
— that  Britain  had  forever  loosened  its  hold  on  America. 

The  fall  of  Y'orktown  virtually  closed  the  Revolutionary  war. 
Three  months  had  not  gone  by  after  the  capture  of  Cornwallis 
became  known  in  London  before  parUament  concluded  to  aban- 
don offensive  operations.  Negotiations  for  peace  began  at  once, 
and  continued  until  the  thirtieth  of  November,  1782,  when  a 
provisional  treaty  was  signed.  Meanwhile  a  few  skirmishes  in 
the  South,  and  in  Monmouth  county,  New  Jersey,  constituted 
about  all  the  active  military  operations.  The  one  event  that 
distinguished  the  closing  year  of  the  war,  and  in  which  the  peo- 
ple of  Somerset  were  much  concerned,  was  the  sad  condition  of 
a  young  English  officer,  who  in  the  autumn  of  1782  was  con- 
fined in  the  huts  of  the  Jersey  line,  in  Chatham  township,  Mor- 
ris county,  awaiting  execution.  It  was  not  only  the  people  of 
Somerset  who  anxiously  interested  themselves  in  the  misfortunes 


542  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

of  this  youth.  The  knowledge  of  his  approaching  fate  harassed 
congress,  disturbed  two  European  courts,  and  agitated  the  society 
of  London  and  Paris.  His  unhappy  predicament  was  brought 
about  in  this  wise. 

Of  all  the  sad  Revolutionary  chapters  contributed  by  Mon- 
mouth county,  none  are  more  dismal  than  the  one  narrating  the 
tragic  death  of  Captain  Joshua  Huddy,  who  was  hanged  by 
refugee  Jerseymen  at  Gravelly  Point,  about  one  mile  north  of 
the  Highland  lighthouse  and  opposite  the  southerly  portion  of 
Handy  Hook.  Huddy,  who  was  an  active  patriot,  had  com- 
manded one  of  the  two  batteries  of  artillery  of  state  troops  that 
had  been  organized  by  an  act  of  the  legislature  in  1777.  This 
militia  captain  was  especially  vigilant  in  suppressing  the  incen- 
diary acts  of  tories  and  refugees,  of  whom  there  were  many  in 
Monmouth  county,  where  he  was  stationed.  The  terror  he 
inspired  among  these  people  was  such  as  to  make  him  a  marked 
man,  and  the  object  of  their  vengeance  whenever  an  opportu- 
nity presented  itself.  In  the  summer  of  1780,  while  in  his 
house  at  Colt's  Neck,  five  miles  from  Freehold,  he  was  attacked 
by  sixty  men  headed  by  Colonel  Tye,  a  mulatto,  who  generally 
roamed  the  country  with  a  mongrel  crew  of  negroes  and  tories. 
With  the  exception  of  a  colored  servant  girl  about  twenty  years 
old  Huddy  was  alone  in  the  house ;  but  fortunately  he  had  a 
number  of  muskets  belonging  to  the  members  of  his  absent 
guard.  Together  these  two  made  a  brave  defence ;  the  girl 
loaded  while  he  rapidly  fired  from  different  windows,  giving 
the  impression  of  their  being  a  strong  force  inside.  Several  of 
their  assailants  were  wounded,  including  their  leader,  who  sub- 
sequently died.  Finally  the  house  was  set  on  fire,  and  the  cap- 
tain agreed  to  surrender  provided  the  enemy  would  suppress  the 
flames.  Tye's  men  were  greatly  exasperated  on  entering  at 
finding  so  few  defenders.  As  the  militia  were  now  collecting, 
they  hurriedly  put  out  the  fire  and  carried  Huddy  off  to  their 
boats  at  Black  Point  on  the  Navesink  river.  The  troops,  which 
were  in  close  pursuit,  appeared  on  the  bank  soon  after  the 
refugees  had  shoved  from  the  shore.  A  lively  fusillade  ensued, 
during  which  Huddy  sprang  into  the  river  and  swam  boldly  to 
his  friends,  though  reaching  them  with  a  bullet  in  his  thigh. 

In  the  spring  of  1782  Captain  Huddy  commanded  twenty-five 


HuDDY  Caitl'ued  AT  Tom's  River.  543 

men  who  were  garrisoning  a  rude  fort,  or  block-house,  which 
stood  just  north  of  the  bridge  at  the  village  of  Tom's  River  in 
Ocean  county.  This  fort  was  attacked  by  the  enemy,  the 
expedition  for  that  purpose  being  composed  of  forty  refugees 
under  the  command  of  Captain  Evan  Thomas  and  Lieutenant 
Owen  Roberts,  of  the  Bucks  county  (Pa.)  volunteers.  They 
embarked  at  New  York  on  the  morning  of  Wednesday,  the 
twentieth  of  March,  on  whaleboats  manned  by  Lieutenant 
Blanchard  and  eighty  seamen.  It  was  not  until  after  midnight 
that  the  entire  party  landed  at  Coates  Point  on  the  north  side  of 
Tom's  River.  They  were  joined  by  a  detachment  of  Ocean 
county  refugees  commanded  by  Richard  Davenport.  Securing 
a  guide  in  one  William  Dillon,  the  force  stole  silently  through 
the  woods  in  the  direction  of  the  village,  and  at  daylight  on  Sun- 
day morning  suddenly  charged  the  fort.  Captain  Huddy  and 
his  men  made  a  gallant  defence  with  swivels,  muskets  and  pikes, 
but  the  block-house  was  finally  carried  by  assault  after  the  gar- 
rison had  exhausted  its  ammunition,  one-third  of  the  men  being 
killed. 

The  brave  commander  was  conveyed  to  New  York,  and  sub- 
sequently to  Sandy  Hook,  where  he  was  confined,  heavily 
ironed,  in  the  hold  of  a  guard-ship.  Six  days  after  Huddy  was 
taken,  a  refugee  named  White,  a  Shrewsbury  carpenter,  was 
captured  by  a  party  of  coimty  light-horse.  He  was  placed  in 
charge  of  three  men,  the  father  of  one  of  whom  had  been  mur- 
dered the  year  before  by  some  loyalists,  White  being  of  the  party. 
The  wheel  of  fortune  had  made  an  unhappy  revolution  for  this 
Shrewsbury  carpenter.  When  his  guard  was  relieved  he  was 
found  dead,  the  explanation  being  given  that  he  had  been  shot 
while  endeavoring  to  escape.  There  is  no  doubt,  however,  that 
a  son  had  cruelly  avenged  the  murder  of  a  father.  Though  this 
occurred  after  the  capture  of  Huddy,  the  refugees,  eager  for  a 
pretence  whereby  his  death  could  be  encompassed,  charged  him 
with  being  privy  to  the  killing  of  White.  Without  listening  to 
a  defence,  or  even  going  through  the  form  of  a  trial,  poor  Huddy 
was  hurried  to  Gravelly  Point  by  a  band  of  sixteen  loyalists 
under  one  Captain  Lippencott,  and  there  barbarously  hanged 
on  a  gallows  hastily  formed  of  three  fence-rails  and  a  flour-barrel. 
It  is  said  that  he  died  with  extraordinary  firmness,  and  that  with. 


544  The  Story  of  an  Old  Fakm. 

a  serene  mind  and  a  steady  hand  he  drew  up  his  will  on  the  head 
of  the  barrel  from  which,  a  few  moments  later,  he  was  forced  to 
spring  into  eternity.  His  murderers  left  a  label  affixed  to  his 
breast  upon  which  was  written  an  attempted  justification  of  their 
act,  ending  with  :  "  Up  goes  Huddy  for  Philip  White."  Richard 
Lippencott,  the  self-constituted  executioner,  was  a  renegade 
Jerseyman  and  an  officer  in  a  refugee  regiment,  the  King's 
Rangers,  whose  colonel,  Robert  Rogers,  had  preceded  Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel Simcoe  in  the  command  of  the  Queen's  Rangers. 

This  inhuman  murder  filled  the  country  with  indignation,  and 
urgent  demands  were  made  that  immediate  punishment  should  be 
visited  upon  the  murderer.  Thereupon  the  authorities  insisted 
that  the  British  commands  should  deliver  up  Lippencott,  threat- 
ning  that,  otherwise,  one  of  the  English  officers  in  their  hands 
must  die  in  his  stead.  In  furtherance  of  this  retaliatory  mea- 
sure eight  captains  and  five  lieutenants,  who  were  on  their 
paroles  in  Pennsylvania,  were  directed  to  report  at  Lancaster, 
in  order  that  the  victim  might  be  selected.  They  assembled  on 
the  morning  of  the  twenty -fifth  of  May  in  a  room  of  the  Black 
Bear  tavern, — twenty  mounted  dragoons  waiting  in  the  inn  yard 
to  bear  away  the  unfortunate  who  should  be  chosen. 

In  the  presence  of  Brigadier-General  Moses  Hazen,  command- 
ant; his  aide,  Captain  White;  Mr.  Witz,  commissary  of  prison- 
ers; Major  Gordon,  a  paroled  British  officer  in  the  charge  of 
prisoners;  and  the  dragoon  officer,  the  lots  were  drawn.  The 
names  of  the  thirteen  British  officers  were  written  on  separate 
slips  of  paper  and  placed  in  a  hat ;  another  hat  contained  thir- 
teen slips  of  the  same  size,  aU  blank  but  one,  which  was  inscribed, 
"unfortunate."  Captain  White  and  the  commissary  held  the 
hat  while  two  drummer-boys  simultaneously  drew  the  papers. 
When  the  one  was  reached  on  which  was  written  "imfortunate," 
it  appeared  with  a  slip  containing  the  name  of  Captain  Asgill  of 
the  "Foot  Guards"  who  was  the  youngest  officer  present;  he 
was  a  youth  possessing  many  graces  of  mind  and  person,  and 
was  of  high  connections  in  England.  At  once,  upon  the  result 
of  the  drawing  being  known,  the  brigadier  turned  to  the  dragoon- 
officer,  saying, — "This  gentleman.  Sir,  is  your  prisoner."  The 
meeting  then  broke  up,  every  one  in  tears  excepting  the  young 
man  selected.     Major  Gordon  prevailed  upon  General  Hazea  to 


Captain  Asgill  at  Chatham.  545 

delay  the  departure  until  Tuesday  the  twenty-seventh ;  on  that 
day  Asgill  and  Gordon  left  Lancaster  for  Philadelphia,  escorted 
by  the  dragoons.  From  there  the  unfortunate  British  officer  was 
sent  to  the  Jersey  line  at  Chatham,  the  place  assigned  for  his 
execution,  and  put  in  charge  of  Colonel  Elias  Dayton  of  the  2d 
New  Jersey  regiment.  Washington  wrote  the  colonel  on  the 
fourth  of  June  directing  him: — 

Treat  Captain  Asgill  with  every  tenderness  and  association,  and  politeness 
consistent  with  his  present  situation  which  his  rank,  fortune,  and  connections, 
together  with  his  private  state,  demands. 

A  few  days  later,  Washington,  fearing  that  Dayton  was  follow- 
ing his  instructions  too  literally,  thus  wrote  him  again: — 

Sir,  I  am  informed  that  Captain  Asgill  is  at  Chatham  without  a  guard,  and 
under  no  restraint.  This,  if  true,  is  certainly  wrong  ;  I  wish  to  have  the  young 
gentleman  treated  with  all  possible  tenderness  consistent  with  his  present  situa- 
tion, but  considered  as  a  close  prisoner  and  kept  in  the  greatest  security.  I 
request,  therefore,  that  he  may  be  sent  immediately  to  the  Jersey  line  where  he  is 
to  be  kept  close  prisoner  in  perfect  security  till  further  orders. 

At  first  it  appeared  as  if  nothing  could  avert  the  dire  extremity 
of  Asgill's  execution.  Washington  was  deeply  afflicted  by  the 
unhappy  fate  menacing  the  young  officer,  but,  after  deliberation, 
his  determination  had  been  firmly  fixed  on  retaliation  as  the  (mly 
means  of  preventing  a  continuance  of  refugee  iniquities.  The 
sympathies  of  America  and  Europe  were  aroused  in  behalf  of 
Asgill,  who  was  but  little  more  than  a  boy.  Sir  Guy  Carleton, 
who  had  succeeded  Sir  Henry  Clinton  in  the  command  of  the 
British  army,  successfully  appealed  to  Washington  for  delay. 
Later  he  submitted  tlie  result  of  a  court-martial,  whereby  Lip- 
pencott  had  been  exonerated  on  the  groimd  that  William 
Franklin,  ex-colonial  governor  of  New  Jersey  and  the  then 
president  of  the  "Board  of  Associated  Loyalists,"  had  given 
verbal  orders  for  the  execution  of  Huddy  because,  as  it  was 
claimed,  he  had  been  a  persecutor  of  the  king's  faithful  subjects 
in  New  Jersey.  Sir  Guy,  who  was  a  man  of  broad  views  and 
great  humanity,  broke  up  this  "Board  of  Loyalists,"  and  in  a 
communication  to  Washington  declared  that  notwithstanding 
the  acquittal  of  Lippencott  he  "  reprobated  the  measure,  "  and 
gave  assurances  of  prosecuting  a  further  inquiry. 

Meanwhile  the  commander-in-chief  and  congress  were  besieged 
with  communications  and  memorials  praying  that  the  life  of  the 
35 


546  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

proposed  victim  might  be  spared.  Finally  the  sympathies  and 
good  offices  of  our  country's  valued  allies,  the  French,  were 
enlisted,  and  Count  de  Vergennes,  representing  the  court  of 
France,  made  a  strong  appeal  to  congress  in  behalf  of  clemency. 
In  support  of  this  appeal  he  presented  a  most  tender  and  pathe- 
tic letter  that  had  been  addressed  to  him  by  the  British  officer's 
mother,  pleading,  as  only  a  mother  could  plead,  that  mercy  might 
supersede  the  necessity  for  retaliation.  This,  together  with  the 
prospect  of  a  speedy  peace,  rendering  the  motive  for  avengement 
as  a  preventative  of  future  murder  unnecessary,  materially 
changed  the  situation  of  affairs. 

There  was  another  circumstance  that  powerfully  influenced 
congress  and  the  country  in  sustaining  altered  views  regarding 
the  fate  of  the  young  soldier.  Washington  had  been  very  much 
distressed  that  General  Hazen  had  been  unable  to  send  him  for 
purposes  of  retaliation  an  officer  who  was  an  unconditional  pris- 
oner. Asgill  was  among  those  who  had  surrendered  with  Corn- 
wallis.  The  fourteenth  article  of  the  capitulation  expressly 
excluded  all  the  prisoners  from  liability  to  be  used  as  hostages  in 
subsequent  reprisals,  and  the  British  Major  Gordon  on  the 
twenty-seventh  of  May  had  protested  strongly  in  writing  against 
a  violation  of  the  terms  of  surrender.  Washington  in  a  letter  to 
the  secretary  of  war  on  the  fifth  of  June  acknowledged  being 
sorely  embarrassed  by  the  possible  infringement  of  the  article  of 
surrender,  and  begged  that  the  secretary  would  transmit  to  him 
his  views,  and  those  of  merribers  of  congress  with  whom  he  had 
talked  on  the  subject.  As  the  days  went  on,  public  feeling  grew 
stronger  that,  even  if  poor  Huddy  was  unavenged,  good  faith 
demanded  that  retaliation  should  not  be  visited  on  the  British 
in  the  person  of  Captain  Asgill.  So,  altogether,  it  began  to 
appear  as  if  he  was  not  destined  to  atone  for  the  death  of  the 
American  captain. 

On  the  twenty-fifth  of  August  General  Washington  ordered 
Colonel  Dayton  to  leave  his  charge  on  parole  at  Morristown, 
and  on  the  seventh  of  November  congi-ess,  recognizing  the 
altered  sentiment  of  the  country,  directed  that  the  prisoner 
should  be  unconditionally  set  at  liberty.  And  thus,  happily, 
historians,  in  writing  of  the  closing  year  of  the  Revolution,  have 
not  been  forced  to  devote  a  chapter  to  the  recital  of  the  distress- 
ing details  of  a  final  blood  reprisal. 


CHAPTER     XXXVI. 

Peace — Prostration  of  the  Country  After  the  War — American 
Loyalists  and  Their  Experiences — The  Inquisition  Against 
William  Melich  and  the  Confiscation  of  His  Property. 

Of  all  the  general  orders  issued  by  Washington  to  the  army 
during  the  war,  none  was  received  with  more  profound  satisfac- 
tion than  the  one  dated,  "  Head  Quarters,  Chatham,  April  18th, 
1783,"  which  directed  the  cessation  of  hostilities.  It  further 
ordered  that  an  accompanying  proclamation  of  peace  siiould  be 
read  the  next  evening  at  the  head  of  every  regiment  of  the  army, 
after  which  the  brigade  chaplains  were  to  render  thanks  to 
Almighty  God  for  "  over-riding  the  wrath  of  man  to  his  own 
glory,  and  causing  the  rage  of  war  to  cease  among  the  nations." 
At  the  same  time  an  extra  ration  of  liquor  was  to  be  issued  to 
every  soldier,  to  drink  "  Perpetual  peace  and  happiness  to  the 
United  States  of  America." 

On  the  third  of  September  the  final  treaty  of  peace  was  signed 
at  Paris,  and  definite  treaties  entered  into  with  other  countries, 
whereby  the  liberty  and  independence  of  the  United  States  were 
fully  acknowledged,  and  the  country  was  received  among  the 
great  family  of  nations.  There  was  nothing  left  for  the  patriot 
army  to  do  but  to  disband.  Furloughs  were  freely  granted  to 
the  soldiers,  who  upon  going  home  were  not  required  to  return. 
On  the  third  of  November  the  entire  army  was  discharged,  and 
thus  a  force  of  nearly  ten  thousand  men  were  dismissed  and  dis- 
persed over  the  states  without,  with  but  one  exception,  tumiUt  or 
disorder.  The  officers  received  five  years'  full  pay  in  money, 
or,  at  their  election,  half  pay  for  life.  The  case  of  the  privates 
was,  indeed,  hard.     The  general  government  found  itself  power- 


548  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

less  to  procure  the  necessary  funds  for  paying  the  large  arrear- 
ages due  the  army.  The  brave  men  who  had  stemmed  the  tide 
of  British  oppressions  were  obliged  to  content  themselves  with 
the  immediate  recompense  of  four  months'  pay,  and  a  future 
recompense  of  promises,  well  intended  but  poorly  carried  out. 
It  was  at  first  feared  that  the  distribution  throughout  the  coun- 
try of  so  many  men  who  had  good  reasons  for  grievance  would 
cause  disturbances  and  lawlessness.  Happily  the  strength  of  the 
government  was  not  to  be  tried  by  such  a  condition  of  affairs. 
The  army  melted  quietly  away  ;  and,  peaceably  laying  down 
their  arms,  the  privates,  as  a  rule,  betook  themselves  to  honest 
labor,  and  became  absorbed  among  the  farmers,  planters  and 
mechanics.  The  one  exception  to  such  a  peaceable  disposition 
is  to  be  found  in  the  action  of  the  Pennsylvania  levies,  who  in 
the  last  of  Jime,  in  defiance  of  their  officers,  surrounded  the 
State  House  in  Philadelphia,  and  threatened  destruction  to  con- 
gress unless  their  demands  for  redress  were  immediately  grati- 
fied. The  national  legislature  succeeded  in  escaping  from  duress 
with  dignity  and  retired  to  Princeton,  convening  in  Nassau  Hall, 
as  has  been  narrated  in  a  previous  chapter. 

Our  Revolutionary  chi-onicles  are  now  ended.  War — ruthless 
war — with  its  attendant  horrors,  no  longer  stalks  over  the  land, 
sowing  broadcast  discord,  hatred  and  vengeance,  and  trampling 
under  foot  human  affections  and  the  happiness  of  communities. 
In  its  place,  peace  !  an  honorable  peace  !  securing  all  the  great 
principles  and  demands  for  which  the  country  has  been  contend- 
ing for  eiglit  long  and  doubtful  years.  The  effusion  of  blood 
and  all  the  terrible  calamities  incidental  to  civil  strife  are  now  to 
be  matters  of  the  past.  The  future  is  made  bright  by  the  revi- 
val of  hope,  and  the  anticipation  that  the  toils  and  dangers,  the 
stern  resolves  and  active  endeavors,  the  tears  of  sorrow  aiid  the 
moans  of  despair,  of  the  years  now  liappily  bygone,  are  to  be 
followed  by  an  era  of  national  prosperity  ;  an  era  when  trades 
will  again  flourish,  business  activities  once  more  prevail,  and  the 
people  prosper  in  the  tranquil  possession  and  enjoyment  of  the 
liberties  they  have  wrested  from  the  hand  of  oppression. 

But  all  these  beneficent  results  were  not  so  immediate  as 
might  be  supposed  would  have  been  the  case.  With  the  close 
of  the  war  unreflecting  persons  had  anticipated  the  enjoyment 


Prostration  After  the  War.  549 

not  only  of  the  repose  and  safety  of  peace,  but  of  a  period  of 
instant  and  unbounded  prosperity.  Such  buoyant  natures  soon 
discovered  that  the  country  was  in  a  most  lamentable  condition, 
and  that  the  poverty  of  the  people  was  almost  universal.  With 
the  exception  of  some  of  those  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits, 
and  the  few  who  had  grown  rich  from  privateering,  or  who  had 
fattened  on  dishonest  gains  in  government  contracts,  almost 
every  one  was  deeply  in  debt,  and  insolvencies,  prosecutions, 
and  legal  embarrassments  of  all  kinds  became  common.  Order, 
industry  and  contentment  were  not  tiie  flowers  that  first  bloomed 
on  the  Revolutionary  plant ;  they  came  later,  after  the  disap- 
pearance of  the  factions,  clamors,  bankruptcies  and  distresses 
that  were  bred  by  financial  depressions,  and  the  political  doubts 
and  uncertainties  prevailing  as  to  the  relative  rights  of  the  dif- 
ferent states. 

It  must  be  admitted  that  until  the  recent  celebration  of  the 
centennial  of  the  adoption  of  the  constitution  of  the  United 
States,  many  persons  who  considered  themselves  generally  well- 
grounded  in  history  had  but  an  indefinite  conception  of  the 
political  condition  of  our  coiuitry  for  the  eight  years  succeeding 
the  close  of  the  Revolution.  In  their  minds  prevailed  a  con- 
fused idea  that  with  peace  came  at  once  all  the  blessings  that 
the  country  has  since  enjoyed,  and  that  a  staple  and  harmonious 
government,  based  on  a  sound  constitution,  was  an  easy  and  an 
almost  immediate  sequel  to  the  country's  independence.  It  is 
only  recently,  and  through  the  public  prints,  that  such  persons 
have  been  made  to  realize  the  dangers  that  threatened  the  coun- 
try during  the  years  intervening  between  the  peace  and  the 
adoption  of  the  constitution.  The  prostration  of  affairs,  to  a 
certain  extent,  can  be  ascribed  to  the  great  deterioration  in  the 
character  of  the  men  who  represented  the  colonies  in  the  conti- 
nental congress,  and  to  their  lack  of  ability  in  coping  with  the 
complications  arising  from  the  slight  bond  existing  between  the 
different  states.  The  original  articles  of  confederation  were 
entered  into  to  meet  the  exigencies  of  war.  With  little  or  no 
powers  of  coercion,  they  were  of  but  slight  avail  while  the  con- 
flict lasted,  their  efiiciency  resting  on  the  good  faith  of  the  peo- 
ple. When  they  were  originally  ratified,  had  the  wishes  of  the 
New    Jersey    delegates    been    considered   it    would  have   been 


550  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

greatly  to  the  advantage  of  the  country.  They  urged  certain 
amendments  to  the  articles  of  confederation  that  would  have 
tended  much  to  enhance  the  strength  and  usefulness  of  the 
national  compact.  These  amendments  were  not  accepted  by 
congress,  and  as  they  had  not  been  made  a  sine  qua  non  to  the 
New  Jersey  representatives  the  articles  of  confederation  went 
into  effect  as  originally  passed.  After  the  war,  disputes,  conten- 
tentions,  and  jealousies  between  the  different  sections  much  weak- 
ened the  usefulness  of  the  fragile  tie.  Some  states,  as  early  as 
1781,  proposed  amendments  whereby  greater  powers  should  be 
secured  to  the  general  government.  New  Jersey  going  so  far  as 
to  urge  that  congress,  in  order  to  meet  the  expenses  of  the  war, 
should  be  vested  with  the  exclusive  power  of  regulating  foreign 
and  domestic  trade,  of  collecting  duties,  and  of  selling  western 
lands.  Doctor  Witherspoon  labored  to  this  end  but  the  eflfort 
came  to  naught,  as  the  people  had  great  fears  that  a  general  govern- 
ment with  power  to  act  would  at  least  establish  an  aristocracy,  if 
not  an  autocracy.  The  poor  man  could  not  see  any  difference 
between  being  taxed  by  congress  or  a  parliament.  When  the 
war  came  to  an  end  national  rulers  were  considered  almost 
xinnecessary,  and  it  was  with  the  greatest  difficulty  that  the 
required  congressional  quorum  for  transacting  business  could  be 
secured. 

The  members  of  the  confederated  legislature  were  no  longer, 
with  individual  exceptions,  the  best  representative  men  of 
the  country,  as  had  been  the  case  with  those  sturdy  patriots 
who  had  first  bound  the  thirteen  provinces  together  by 
the  Declaration  of  Independence.  Now  that  the  colonies  were 
free  from  British  rule  there  no  longer  seemed  that  necessity  for 
cohesion  that  a  common  danger  had  fostered.  Petty  differences 
and  distrust  of  each  other  usurped  the  place  of  united  patriotism, 
for  each  representative  but  reflected  the  sentiment  of  the  legisla- 
ture of  his  state  in  being  indifferent,  if  not  fairly  hostile,  to  any 
combined  confederation  whereby  a  central  authority  could  pro- 
tect the  entire  community  in  its  rights  and  privileges.  Prejudice 
was  so  great  that  even  the  strongest  believers  in  the  future  of 
the  country  began  to  despair  of  the  possibility  of  forming  a  piv- 
otal government,  and  feared  that  the  collapse  of  the  confederacy 
was  imminent.     Among   the  greatest  evils   of  the  time  was  the 


The  Annapolis  Convention.  551 

utter  demoralization  of  the  citizens  in  their  views  as  to  the  finan- 
cial obligations  of  the  government  at  large.  Each  state  consid- 
ered that,  with  its  worthless  currency  and  wretched  financial 
condition,  its  own  indebtedness  was  load  enough  to  carry. 
Members  of  congress,  therefore,  only  voiced  public  opinion  when 
they  boldly  suggested  general  repudiation — when  they  even 
broke  faith  with  the  war-worn  soldiers  who  by  their  sufferings 
and  privations  had  freed  the  country,  and  dismissed  them  from 
their  service  with  a  pay  of  meagre  thanks  and  the  presents  of 
the  muskets  they  carried. 

Hamilton,  Madison,  Witherspoon,  Livingston,  and  men  of  like 
metal,  felt  that  such  a  sentiment  of  states'  rights  would  prove  a 
clog  to  every  endeavor  to  amalgamate  the  varied  and  conflicting 
interests  of  the  different  sections  into  a  homogeneous  whole. 
These  men  did  a  great  work  at  this  time,  both  by  their  eloquence 
in  public  assemblies  and  by  writing  and  distributing  pamphlets, 
whereby  the  people  were  made  acquainted  with  the  dangers  by 
which  they  were  likely  to  be  overwhelmed ;  and  thus  a  condi- 
tion of  anarchy  was  averted.  In  a  sort  of  hybrid  way  the 
country  held  together,  though  without  respect  and  with  but  little 
authority,  either  at  home  or  abroad.  It  was  not  until  the  year 
1786  that  a  ray  of  light  pierced  the  dark  cloud  that  so  long  had 
apparently  obscured  the  possibilities  of  a  future  for  that  America 
which  but  ten  years  before  had  aroused  the  plaudits  of  the  civ- 
ilized world.  In  January  Virginia  called  a  convention  for  con- 
sultation as  to  the  country's  need  of  a  greater  uniformity  in  com- 
mercial laws.  In  response  to  the  invitation  representatives  from 
four  states  met  at  Annapolis,  the  New  Jersey  delegates  being 
vested  with  greater  powers  for  providing  for  the  exigencies  of 
the  Union  than  were  those  from  the  other  states,  whose  instruc- 
tions confined  their  deliberations  and  acts  to  regulating  trade 
and  commerce.  The  members  of  this  convention  finding  their 
powers  too  limited  to  adequately  meet  the  requirements  of  the 
occasion,  and  that  the  number  of  the  states  represented  were  too 
few,  adjourned,  after  issuing  an  address  or  report  advising  that 
another  convention  should  be  called  in  May,  1787.  This  address 
further  urged  that,  in  order  that  the  deliberations  could  result  in 
an  adjustment  of  parts  of  the  federal  system  other  than  the  regu- 
lation of  trade,  the   deputies  to  this   second  convention  should 


552  The  Story  of  an  Old  Fakm. 

be  empowered  with  an  authority  equal  to  that  in  which  the  New 
Jersey  delegates  were  clothed  at  Annapolis. 

As  has  been  shown,  at  this  time  all  the  elements  of  a  great  nation 
were  in  solution,  only  needing  for  their  precipitation  the  direction 
of  a  master  political  mind.  Happily  for  the  United  States  that 
was  to  be,  Alexander  Hamilton  was  equal  to  the  demands  of  the 
occasion.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the  first  convention,  and  recog- 
nized this  to  be  a  great  opportunity  for  addressing  the  country 
as  to  the  dangers  threatening  the  national  life,  and  through  the 
heart  of  the  body  politic  the  freedom  of  each  individual 
province.  Throwing  the  whole  force  of  his  fervent  soul  and 
great  talentsin  to  the  work,  he  succeeded  in  destroying  the  apathy 
of  the  communities,  and  in  exciting  a  general  desire  that  one 
grand  eflfort  should  be  made  to  establish  a  government  based  on 
mutual  right,  honor  and  protection.  This  resulted  in  the  sum- 
moning of  a  second  council  which  met  on  the  tenth  of  May,  1787 
in  Philadelphia. 

The  convention  closed  its  doors  and  occupied  the  entire  summer 
in  considering  the  state  of  the  nation.     The  delegates  fortunately 
were  chosen  from  among  the  ablest  men  of  the  different  states, 
New  Jersey's  representatives  being  William  Livingston,  William 
Paterson,  William  C.  Houston  and  Jonathan  Dayton.     Nobly  did 
this  historic  body  perform  its  work.    Some  idea  of  the  extent  and 
patience  of  the  labors  of  these  delegates  can  be  obtained  from  the 
notes  made  by  James  Madison,  which  recite  that  seven  hundred 
and  eighty -two  speeches,  long  and  short,  were  delivered  in  the  con- 
vention.   The  greatest  number  were  by  Gouverneur  Morris,  who 
spoke  one  hundred  and  seventy-three  times;    Madison,  himself, 
made  one  hundred  and  sixty-three  addresses.     Among  the  silent 
members  was  William  Livingston ;  his  talents  and  ability,  however, 
exerted  a  powerful  influence  over  the  delegates,  and  a  writer  of 
that  time  names  him  as  the  best  scholar  in   the  convention.     It 
was  not  until  the  autumn  that  the  great  work  was  accomplished, 
and  the  constitution  of  the  United  States  presented  to  the  world. 
The  citizens  had   looked   upon   the  secret   deliberations  of  the 
members  as  those  of  a  mere  trade  convention,  but  they  found,  to 
the  subsequent   happiness   of  the   country,  that  there  had  been 
framed  for  them  a  more    perfect  bond   of  union,  whereby  the 
industrial  and   political   interests   of  the   nation  had  been  power- 


New  Jersey  Ratifies  the  Constitution.  553 

fully  linked  together  by  a  document  that  has  stood  the  test  of  poli- 
tical con^^llsio^s,  and  has  proved  in  value  to  the  country  only 
second  to  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 

The  great  question  then  came  before  the  citizens — would  the 
draft  of  the  constitution  submitted  by  the  convention  be  sanction- 
ed by  the  states  ?  The  political  history  of  our  country  testifies 
that  New  Jersey  has  ever  been  among  the  fiirst  in  attachment  to 
the  Union,  and  always  ready  to  sacrifice  her  own  pretensions  for 
the  general  good  of  the  whole  country.  When  the  constitution 
was  adopted  the  New  Jersey  delegates,  notwithstanding  they 
had  been  in  favor  of  much  that  differed  from  the  ultimate  form 
taken  by  the  compact,  waived  their  preferences  in  favor  of  the 
general  welfare,  and  signed  the  instrument.  The  state  was 
equally  prompt  in  endorsing  the  acts  of  its  representatives ;  the 
legislature  ordered  a  state  convention  to  meet  at  Trenton  in 
December,  and  on  the  eighteenth  of  that  month  the  constitution 
was  unanimously  ratified.  This  action  was  in  marked  contrast 
to  that  of  some  of  the  states,  in  sevei-al  of  whose  conventions  the 
whole  battle  had  to  be  fought  over  again.  New  York  did  not 
ratify  until  in  July,  1788,  and  then  but  just  escaped  not  giving 
its  sanction.  It  was  in  November,  1789,  before  North  Carolina 
accepted  the  constitution,  and  stiff-necked  little  Rhode  Island  held 
aloof  till  May,  1790.  She  was  the  last  of  the  thirteen  to  come 
into  the  Union,  but  the  constitution  had  by  its  terms  become  the 
supreme  law  of  the  land  on  the  twenty-first  of  June,  1788,  when 
the  ninth  state  ratified  the  federal  compact. 

But  aU  this  has  carried  us  too  far  in  advance  of  our  story ;  we 
must  return  to  the  years  immediately  following  the  end  of  the 
Revolution.  Notwithstanding  the  glorious  results  that  were 
assured  by  the  successful  termination  of  the  war,  the  blessings, 
to  a  considerable  degree,  were  to  be  a  heritage  of  future  genera- 
tions. The  generation  whose  sacrifices  had  achieved  indepen- 
dence must  needs  first  eat  the  bitter  fruits  of  strife.  The  land 
was  full  of  widows  and  orphans.  The  impoverishment  of  estates 
was  the  rule  rather  than  the  exception.  The  financial  demor- 
alization of  the  entire  country  hampered  all  efforts  at  trade. 
Another  bar  to  the  complete  enjoyment  of  peace  was  the  division 
of  families  on  political  lines;  for  patriots  and  loyalists  no  longer 
possessed  a  common  country.     The  following  letter   written    by 


554  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

Aaron  Malick  in  1788  shows  that  the  occupants  of  the  "Old 
Stone  House"  did  not  altogether  escape  from  this  latter  evil. 
This  letter  was  written  to  William  and  John  Melick,  the  sons  of 
Gottfried  Moelich,  who  came  to  America  with  Johannes  Moelich 
in  1735,  and  settled  in  Sussex,  now  Warren  county.  At  the 
outbreak  of  the  war  William,  the  elder  son,  was  not  in  sympathy 
with  the  Revolutionary  movement,  and  joined  the  British  army, 
serving  as  a  sergeant  in  a  regiment  of  foot.  He  saw  much 
active  service,  and  was  wounded  by  a  musket-ball,  which  he  car- 
ried in  his  shoulder  till  his  death.  In  1784,  in  company  with 
thirty-five  thousand  other  loyalist  Americans,  he  was  forced  to 
emigrate  to  Nova  Scotia.  With  him  went  his  younger  brother 
John.  The  latter  does  not  appear  to  have  been  an  active  enemy 
of  his  country,  and  in  leaving  the  United  States  was  probably 
actuated  by  the  natural  love  and  affection  he  bore  his  brother 
William.  They  settled  in  St.  John,  New  Brunswick,  establish- 
ing themselves  there  in  active  business,  becoming  valued  and 
honored  citizens  of  the  British  Possessions.  Their  numerous 
descendants  to-day  occupy  prominent  positions  in  the  social 
and  business  circles  of  St.  John. 

Somerset  County  East  New  Jersey. 

Dear  Cozen.  I  Received  your  Kind  Letter  with  a  Deal  of  Happiness  To  Hear 
of  your  welfare — .\9  it  found  us  all  in  Good  Health,  Thanks  Be  to  the  Almighty 
we  still  Continue  in  the  same. 

I  Have  Nothing  in  Particular  To  inform  you  But  I  forward  your  Letter  to  your 

Brother  Jacob,  By  My  Daughter,  and  She  found  them  All  well 1   Have   no 

news  to  write.  But  we  Have  very  Dull  Times  in  the  way  of  Our  Trade  upon 
the  Account  of  Paper  money  wich  we  have  among  us  wicli  will  not  Pass  in  any 
Other  state  but  Our  Own  wich  makes  it  very  Dificult  in  Geting  Hides.  Lather 
sells  now  for  our  money  Sole  Leather  a  2-6  and  uper  a  4-0  pr  pound  proc  money  and 
Hides  Goes  a  6d.  pr  lb  the  same  money — I  would  Inform  you  that  my  Brother  in 
Law  Jacob  Kline.s'  family  is  all  well  but  himself.  Old  age  Crowds  upon  him  wich 
makes  him  weakley  and  almost  Childish. 

I  must  Now  Conclude  with  myne  and  my  Wiffes'  &  family's  Kind  Love  to  you 
and  John. 

from  Your  Loving  Coaen 

Aaron  Malick. 

November  14th  1788. 

To  William  &  John  Malick. 

Of  the  many  untoward  circumstances  connected  with  the 
Revolutionary  war,  none  were  more  particularly  calamitous 
than  the  divided  sentiments  among  honest  citizens  as  to  the  policy 
of  rebellion.     Oivil  war  involves  cruelties  and  hardships  that  are 


Different  Grades  of  Tories.  555 

unknown  when  civilized  nations  contend  with  each  other.  Every- 
man is  forced  to  actively  take  sides  in  the  contest;  this,  of  course, 
greatly  aggravates  the  miseries  of  strife,  as  neighbors  and 
friends  are  thus  made  antagonists.  The  American  whigs  were 
naturally  greatly  exasperated  against  those  of  their  fellow-citi- 
zens who  upheld  the  course  of  Britain,  and  felt  toward  them  a 
resentment  much  greater  than  that  harbored  against  their  Euro- 
pean adversaries.  The  desertion  of  their  countrymen  in  the 
hour  of  trial,  early  in  the  war,  filled  them  with  angry  hatred, 
and  as  the  years  went  on  this  rancor  was  increased  by  the  feel- 
ing that  the  prolongation  of  the  conflict,  and  the  asperity  with 
which  it  was  carried  on,  was  largely  due  to  the  aid  and  informa- 
tion furnished  to  the  enemy  by  the  so-called  renegade  Ameri- 
cans. 

Among  the  loyalists  were  many  worthy  persons  who  in  adher- 
ing to  the  Crown  were  merely  living  up  to  their  honest  convic- 
tions. Of  such,  some,  like  William  Melick,  braving  their  lives 
and  fortunes  for  their  beliefs  entered  the  English  army.  Others, 
like  John  Melick,  loved  peace  and  justice,  and  were  content  to 
stand  aside  and  take  no  active  part  in  the  controversy.  Bat 
there  was  a  third  tory  element  whose  conduct  throughout  the 
contest  has  fastened  a  stigma  upon  the  name,  loyalist,  that  will 
last  as  long  as  the  pages  of  history  remain  open  for  inspection. 
Humanity  shudders  at  recounting  the  atrocities  committed  by 
these  fiends  who  revelled  in  blood  and  murder;  whose  rapacious 
and  ingenious  cruelties  toward  those  among  whom  they  had  been 
bom  and  bred  were  often  such  as  would  never  have  occurred 
to  a  foreign  soldiery.  All  tories  were  forced  to  suffer  for  the 
dastardly  acts  of  these  inhuman  Americans,  and  so  it  was  that 
the  hatred  for  these  people  dated  from  the  very  beginning  of  the 
war.  Throughout  the  entire  time  that  the  prolonged  contest 
continued  patriot  and  royalist  may  be  said  to  have  had  each 
other  by  the  throats. 

Dominated  by  their  sympathies,  historians,  too  often  per- 
haps, have  been  prone  to  dwell  and  enlarge  upon  the  overt 
acts  of  the  king's  American  adherents,  but  to  the  dis- 
passionate student  of  history  evidence  aboimds  going  to  make 
plain  that  tory  and  whig  were  alike  intolerant  of  each  other's 
convictions,  and  ready  to  fall  one  upon  the  other  as  opportunities 


556  The  Story  op  an  Old  Farm. 

occurred.  The  following  strong  language  is  taken  from  the 
minutes  of  a  meeting  of  the  general  committee  of  observation  and 
inspection  for  Middlesex  county  held  on  the  sixteenth  of  Janu- 
ary, 1775,  and  is  quoted  as  showing  the  feeling  animating  the 
whigs  even  at  that  early  date : — 

Resolved — That  we  think  it  our  duty  publickly  to  declare  our  contempt  and 
deteetatinn  of  those  insidious  scribblers  who,  with  the  vilest  views,  enlist  them- 
selves in  the  cause  of  ministry,  and  by  the  vilest  means  endeavor  to  effect  a  dis- 
union among  the  good  people  of  the  colonies,  that  they  may  become  a  prey  to 
the  oppression  against  which  they  are  so  laudably  and  unanimously  struggling; 
who  skulk  behind  prostituteil  printing-presses,  and  with  the  assistance  of  the 
prostituted  conductors  of  them  labor  to  circulate  their  pestilent  compositions 
through  the  land,  under  the  show  of  friendship  and  a  regard  to  the  publick 
good;  who.  with  the  most  unexampled  effrontery  against  the  sense  of  every  man 
of  the  least  information  and  impartiality,  will  persist  in  retailing  the  rotten, 
exploded,  and  ten  thousand  limes  confuted  doctrines  of  a  passive  acquiescence  in 
the  measures  of  government,  however  distempered  and  tyrannical. 

The  following  extract  from  a  Briton's  letter  home,  published 
in  England,  was  said  to  have  been  taken  from  a  "  rebel  "  news- 
paper : — 

At  Quibbletown,  Middlesex  county,  N.  .J.,  Thomas  Randolph,  cooper,  who  had 
publicly  proved  himself  an  enemy  to  his  country  by  reviling  and  using  his  utmost 
endeavors  to  oppose  the  proceedings  of  the  continental  and  Provincial  Conven- 
tions and  Committees  in  deffence  of  their  rights  and  liberties,  and  he  being 
judged  a  person  of  not  consequence  enough  for  a  severer  punishment  was  ordered 
to  be  stripped  naked,  well  coated  with  tar  and  feathers,  and  carried  in  a  wagon 
publicly  around  the  town,  which  punishment  was  accordingly  inflicted ;  and  as 
he  soon  became  duly  sensible  of  his  offence,  for  which  he  earnestly  begged  par- 
don, and  promised  to  atone  as  far  as  he  was  able  by  a  contrary  behavior  for  the 
future,  he  was  rele.ised  and  suffered  to  return  to  his  house  in  less  than  half  an 
hour.  The  whole  was  conducted  with  that  regularity  and  decorum  that  ought  to 
be  observed  in  all  public  punishments. 

The  "New  York  Journal"  of  the  ninth  of  February,  1775, 
defines  a  tory  as  a  thing  whose  head  is  in  England  and  its  body 
in  America,  with  a  neck  that  ought  to  be  stretched.  This  not 
only  fairly  expresses  the  sentiment  with  which  they  were 
regarded,  but  suggests,  also,  the  mode  of  treatment  they  had  too 
often  dealt  them.  In  1778,  after  the  British  had  evacuated  Phil- 
adelphia and  retreated  to  Sandy  Hook,  both  Pennsylvania  and 
New  Jersey  brought  to  trial  such  citizens  as  had  given  aid  and 
comfort  to  the  enemy.  Of  those  convicted  in  Philadelphia  two 
were  hung  ;  but  Governor  Livingston  pardoned  seventeen,  being 
the  entire  number  found  guilty  in  New  Jersey.     Naturally  one 


Provincial  Officers  in  the  English  Service.      557 

wonders  to  what  extent  disloyalty  prevailed  in  our  state.  It 
has  always  been  difficult  to  estimate  the  number  of  disaffected  in 
any  one  state,  or  even  to  determine  how  many  entered  the  Eng- 
lish service.  No  record  can  be  obtained  of  those  who  enlisted 
in  regular  regiments,  but  the  muster- roils  of  the  provincial  corps 
have  been  preserved.  Sabine,  the  historian  of  the  loyalists, 
estimates  the  latter  to  have  been  at  least  twenty-five  thousand, 
and  tory  documents  claim  that  between  the  years  1781  and 
1783  the  king  had  more  American  soldiers  than  had  congress. 
It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  at  that  time  disaffection  was  much 
more  rife  in  neighborhoods  where  the  British  had  hmg  quartered 
than  it  had  been  at  the  outset  of  the  war. 

Gaine's  "  Universal  Register,  or  American  and  British  Calen- 
der," published  in  1781  a  listof  the  provincial  officers  in  the  English 
service.  From  it  we  glean  the  following  Jersey  names: — Court- 
landt  Skinner  was  brigadier-general  of  the  New  Jersey  volunteers; 
he  had  been  attorney-general  and  speaker  of  the  assembly,  and 
was  the  sou  of  the  Reverend  William  Skinner,  the  rector  of  St. 
Peter's  church  at  Perth  Amboy.  The  first  battalion  of  his  com- 
mand was  raised  largely  through  the  instrumentality  of  Elisha 
Lawrence  of  Monmouth  county.  Among  its  officers  was  Major 
John  Barnes,  who  had  been  the  high  sheriff  of  Hunterdon  county^ 
and  at  whose  house,  in  Trenton,  Washington  had  quartered  pre- 
vious to  the  battle  of  Assunpink.  He  did  not  long  serve  his  king 
as  a  soldier,  being  fatally  wounded  on  the  twenty-second  of 
August,  1777..  A  later  major  of  this  same  command  was  Thomas 
Millidge,  of  Morris  county,  who  before  the  war  had  been  deputy- 
surveyor  of  New  Jersey.  William  S.  Stryker,  in  his  monogi-aph 
on  the  New  Jersey  loyalists,  speaks  of  him  as  having  always  been 
represented  as  a  very  honorable  man,  firm  in  his  convictions  of 
duty,  and  correct  in  his  habits  of  life.  His  son  Phineas  was  an 
ensign  in  the  same  regiment.  Another  of  its  ensigns  was  James 
Moody,  who  is  reported  to  have  been  one  of  the  most  active 
partisans  of  the  war.  Sabine  says  that  he  was  an  inofi'ensive 
farmer  until  the  persecutions  of  his  whig  neighbors  drove  him 
into  the  army.  In  his  forays  he  secured  numerous  officers  and 
men,  besides  destroying  many  arms  and  much  ammunition  and 
property.  On  one  occasion  with  only  seven  men  he  captured 
eighteen  militia  officers  and  committee  men;  at  one  time  he  was 


558  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

made  a  spy  on  Washington,  and  as  a  reward  for  securing  the 
general's  papers  received  a  lieutenantcy. 

Lieutenant-Colonel  Isaac  Allen,  who  commanded  the  2d  New 
Jersey  battalion,  was  a  prominent  lawyer  of  Trenton.  In  the 
same  regiment  was  Major  Robert  Drummond,  who  was  a  valuable 
recruiting  officer  for  Skinner's  brigade,  he  having,  it  is  said, 
induced  two  hundred  of  his  neighbors  to  enlist.  Before  the  war 
he  lived  where  is  now  Passaic,  being  a  leading  country  merchant 
and  a  member  of  the  provincial  assembly.  In  1775-76  he  was 
a  deputy  to  the  provincial  congress,  but  in  July  of  the  latter 
year  opposed  the  adoption  of  the  state  constitution.  He  then 
went  over  to  the  enemy,  served  during  the  war  and  died  in  Lon- 
don in  1789.  Captain  Joseph  Lee,  also  of  this  2d  Battalion, 
before  entering  the  army  in  1776,  was  jailed  at  Trenton  as  a 
tory  Jerseyman.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Abraham  Buskirk,  who 
commanded  the  4th  New  Jersey  battalion,  was  an  active  partisan 
who  committed  many  depredations,  including  burning  the  Eliza- 
bethtown  church  in  1780.  Among  his  officers  were  his  son, 
Captain  Jacob  Buskirk,  Lieutenant  John  Van  Buskirk  and  Cap- 
tain Samuel  Ryerson  ;  the  latter  in  the  neighborhood  of  Paterson 
raised  a  company  of  sixty  men.  Captains  Lawrence  and  Abraham 
Buskirk  and  Lieutenant  Thomas  Van  Buskirk  were  in  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  John  Bard's  Orange  Rangers.  The  adjutant  of  Tarle- 
ton's  British  legion  was  Lawyer  William  Taylor,  the  son  of 
Sheriff  John  Taylor  of  Monmouth  county.  In  Lieutenant-Col- 
onel Roger's  King's  Rangers  were  Captain  John  Hatfield,  or 
Hetfield,  who  was  probably  the  same  man  who  hung  a  poor  but- 
cher, Ball,  at  Bergen  Point;  Lieutenant  Richard  Lippencott,  who 
undoubtedly  hung  Captain  Huddy  ;  and  Lieutenant  Christopher 
Insley.  This  last  officer  was  probably  the  one  of  the  same  name 
killed  at  Tom's  River  in  1781.  Major  John  Van  Dyke  raised  a 
corps  of  three  hundred  and  six  men  in  New  Jersey,  and  Major 
Richard  Stockton,  of  the  6th  Battalion,  because  of  his  familiarity 
with  the  state's  highways  and  by-ways,  became  known  as  the 
famous  land  pirate.  He  belonged  to  the  Princeton  family,  but 
was  no  credit  to  the  name,  being  a  tory  of  the  most  malignant 
stripe,  his  villainies  earning  for  him  an  unenviable  reputation. 

At  the  close  of  the  war  congress  was  bound  by  the  English 
treaty  to  urge  the  states  to  abstain  from  persecuting  those  who 


Indignation  Against  the  Tories.  559 

had  been  faithful  to  the  crown.  It  was  found  impossible  for  the 
general  government  to  influence  the  states  in  furtherance  of  this 
pledge.  Popular  indignation  against  the  tories  was  great,  and 
now  that  the  people  had  in  their  power  the  violent  oppressors  of 
those  who  had  been  of  the  patriot  cause,  they  would  not  brook 
an  interference  with  what  they  considered  their  just  rights  of 
retaliation.  Notwithstanding  the  recommendation  of  congress 
vengeance  was  visited  on  the  "  Fawning  Spaniels."  The  follow- 
ing from  a  Massachusetts  paper  may  be  accepted  as  a  fair  expo- 
nent of  the  feeling  prevailing  at  that  time  : — 

As  Hannibal  swore  never  to  be  at  peace  with  the  Romans ;  so  let  every  Whig 
swear  by  his  abhorrence  of  slavery,  by  liberty  and  religion,  by  the  shades  of 
departed  friends  who  have  fallen  in  battle,  by  the  ghosts  of  those  of  our  breth- 
eren  who  have  been  destroyeil  on  board  of  prison-ships  and  in  loathsome  dun- 
geons, never  to  be  at  peace  with  those  fiends  the  refugees,  whose  thefts,  murders, 
and  treasons,  have  filled  our  cup  of  woe. 

Such  being  the  sentiments  of  the  community  there  was  noth- 
ing left  for  the  loyalists  to  do  but  fly  the  country.  Consequently 
thousands  were  forced  to  emigrate  to  foreign  shores.  The  Eng- 
lish government  did  much  for  its  faithful  American  subjects 
besides  insisting  upon  the  stipulations  regarding  them  being 
entered  in  the  treaty  of  peace.  For  those  who  feared  facing  the 
resentment  of  their  countiymen,  vessels  were  provided  to  bear 
them  to  the  Bahamas,  the  West  Indies,  and  to  the  bleak  shores 
of  Nova  Scotia.  In  1782  a  committee  was  appointed  by  parlia- 
ment to  take  in  consideration  the  claims  made  by  loyalists  for 
indemnity.  This  resulted  in  large  sums  being  for  several  years 
annually  paid  for  their  comfort,  until  a  permanent  board  of  com- 
missioners was  established,  whose  labors  brought  about  the  dis- 
tribution by  the  English  government  of  nearly  fifteen  millions  of 
dollars.  Sabine  mentions  this  as  *'  an  unparallelled  instance  of 
magnanimity  and  justice  in  a  nation  which  had  expended  nearly 
one  hundred  and  sixteen  millions  in  the  war." 

Among  the  American  whigs,  not  all  cried  persistently  for  ven- 
geance against  the  loyalists.  There  were  notable  and  honorable 
exceptions,  and  as  a  rule  they  were  found  among  those  who  had 
been  the  most  active  and  prominent  in  the  patriotic  cause.  Of 
these,  Alexander  Hamilton,  from  the  very  cessation  of  hostilities, 
pursued  a  policy  of  leniency  toward  tories,  and  plead  that  their 
mistaken  course   during  the   war  should  not  inevitably  result  in 


560  The  Story  ok  an  Old  Farm. 

their  losing  citizenship  and  property.  Early  in  1788  he  by  his 
eloquence,  aided  by  the  efforts  of  Schuyler,  succeeded  in  passing 
a  biU  which  repealed  the  "  Loyalist  Disfranchising  Act."  Tyler, 
in  his  life  of  Patrick  Henry,  avers  that  while  the  war  lasted  no 
man  spoke  against  the  tories  more  sternly  than  did  this  patriotic 
Virginia  statesman.  The  war  being  ended  and  its  great  pur- 
poses secured,  no  man,  excepting  perhaps  Alexander  Hamilton, 
was  so  prompt  and  so  energetic  in  urging  that  all  animosities  of 
the  war  should  be  laid  aside,  and  that  a  policy  of  magnanimous 
forbearance  should  be  pursued  respecting  the  baffled  opponents 
of  American  independence.  However  much  good  these  earnest 
men  accomplished  by  preaching  the  doctrine  of  returning  good 
for  evil,  it  could  not  inure  to  the  benefit  of  such  tories  as  had 
already  suffered  attainder  and  confiscation.  Among  these  was 
William  Melick,  against  whom  proceedings  were  instituted  as 
early  as  1778.  The  following  is  from  the  records  of  the  Sussex 
county  quarter-sessions,  and  is  interesting  as  showing  the  mode 
of  procedure  in  such  cases.  It  is  a  sad  commentary  on  the  bit- 
terness existing  at  that  time  between  those  closely  allied  in 
blood,  to  see  the  name  of  Captain  Andrew  Malick — William's 
cousin  and  Aaron's  brother — among  the  jurors  on  the  inquisition. 

Sussex  County  SS.  An  Inquisition  taken  and  made  at  Oxford  in  this  County 
of  Sussex  the  20th  day  of  June  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  One  thousand  seven  hun- 
dred and  seventy-eight  by  the  Oaths  of  tlie  undermentioned  Jury,  good  and  law- 
ful men  of  the  said  County  before  James  Davison  Esqr.  one  of  the  Justices  of  the 
Peace  of  tlie  said  County  who  upon  their  Oaths  af.s.  say  that  William  Melick  did 
since  the  fourth  Day  of  June  One  thousand  seven  hundred  and  seventy-eight  (to 
wit)  On  or  about  the  first  Day  of  January  One  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
seventy-eight  join  the  armj'  of  the  King  of  Great  Britain  against  the  form  of  his 
Allegiance  to  his  State  and  against  the  Peace  of  this  State  the   Government  and 

Dignity  of  the  same We  whose  names  are  here  unto  set  and  Seals   affixed 

being  the  Jurors  above  named  Do  upon  the  Evidence— to  us  produced  find  the 
Inquisition  afs  true 

Peter  Smith  (s) 

Peter  Wyckofl  (s) 

Ernest  Menge  _(s) 

David  Vanderea  (s) 

Michael  Gasler  (s) 

Christopher  Crose  (s) 

Lawrence  Lambertson  (s) 

David  Johnson  (s) 

Benj.n  McCuUough  (s) 

Coart  Johnson  (s) 


Joseph  Macken 

(8) 

Andrew  Malick 

(s) 

John  Petty 

(b) 

George  Kibble 

(8) 

John  Pettinger 

(B) 

Joseph  Hixson 

(s) 

Christian  Sharp 

(s) 

Peter  Williamson 

(8) 

James  Williamson 

(8) 

Peter  Vanette 

(8) 

Christian  Cummans 

(s) 

An  Inquisition  Against  a  Loyalist. 


561 


I  do  hereby  certify  that  the  above  Inquisition  was  taken  before  me  the  Day  and 
year  above  said  as  Witness  my  hand  and  Seal 

James  Davison     (s) 


■  Esqrs.  Justices 


\      Inquisition  for  joining  the  army  of  the  Kingof  Great  Britain 
:  /&c   Proclamation  being  made  and  the  said  William  Meleck  or 


New  Jersey       \ 

Sussex  County  /  Quarter  Sessions  November  Term  A.  D.  1778 

present_Timothy  Symmes  ] 
George  Allen 
Thomas  Hazen      J 

The  State 

William  Meleck  j 

some  Person  in  his  Behalf  or  some  Person  who  might  think  himself 
Interested  being  three  times  called  to  appearand  traverse  pursuant  to 
Law  the  Inquisition  found  and  taken  against  the  said  William  Meleck, 
and  no  Person  appearing  to  traverse  the  same,  Ordered  that  his  second 
Default  be  recorded  and  final  Judgment  entered  accordingly  On  Motion 
of  Wm  Anderson  for  the  Atty  Genl. 

Certified  to,  as  a  true  copy,  by  Charles  Rhodes  Esq  Clerk  of  the  County  of 
Sussex  and  state  of  New  Jersey  on  the  25th  day  of  May  A.  D.  1787. 


An  Estimate  of  the  real  and  personal  Estate  of  Sergeant  William  Melick  late 
of  the  County  of  Sussex  Province  of  New  Jersey. 


To  Estate  left  by  his  Father  420  Acres  Land  with  buildings,  of  which 

he  was  to  have  the  Ninth  part 
To  his  Share 

To  Moveables  £.500  value  of  which  he  was  to  have  "'nth  part. 
To  his  share  of  the  above 
To  Estate  left  by  his  t'other  and  Mother,  250  Acres,  of  which  he  was 

to  have  the  seventh  part 
To  his  Share 


To  his  own  Property 
To  Horse,  Saddle  and  Bridle 

To  (irain  (Wheat)  200  Bushels  (&  Rye) 

To  summer  Grain,  50  Bushels 
"  3  Sheeps 

The  above  Praised  by  us 

James  Stewart  Capt. 

N.  J.  V. 
Wm  Hutchinson  Capt. 
Sept.  12t'h  1783.  1  Batt.  N.  J.  V. 


Value 

Value 


161 

2 

55 

11 

107 

2 

38 

45 

15 

4 

10 

1 

16 

2 
1 

10 


TO  ALL  WHOM  IT  MAY  CONCERN. 

New  Jersey  ss.  This  may  certify  that  the  part  and  share  of  the  Estate  of 
Godfrey  Mellick  deceased,  belonging  to  William  Mellick  the  son,  who  forfeited 
the  same  by  joining  the  army  of  the  King  of  Great  Britain,  amounts  to  the  sum 
of  ninety  pounds,  one  shilling  and  five  pence  Proclamation  money  of  the  State 
aforesaid,  and  which  came  into  the  hands  of  the  executors  of  the  said  Godfrey 
Mellick  deoeased,  was  paid  by  them  unto  Joseph  Gaston  Esqr,  agent  for  confiscated 
Estates  in  the  County  of  Sussex.  And  they  further  certify  that  they  never 
36 


562  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

received  any  other  part  of  the  said  William  Mellick's  estate  but  the  sum  above 
mentioned,  the  remainder  being  taken  out  of  the  hands  of  other  Persons. 
As  witness  our  hands  this  Fifteenth  day  of  September  1787 — 

Margaret  Tomer. 
Andrew  Malick. 
Thos.  Hughes. 
On  this  15th  day  of  September  A.  D.  1787,  Came  before  me  Thomas  Anderson 
Esqr,  One  of  the  Justices  of  the  Peace  for  the  County  of  Sussex  the  undernamed 
Subscribers,  Executors  of  the  last  will  and  Testament  of  Godfrey  Mellick  dec'd 
who  being  sworn  on  the  Holy  Evangelists  of  Almighty  God,  deposeth  that  all  the 
matters  and  things  in  the  above  Cirtificate  contained  are  the  Truth — and  further 
Baith  not. 

Taken  before  me  \  Andrew  Malick. 

the  day  and  year  above      /  Thos.  Hughes. 

Thomas  Anderson. 


CHAPTER     XXXVII. 

Tiie  Old  Stone  House  In  1788 — The  First  Bedminster  Tavern — 
John  Malick,  Innkeeper — The  Practice  of  Medicine  in  the 
Last  Century. 

The  drag-net  of  history  brings  to  the  surface  both  big  and  little 
fishes.  Our  seine  uo  longer  sinks  into  deep  or  troubled  waters 
but  explores  peaceful  shallows,  and  we  must  be  content  with  such 
catches  as  these  lesser  fishing-grounds  afford.  Now  that  the 
interest  of  colonial  times  no  longer  attaches  to  our  narrative,  and 
now  that  the  fragrant  smoke  of  the  cahunet  of  peace  has  taken 
the  place  of  the  flaring  torch  of  war,  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose 
that  to  some  extent  the  general  reader  will  lose  interest  in  these 
pages.  The  remaining  chapters  must  necessarily  be  devoted  to 
the  sober,  and  doubtless  tame,  chi'onicles  of  the  ordinary  incidents 
in  the  lives  of  the  members  of  a  simple  country  family.  Possibly 
those  readers  who  remain  with  the  writer  to  the  end  will  find  that 
their  time  has  not  been  altogether  misspent.  Perhaps  such  ones 
may  feel  the  satisfaction  that  often  comes  to  those  few  favored 
kinsmen  and  neighbors  who,  when  the  guests  have  departed  and 
the  lights  are  low,  linger  with  their  host  about  the  fire  for  a  part- 
ing glass,  and  pass  a  final  hour  in  social  sympathy  and  inter- 
course. Such  a  time  always  opens  the  sluices  of  the  heart,  and 
brings  that  comfortable  enjoyment  of  each  other  that  can  only 
exist  between  those  bound  by  the  ties  of  intimate  friendship. 

As  we  occasionally  look  upon  the  miniature  world  revolving 
within  the  narrow  horizon  of  the  walls  of  the  Old  Stone  House 
it  ever  presents  a  different  aspect.  With  each  successive  season, 
with  each  decade  and  generation,  changes  are  always  to  be  noted. 
Children  grow  to  be  men  and  women.  Familiar  faces  alter  as 
their  lines  deepen,  tracing  where  tears  have  flowed,  where  mirth 


564  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

has  lurked,  where  sunshine  and  shade  have  chased  each  other 
across  their  owners'  lives.  As  we  turn  again  in  the  year  1788 
to  survey  the  Bedminster  household  we  discover  little  tremulous 
tones  in  Aaron's  voice  which  tell  of  the  seventy-two  years  that 
have  over  him  gone.  We  find  that  the  tide  in  the  current  of  his 
family-life,  which  swelled  with  the  birth  and  growth  of  each 
child,  now,  having  passed  the  flood,  is  on  the  ebb.  Children 
grown  to  be  men  and  women  soon  find  homes  of  their  own,  and 
Aaron's  offspring  were  no  exception  to  this  rule.  His  generation, 
like  the  one  it  succeeded,  is  making  way  for  the  one  that  is  to 
follow,  for  four  of  his  children  have  taken  husbands  and  wives, 
and  a  second  Aaron  is  playing  about  the  hearth  of  the  deep- 
chested  fireplace  in  the  living-room. 

Catharine,  the  oldest  daughter,  married  in  1782  Peter  Ferine, 
a  fellow-campaigner  of  her  brother  John.  His  emigrant  ancestor 
and  great-great-grandfather  was  Daniel  Ferine  of  the  Channel 
island  of  Jersey,  who  came  to  America  in  1665  on  the  ship 
Philip,  with  Grovernor  Philip  Carteret.  Peter  Ferine  and 
Catharine  Melick  moved  to  Salem,  Washington  county,  New 
York,  in  which  vicinity  numerous  descendants  of  their  seven 
children  are  still  living.  Margaret,  Aaron's  second  daughter, 
married,  in  about  1787,  Joseph  Gaston.  They  moved  to  North- 
umberland county,  Pennsylvania,  where  they  had  seven  children, 
whose  descendants  are  distributed  in  different  parts  of  that  state. 
Daniel,  Aaron's  second  son,  had  married  his  playmate  from  over 
the  brook,  Margaret  Gascon,  in  1785,  their  first  child,  Aaron, 
having  been  bom  in  April  1786.  Before  this  time  he  had  enter- 
ed into  partnership  with  his  father  in  the  tannery,  and  their 
books  and  papers  show  them  to  have  carried  on  at  that  time  a 
large  and  prosperous  business.  Daniel  spent  his  life  on  the 
"  Old  Farm."  His  twelve  children  were  born  in  the  stone 
house,  five  of  them  making  it  their  homes  for  their  lives. 

Before  the  time  of  which  we  are  now  writing  Aaron  had  come 
into  possession  of  the  entire  tract  of  land  originally  purchased  by 
his  father  from  George  Leslie.  It  will  be  remembered 
that  Aaron's  brother  Peter  inherited  that  portion  of  the 
land  lying  on  the  Lamington  road.  This  property  he  con- 
veyed to  Aaron  as  early  as  1772,  but  does  not  appear  to 
have  given  possession  until  several  years  later.     As  we   have 


The  First  Bedminster  Tavern.  565 

seen,  he  was  living  on  this  inheritance  at  the  time  of  the  capture 
of  General  Lee  in  1776.  From  two  paid  bonds  in  my  posses- 
sion, aggregating  two  hundred  and  sixty-seven  pounds,  given  by 
Aaron  to  Peter  in  1777,  I  draw  the  conclusion  that  the  transfer 
was  consummated  at  that  time.  Sometime  during  the  war  Peter 
left  the  neighborhood,  living  for  awhile  at  Perth  Amboy.  Ulti- 
mately he  settled  in  the  vicinity  of  Martinsvdle  in  Somerset 
county,  where  some  of  his  descendants  are  still  living. 

Aaron's  eldest  son,  John  the  Revolutionary  soldier,  celebrated 
the  advent  of  peace  by  taking  unto  himself  a  wife.  In  April, 
1783,  he  married  Jane  Coriel,  a  Somerset  maiden  eighteen  years 
old.  Three  years  later  his  father  established  him  in  business  by 
building  for  him  on  the  comer  of  the  Peapack  and  Lamington 
roads  the  first  Bedminster  tavern.  A  portion  of  this  original 
structure  is  still  to  be  seen  in  the  present  edifice.  Large  barns 
and  sheds  were  erected  on  the  opposite  corner  on  the  present 
site  of  Martin  Bunn's  store.  So  now  we  know  how  at  least  one 
of  the  continental  soldiers  occupied  himself  when  campaigning 
was  over.  We  may  readily  imagine  that  wbUe  comfortably 
seated  before  his  tap-room  fire  he  shortened  winter  evenings  by 
re-fighting  his  battles  for  the  benefit  of  friends  and  admiring 
neighbors.  In  those  old  days,  when  all  travel  was  in  the  saddle 
or  on  wagon  wheels,  the  innkeeper  was  a  man  of  much  conse- 
quence in  the  community,  and  the  door  of  the  village  tavern  was 
not  considered  the  entrance  to  a  bridge  connecting  vice  and 
morality. 

So  it  was,  that  not  only  the  chance  traveller,  catcliing  sight  of 
John's  swinging  sign,  found  rest  and  comfort  at  his  little  hostel- 
rie  ;  here,  on  the  sanded  floor  of  his  old-fashioned  bar  in  cold 
weather,  or  on  the  long  benches  flanking  the  front  porch  in  sum- 
mer, were  to  be  found  all  grades  of  rural  society,  from  the  village 
magnate  to  "  Boots  "  and  the  hostler.  Here  came  federalist  and 
republican  to  dispute  and  argue  over  their  glasses  on  politics  and 
party ;  here  came  old  soldiers  to  tell  over  and  over  again  how 
the  day  was  won  at  Princeton  and  at  Monmouth ;  here  came  the 
gossiping  doctor  to  bait  his  horse  and  only  too  ready  to  dissemi- 
nate the  news  gained  in  his  daily  peregrinations  ;  even  the  min- 
isters thought  it  no  sin  to  go  out  of  their  way  in  order  to  stop  for 
a  chat  with  John  and  his  wife  ;  nor  did  they  consider  that  they 


/ 


Mr.  John  Melick 

1787. 

Feby  26 

Child      T. 

April  17 

19 

29 

Self 

Family    " 

May  21 

Daugr      " 

Novr  12  M 

rs.  Melick  " 

14 

Do 

1788. 

May  11 

Do 

566  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

were  putting  an  enemy  in  their  mouths  to  steal  away  their  brains, 
while  enjoying  honest  libations  of  liquor  that  had  mellowed 
within  their  host's  oaken  staves. 

That  some  of  the  'doctor's  visits  to  Bedminster  tavern  were 
professional  is  shown  by  the  following  bUl,  which  is  an  interest- 
ing exhibit  as  to  the  generous  doses  prescribed  by  old-time 
physicians : — 

ick 

To  Wm.  McKissack  Dr. 
To  Anthelmintic  Powders                                             £  0  1  6 

Vermifuge  Decoction  with  Senna  0  2  0 

A  Visit,  3  Doses  Pectoral  Drops  0  3  6 

Emetic  &  4  oz.  Liquorice  Juice  0  16 

1  oz.  Febrifuge  Julip  0  10 

ZxMerourial  Ointment  &  Box  0  2  0 

1  oz.  Alterative  Powder  &  3^  ozs.  Itch  Ointment      0  7  3' 
An  Emetic  0  10 
Cathartic  Powder  0  16 
IJ  dr.  Camphor  0  10 

2  dr.  Essential  Oil  &  2  Anodyne  Pills  0  2  6 

£  1  4  9 

Doctor  William  McKissack  was  at  that  time  a  resident  of 
Pluckamin,  but  he  subsequently  removed  to  Bound  Brook,  where 
he  di^  in  1831,  aged  seventy-seven.  He  enjoyed  an  extensive 
practice  and  was  widely  kno^vn  and  esteemed  for  his  professional 
judgment  and  skill.  The  country  physician  of  colonial  days,  and 
of  the  years  ending  with  the  last  century,  led  a  laborious  life. 
Most  of  his  waking  hours  were  spent  in  riding  long  distances 
over  bad  roads.  He  was  obliged  to  be  hail-fellow  well-met  with 
every  one  in  the  county,  for  on  his  popularity  largely  depended 
his  professional  success.  In  those  toping-days  there  was  always 
something  on  the  sideboard  for  the  doctor,  of  which  he  was  rarely 
loath  to  take  advantage  ;  consequently,  he  generally  mellowed 
with  the  years,  grew  rotund  in  person,  and,  like  Hawthorne's 
middle-aged  Englishman,  "  his  legs  abbreviated  themselves,  and 
his  stomach  assumed  that  dignified  prominence  which  justly 
belonged  to  that  metropolis  of  his  system."  His  eye  contracted 
a  merry  twinkle,  a  chuckle  lurked  in  his  ftdl  throat  always 
ready  for  use,  and  gradually  he  grew  to  be  known  as  a  peripa- 
tetic story-teller,  and  often  the  best  gossip  in  the  county. 


Mkdical  Knowledge  in  the  Last  Century.       567 

So  it  was  with  Doctor  McKissack.  At  the  time  of  his  visits 
to  John  Malick's  family  he  was  already  a  large,  burly  man  with 
an  expansive  girth.  Owing  to  his  great  popularity  he  was  wel- 
comed by  every  one,  and,  being  a  generous  liver,  it  is  said  that 
sometimes  he  too  frequently  accepted  the  invitation  of  his  friends 
and  patients  to  recoup  himself  after  arduous  hours  on  the  road. 
Doctor  A.  W.  McDowell,  in  writing  of  old  times  in  Pluckamin, 
says  that  on  one  occasion  Doctor  McKissack  drove  from  that 
village  to  Somerville.  Starting  for  home  after  nightfall,  a  little 
exhilarated,  he  mounted  his  horse  forgetting  that  there  was  a 
sulky  behind.  On  the  way  back,  disturbed  by  the  noise  of  the 
wheels,  he  continually  cried  out,  "  Turn  out !  Turn  out  behind  ! 
don't  run  over  me  ! "  Still  the  rattle  of  the  wheels  continued, 
and  in  constant  fear  he  journeyed  on.  It  was  n(jt  until  he 
reached  Pluckamin  that  the  discovery  was  made  that  he  was 
astride  of  a  harnessed  horse  hooked  to  his  own  empty  sulky. 

The  gradual  growth  of  medical  knowledge  in  New  Jei-sey  is 
an  interesting  study.  The  beginning  of  things  for  the  healing 
art  may  be  said  to  date  after  the  year  1670,  for  it  was  of  then 
that  Oldmixon,  the  ancient  historian,  wrote  that  the  province 
had  no  lawyers,  physicians,  or  parsons.  To  have  been  without 
a  curer  for  soul,  body  or  estate  suggests  a  society  in  its  most 
primitive  stage.  Even  early  in  the  last  century  New  Jersey 
possessed  few  or  no  regular  medical  practitioners.  We  have  already 
made  the  acquaintance  of  John  Johnstone  of  Perth  Amboy,  who 
about  the  year  1700  stood  almost  alone  as  a  skilful  physician. 
But  he  held  too  many  public  offices  within  the  gift  of  the  peo- 
ple and  of  the  crown  to  find  time  for  medical  practice,  except 
when  without  pay  he  alleviated  the  ills  of  the  poor.  At  that 
time  wherever  a  church  was  planted  there  was  apt  to  be  a  fair 
physician  in  the  minister,  but  the  people,  generally,  were  obliged 
to  doctor  themselves,  or,  what  was  worse,  to  rely  upon  the  ser- 
vices of  ignorant  old  women  and  their  herbs.  Even  up  to  the 
middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  in  the  sparsely  settled  portions 
of  the  country  the  healing  art  was  almost  whoUy  in  the  hands  of 
such  persons.  The  basis  of  most  of  their  remedies  was  sas- 
safras and  other  simple  roots  and  herbs  from  which  decoctions 
were  made,  infused  with  much  ignorance  and  not  a  little  super- 
stition.    Professor    Kalm    makes    mention    of    medical    women 


568  The  Story  op  an  Old  Farm. 

among  the  Swedes  of  West  Jersey  in  1748,  and  Winterbot- 
tom,  in  his  "History  of  America,"  as  late  as  1796  reports  that 
in  Cape  May  county  it  was  only  in  the  most  extraordinary  cases 
that  women  were  not  called  upon  as  doctors.  In  the  practice  of 
obstetrics,  even  in  the  large  cities,  the  entire  reliance  was  upon 
women,  and  very  generally  upon  ignorant  old  women.  The  late 
Doctor  Stephen  Wickes,  in  his  "  History  of  Medicine  in  New 
Jersey,"  states  that  it  was  not  until  the  close  of  the  first  half  of 
the  century  that  any  intelligent  effort  was  made  to  educate  men 
in  this  branch  of  the  profession.  It  met  with  great  opposition, 
as  ignorance,  prejudice,  and  female  modesty  combined  in  mak- 
ing the  belief  general  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  use  the  ser- 
vices of  men  in  such  cases.  Before  the  Revolution,  one  Doctor 
Atwood  is  said  to  have  been  the  first  physician  who  dared  to 
scandalize  the  feelings  of  the  community  by  offering  his  services 
as  an  accoucheur.  It  was  due  to  Doctors  William  Shippen  of 
Philadelphia  and  V.  B.  Tennent  of  New  Jersey  that  the 
science  of  midwifery  assumed  its  place  among  the  regidar 
branches  of  medical  education.  Doctor  Shippen  advertised  in 
the  "Pennsylvania  Gazette"  on  the  first  of  January,  1765,  the 
notice  of  bis  first  course  of  lectures.  In  it  he  takes  occasion  to 
condemn  the  practice  of  calling  upon  the  services  of  unskilful 
old  women,  whereby  great  suffering  and  loss  of  life  were  caused. 
The  medical  school  of  New  York  established  a  professorship  of 
midwifery  in  1767,  Doctor  Tennent  being  appointed  to  the 
chair. 

In  New  Jersey,  up  to  the  close  of  the  French  and  Indian 
wars,  the  main  reliance  of  the  people  for  medical  attendance  was 
upon  the  pastors  of  the  churches.  It  was  the  custom  for  those 
who  came  from  the  old  country  to  have  taken  a  course  of  medi- 
cal study  as  a  preparation  for  their  duties  in  the  new  world. 
The  native  ministers,  also,  even  up  to  the  close  of  the  century, 
on  being  educated  studied  both  professions,  and  oft^,  not  con- 
tent with  two,  mastered  so  much  of  the  law  as  would  enable 
them  to  draw  wills,  conveyances  and  other  legal  instruments. 
John  Wesley,  the  founder  of  Methodism,  not  only  like  many 
other  parsons  prescribed  and  supplied  medicine,  but  published 
a  book  called  "  Primitive  Physick,"  which  went  through  thirty 
editions.     The    ignorance   of  the   times   and   the   extraordinary 


Old  Time  Medical  Remedies.  569 

remedies  in  use  can  best  be  exemplified  by  quoting  a  few  pre- 
scriptions  contained   in   this   precious  medical    volume.     For  a 
violent  bleeding  of  the  nose  a  piece  of  white  paper  was  recom- 
mended to  be  placed  imder  the  tongue.     Treatment  for  cancer  in 
the  breast  was  to  swallow  in  a  pint  of  warm  ale  an  infusion  dis- 
illed  from  warts  taken  from  a  horse's  leg  ;  goose-dung  was  also 
to  be  applied  externally.     Consumptives  were  directed  to  breathe 
for  fifteen   minutes  each   morning  in   a  hole   cut  in  fresh  turf. 
The  sovereign  remedy  for  apoplexy  was  a  pint  of  salted  water  ; 
for  cuts,  poultices   of  toasted   cheese ;  for   a  cold  in  the  head, 
orange  peel  thrust  up  the  nostril,  and  so  on,  ad  nauseam. 

As  the  century  grew  older  men  began  to  appear  throughout 
the  middle  colonies  who  could  properly  claim  some  medical  knowl- 
edge, but  still,  they,  like  their  predecessors  the  ministers  and  old 
women,  relied  mainly  upon  herbs  and  roots  for  the  curing  of  dis- 
eases.    Doctor  Wickes  quotes  Salmon's  '  Herbal '  as  a  standard 
work  on  such  remedies.     This  book  of  twelve  hundred  pages 
was  issued  in  England   in   1696   at  a  cost  of  sixty   pounds  per 
volume.      It  was  the  text-book  for  many  New  Jersey  doctors  up 
to  the  time  of  the  Revolution.     It  must  not  be  supposed  that  at 
this  time  New  Jersey  stood  alone  within  the  black  belt  of  medi- 
cal ignorance.     Like  all   other  colonies  she  reflected  the  customs 
of  the  home  country.     England  was  still  wanting   in   almost   all 
the  present  advanced  knowledge  of  materia  medica  and  its  man- 
ner of  practice.     Lord  Colchester  narrates  in  his  "Diary"  that 
up  to  1754  no  London  physician  ever  visited  the  wards  of  a  hos- 
pital, and  only  on  rare  occasions  met   any  of  his  patients.     The 
healing  was  attempted  through  the  medium  of  the  apothecaries, 
who  would  visit  the  doctor  at  his  home  and  describe  the   symp- 
toms   of  the    sick    under    their    care.     The    celebrated    Doctor 
Meade,  who  died  in  1754,  used  to  go  to  Batsson's  coffee-house  in 
the  city  and  there  consult  with  and  prescribe  for  all  the  apothe- 
caries. 

Medical  progress  in  the  middle  colonies  can  be  said  to  date 
from  the  French  and  English  wars — 1758-66 ;  this  was  certainly 
so  in  New  Jersey.  That  province  furnished  a  quota  of  one 
thousand  men;  the  surgeons  and  surgeons'  mates  attached  to 
these  troops  were  thrown  in  contact  with  medical  men  connected 
with  the  British  regulars,  who  had  received  much  better  educa- 


570  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

tion  than  had  those  of  the  colony.  The  result  was  a  recognition 
on  the  part  of  the  Jersey  doctors  of  their  own  inferiority,  which 
bred  a  natural  ambition  to  emulate  the  attainments  of  their 
brother  officers.  They  learned  much  by  this  association  with 
cidtivated  physicians,  and  to  a  certain  extent  ignorant  presumption 
and  self-sufficiency  retired  before  a  more  general  diffusion  of 
knowledge.  Still,  a  doctor  would  hardly  be  allowed  to  practice 
now  with  the  little  preparation  that  was  considered  necessary 
even  as  late  as  the  year  1800.  This  applies  more  especially  to 
physicians  outside  the  larger  cities.  The  small  knowledge  of  the 
country  doctor  was  generally  gained  by  what  he  could  learn 
■while  serving  as  an  apprentice  or  general  assistant  to  some  more 
or  less  well-known  town  practitioner.  Indentures  for  the  year 
1760  bound  apprentices  for  four  years  and  eight  months,  for 
"which  they  paid  one  hundred  dollars,  entitling  them  to  board, 
lodging,  clothing,  and  such  tuition  as  could  be  obtained  through 
observation  and  experience.  The  indenture  bound  the  appren- 
tice to  serve  his  master  faithfully,  "  his  secrets  keep,  his  lawful 
commands  gladly  everywhere  obey."  He  was  forbidden  to  incur 
debts,  play  cards,  or  "  contract  matrimony "  during  his  term. 
Nor  could  he  "hant  ale-houses,  taverns,  or  play-houses." 

Of  course  books  were  few,  and  observation,  memory  and  an 
aptitude  for  the  profession  constituted  the  best  means  of  obtaining 
a  practical  knowledge  of  materia  medica  and  surgery.  In  those 
days  a  majority  of  those  seeking  to  become  practitioners  were 
without  the  benefit  of  medical  schools  and  colleges,  and  public 
sentiment  was  as  much  opposed  to  autopsies  and  dissection  as 
it  is  now  to  vivisection.  Post-mortems  were  condemned  by  the 
ignorant  public  as  but  little  better  than  grave-stealing.  The 
uneducated  masses  were  in  fuU  accord  with  George  Eliot's  Mrs. 
Dollop  in  thinking  that  such  slashing  of  the  dead  was  a  poor 
tale  for  a  doctor,  who,  if  he  was  good  for  anything  should  know 
what  was  the  matter  with  you  before  you  died,  and  not  want  to 
pry  into  your  insides  after  you  are  gone.  Subjects  for  anato- 
mical study  could  with  difficulty  be  obtained  except  by  robbing 
graves.  We  learn  from  McMaster  that  when  the  medical  school 
at  Harvard  college  was  started,  a  single  body  is  said  to  have  been 
the  only  one  furnished  for  a  whole  year's  lectures.  In  the  year 
1750   Doctors  Bard  and  Middleton  succeeded  in  obtaining  the 


Quantity  of  Dkugs  Administered.  571 

cadaver  of  an  executed  crirainal,  and  used  it  in  dissection  before 
the  first  anatomy  class  in  America.  In  1752  Surgeon  Thomas 
Wood  advertised  in  a  New  York  paper  a  course  of  medical  lec- 
tures to  be  concluded  with  "  performing  all  the  operations  on  the 
dead  body."  Dr.  Chovet,  well  known  in  Philadelphia  during 
the  Revolution,  gave  notice  through  the  press  in  1778  that  on 
the  seventh  of  December  he  would  begin  a  course  of  lectures  on 
anatomy,  to  be  demonstrated  by  the  use  of  skilfully  constructed 
wax  figures.       His   advertisement  went   on  to    say  : 

As  this  course  cannot  be  attended  with  the  disagreeable  sight  or  smell  of 
recent  diseased  and  putrid  carcases,  whicli  often  disgust  even  the  students  of 
Physick,  as  well  as  the  curious,  otherwise  inclined  to  this  useful  and  sublime 
part  of  natural  philosophy,  it  is  hoped  this  undertaking  will  meet  with  suitable 
encouragement. 

Lectures  so  demonstrated,  we  may  imagine,  left  the  student 
with  but  a  slender  acquaintance  with  the  delicate  mechanism  of 
the  human  body. 

Old-time  practitioners  being  without  scientific  culture,  and 
having  no  notion  of  what  is  termed  the  philosophy  of  medical 
evidence,  were  totally  ignorant  of  tlie  initial  treatment  of  cases, 
consequently  were  forced  to  start  off  with  a  new  patient  guided 
by  intuition,  conjecture,  and  experiment,  rather  than  a  correct 
and  accurate  diagnosis.  The  necessary  sequence  of  such  dark- 
ness was  mistakes  of  deplorable  frequency.  At  that  time,  as  a 
general  thing,  chemists  and  druggists  had  not  yet  been  educated, 
and  established  on  the  most  prominent  corners  of  the  towns.  The 
apothecary-shop  of  the  neighborhood  was  usually  where  the 
doctor  s  saddle-bags  happened  to  be  at  the  time.  Up  to  the  mid- 
dle of  the  last  century,  and  even  later,  a  ph3'sician's  profit 
and  support  lay  in  the  quantity  of  drugs  he  administered ;  his 
charges  not  being  made  for  professional  visits,  but  for  the  medi- 
cines prescribed  and  furnished.  In  consequence  he  must  either 
starve  or  dispense  drugs ;  his  saddle-bags,  therefore,  were  in 
constant  requisition,  and  the  stomachs  of  his  poor  patients  paid 
the  penalty  of  the  unwise  custom.  Drugs  were  thus  not  only 
taken  in  large  doses,  but  their  use  was  not  by  any  means  con- 
fined to  the  sick.  Purgative  compounds  were  administered  to 
the  hearty  and  strong  each  spring,  and  it  was  deemed  necessary 
that  at  that  season  of  the  year  the  blood  of  both  old  and  young 


572  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm, 

should  be  purified  by  the  use  of  generous  doses  of  noxious  mix- 
tures. Rhubarb  and  molasses  were  forced  down  the  throats  of 
healthy  children  as  a  fancied  preventive  of  disease,  and  mercurial 
medicines  were  used  to  such  an  extent  as  often  to  result  in  the 
falling  out  of  the  patient's  teeth.  Powerful  tinctures,  loathsome 
infusions  and  bitter  barks  were  prescribed  in  such  quantities  as 
would  hardly  be  credited  by  physicians  of  the  present  day. 

Gentlemen  of  the  profession,  when  at  a  loss  to  know  what  to 
prescribe,  were  always  ready  to  pull  out  the  lancet  and  relieve  the 
patient  of  copious  quantities  of  blood,  often  at  a  time  when  such 
a  weakening  and  depleting  treatment  increased  the  malady  and 
hastened  death.  Blood-letting  was  even  resorted  to  in  cases  far 
gone  with  consumption,  and  by  the  old-time  physician  was  con- 
sidered the  alpha  and  omcf/a  of  all  practice.  During  the  pre- 
valence of  yellow  fever  in  Philadelphia  testimony  was  taken  as 
to  its  manner  of  treatment.  McMaster  quotes  from  the  published 
report,  showing  that  one  patient  was  bled  twenty-two  times  in 
ten  days,  losing  one  hundred  and  seventy-six  ounces  of  blood. 
From  another  of  the  sick  one  hundred  and  fifty  ounces  were  taken 
in  fifteen  bleedings;  several  lost  over  one  hundred  ounces,  and 
from  one  child  but  six  years  old  thirty  ounces  were  drawn.  The 
Reverend  Doctor  Ashbel  Green  writes  in  his  autobiography  that 
when  a  lad  of  but  nineteen,  and  without  any  medical  knowledge, 
he  used  to  be  called  upon  by  his  father — the  clergyman,  physi- 
cian, farmer,  and  distiller — to  prepare  medicines,  let  blood, 
extract  teeth,  and  inocidate  for  smallpox. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century  smallpox  was  still 
the  enemy  of  mankind,  as  that  dread  disease  had  been  from  the 
sixth  century,  when,  in  Arabia,  it  started  on  its  mission  of  death. 
It  was  annually  committing  fearful  ravages — as  many  as  four 
hundred  thousand  dying  in  Europe  in  one  year.  The  East,  as  if 
desirous  of  compensating  the  world  for  originating  this  terrible 
scourge,  gave  to  suffering  humanity  its  initial  knowledge  of  how 
to  check  its  spread,  for  it  was  in  Turkey  that  inoculation  first 
became  known.  This  manner  of  fighting  the  disease  was  intro- 
duced in  the  American  colonies  in  1721  by  Doctor  Zabdiel  Boyls- 
ton  of  New  England,  at  the  earnest  instigation  of  Cotton  Mather, 
who  had  learned  of  the  success  in  the  Ottoman  Empire  of  such 
treatment.      In  the  face  of  great   opposition   the    doctor's   first 


A  Wedding  in  the  Old  Stone  House.  573 

experiments  were  made  on  his  son,  a  lad  of  thirteen,  and  on  two 
negro  slaves.  The  result  was  such  as  to  warrant  his  extending 
the  operations,  and  during  the  year  two  hundred  and  forty  per- 
sons were  inoculated. 

For  a  time  Doctor  Boylston  stood  alone.  Physicians,  people 
and  the  press  were  intense  against  this  new  manner  of  combat- 
ing the  smallpox.  Even  Franklin,  who  was  generally  far  ahead 
of  the  times  in  his  appreciation  of  what  was  valuable  for  the 
community,  wrote  strongly  in  condemnation  of  the  practice.  He 
altered  his  views  in  later  life,  as  is  shown  by  the  following  quota- 
tion from  his  memoirs,  although  long  before  that  time  the  treat- 
ment had  conquered  opposition,  and  was  generally  accepted  as  a 
true  preventive  of  this  terrible  scourge  of  the  colonists  : — 

In  1736  I  lost  one  of  my  sons,  a  tine  boy  of  four  years,  by  the  smallpox,  taken 
in  the  common  way.  I  long  regretted  him  bitterly,  and  still  regret  that  I  had 
not  given  it  to  him  by  inoculation.  This  I  mention  for  the  sake  of  parents  who 
omit  the  operation,  in  the  supposition  that  they  should  never  forgive  themselves 
if  a  child  died  under  it.  My  example  shows  that  the  regret  may  be  the  same 
either  way,  and  therefore  that  the  safer  should  be  chosen. 

It  was  not  until  the  close  of  the  century  that  this  fell  distemper 
was  robbed,  to  a  great  extent,  of  its  terrors.  Jenner  in  1798 
put  into  practical  use  his  wonderfid  discovery,  made  some  years 
before,  that  milkmaids  who  contracted  a  mild  eruptive  disease 
from  handling  cows'  udders  never  suffered  from  the  smallpox. 
Thus  commenced  the  beneficent  era  of  vaccination,  which,  when, 
after  much  opposition,  it  had  been  accepted  by  the  medical  fra- 
ternity, placed  this  terrible  disease  almost  completely  under  con- 
trol, and  largely  relieved  the  world  from  a  fear  of  its  ravages. 

Let  us  abandon  medical  talk,  and  turn  again  to  the  "  Old 
Stone  House.''  There  was  a  wedding  in  its  best  room  in  the 
autumn  of  1788,  which  attracted  much  attention  and  caused  con- 
siderable comment  in  the  neighborhood.  It  was  the  marriage  of 
Aaron's  wife's  cousin  Barbara  Margaret  Gibbs  to  Daniel  Cooper. 
Many  guests  were  invited — at  least  we  may  so  conclude,  as  trad- 
itions all  concur  in  speaking  of  lavish  hospitality  on  such  occa- 
sions at  the  "  Old  Farm."  The  bidden  relatives  and  neighbors 
did  not  find  a  timid  or  a  blushing  bride,  for  the  widow  Gibbs  was 
seventy-seven  years  old  and  had  been  married  twice  before. 
The  lusty  groom  was  in  his  eighty-ninth  year,  and  was  well 
acquainted  with  marriage  ceremonies,  this  being   the  fifth  time 


574  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

that  he  had  deliberately  placed  the  matrimonial  noose  about  his 
neck.  We  are  led  to  believe,  however,  that  Charlotte  opened  her 
house  and  made  the  occasion  one  of  as  much  festivity  as  if  the 
contracting  parties  were  entering  the  bonds  of  wedlock  for  the 
first  time.  Father  Graff  came  over  from  New  Germantown  to 
perform  the  ceremony,  and  affix  the  seal  of  his  blessing  to  this 
extraordinary  connection.  Charlotte's  cousin  did  not  journey 
with  her  new  husband  to  the  end,  but,  like  her  four  predecessors, 
fell  by  the  way.  The  aged  Mr.  Cooper,  however,  was  not  dis- 
couraged ;  evidently  he  was  fond  of  the  sex,  and  gave  to  the 
marriage  relation  his  full  countenance.  Before  receiving  his 
final  summons  to  relinquish  wives  and  all  mundane  affairs  he 
again  led  to  the  altar  a  blooming  bride — his  sixth  wife,  whom, 
when  he  died  in  his  one  hundred  and  first  year,  he  left  a  dis- 
consolate widow. 

Daniel  Cooper  was  born  at  sea,  late  in  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury, while  his  parents  were  emigrating  from  Holland.  On 
reaching  man's  estate  he  settled  on  Long  Hill,  in  Morris  county, 
becoming  a  farmer  and  a  large  landowner ;  at  one  time  he  was 
high  sheriff  of  the  county  and  for  many  years  sat  on  the  bench 
as  magistrate.  This  inflexible  judge — "  a  second  Daniel  come 
to  judgment " — had  the  unhappy  experience  of  sentencing  his 
own  son  to  be  hung.  On  the  nineteenth  of  August,  1773,  over  a 
thousand  persons  were  assembled  in  the  old  court-house  at  Mor- 
rjstown,  which  probably  had  never  held  a  more  interesting 
audience,  nor  one  that  exhibited  a  deeper  sympathy  with  the 
course  that  justice  had  taken.  They  were  there  to  hear  the 
dread  sentence  of  death  pronounced  upon  four  remarkably  fine- 
looking  men  who  were  arraigned  before  the  bar  of  the  court. 
Among  them  was  the  son  of  Daniel  Cooper,  one  of  the  magis- 
trates sitting  on  the  bench  in  judgment. 

In  all  Mr.  Cooper  had  eleven  children.  One  of  them,  Benja- 
min,* was  interested  with  Lord  Stirling   in   the   Hibernia  iron 


Benjamin  Cooper  married  Charity,  the  daughter  of  Charles  and  Mary  Hoff  of 
Pittstown,  in  Hunterdon  Co.  The  wife  died  on  the  17th  of  May,  1763,  after 
giving  birth  to  a  boy,  and  both  mother  and  child  are  buried  in  the  old  graveyard 
of  the  Bethlehem  Presbyterian  church.  They  each  have  separate  monuments 
upon  which  is  inscribed  their  ages  as  well  as  their  names,  the  mother's  being 
given  as  seventeen  and  the  child's  as  "  4  hours." 


Benjamin  Cooper  Escapes  the  Gallows.  575 

mine.  In  1773  a  great  number  of  forged  bills  began  to  circulate 
in  Morris  county  ;  this  led  to  the  arrest  and  conviction  of  Doctor 
Barnabas  Budd,  Samuel  Haines,  David  Reynolds  and  Daniel 
Cooper's  son  Benjamin,  they  confessing  to  having  received  the 
bills  from  one  Ford,  a  clever  counterfeiter.  This  principal,  who 
was  also  arrested,  managed  to  effect  his  escape,  but  his  accom- 
plices were  not  so  fortunate  ;  as  has  been  shown,  they  were  sen- 
tenced to  expiate  their  crime  on  the  gallows.  Only  one  of  them, 
Reynolds,  who  seems  to  have  been  the  least  guilty  of  all,  was 
executed.  The  influential  connections  of  the  others  bore  with 
great  weight  upon  the  pardoning  power,  resulting  in  a  reprieve 
on  the  very  morning  set  apart  for  the  executions.  Cooper's  escape 
was  largely  due  to  his  having  furnished  information  regarding 
the  robbery  of  the  treasury  of  the  eastern  division  of  the  province 
of  six  hundred  pounds,  in  the  year  1768.  He  confessed  to  being 
an  accessory  to  this  crime,  Ford,  with  the  aid  of  two  soldiers  in 
the  garrison  at  Amboy,  having  robbed  the  treasury,  paying  him, 
Cooper,  three  hundred  pounds  as  his  share  of  the  proceeds.  For 
this  confession,  together  with  the  influence  exerted  by  Lord 
Stirling,  the  son  of  the  upright  judge  and  venerable  bridegroom 
was  subsequently  pardoned. 


CHAPTER     XXXVIII. 

Some  Old  Mamiscripts  and  Their  Story — The  Militia  and  Gener- 
al Trainings —  Country  Merchants  of  the  Olden  Time. 

Spread  upon  the  table  at  which  I  am  writing  lies  a  mass  of 
interesting  manuscripts.  Dating  from  the  days  of  Johannes 
Moelich  down  to  those  of  the  past  generation,  they  are  as  varied 
in  form,  appearance  and  original  purposes  of  use  as  they  are  in 
age  and  color.  These  papers  have  at  odd  times  been  discovered 
in  different  corners  and  crannies  of  the  Old  Stone  House.  In 
handling  them  we  are  seemingly  not  only  grasping  the  hands  of 
all  the  men,  women  and  children  who  have  ever  lived  on  the  "  Old 
Farm,"  but  are  also  looking  into  the  eyes  and  listening  to  the  words 
of  a  by  no  means  small  minority  of  the  Bedminster  residents  of 
the  last  century,  as  well  as  of  worthies  of  reputation  of  the  coun- 
ty and  state. 

Lot  us  take  up  at  random  some  of  these  yellow,  time-stained 
papers,  and  hear  the  story  they  have  to  tell  of  one  hundred 
years  ago.  We  will  begin  with  a  large,  important  looking  docu- 
ment that  fairly  smells  of  authority.  It  announces  in  the  most 
dignified  and  old-fashioned  phraseology  that  the  council  and 
assembly,  in  consideration  of  the  especial  trust  and  confidence 
reposed  in  Guisbert  Sutphen,  have,  by  the  command  of  "His 
Excellency,  the  Governor,"  appointed  him  one  of  the  justices  to 
aid  in  the  conservation  of  the  peace  in  Somerset  county.  This 
was  our  old  friend  Guisbert,  whose  acquaintance  we  made  at  the 
time  of  the  building  of  the  Bedminster  Reformed  Dutch 
church.  In  the  signature  attached  to  his  commission  one 
can  read  with  distinctness  the  character  of  New  Jersey's  first 
governor.  The  firm,  even  strokes  that  inscribed  "  WU.  Living- 
ston "  on  this  parchment  were  from  no  faltering  hand,  for  vigor, 


Some  Old  Commissions.  577 

uprightness,  and  great  tenacity  of  purpose  are  reflected  from 
every  line.  The  issuing  of  this  commission  must  have  been 
among  the  earliest  of  this  war  governor's  acts,  as  it  is  dated  the 
thirteenth  of  September,  1776.  The  attesting  secretary  of  state 
is  Charles  Pettit,  whom  we  have  met  before — at  Camp  Middle- 
brook  in  1779,  when  he  was  deputy  quartermaster-general  under 
Greene. 

Guisbert  Sutphen's  official  robe  seems  to  have  descended 
in  the  line  of  his  family,  for  here  is  another  commission  of 
thirty  years  later  appointing  his  son  Peter  justice  of  the  peace. 
This  son's  commission  is  shorn  of  about  two-thirds  of  the  legal 
verbiage  that  was  considered  necessary  in  his  father's,  though 
the  powers  granted  are  fully  equal.  The  signature  is  that  of 
Governor  Joseph  Bloomfield,  a  descendant  of  the  Thomas  Bloom- 
field  who  migrated  in  1666  with  John  Pike  from  Newbury, 
Massachusetts,  and  aided  in  founding  Woodbridge.  This  chief 
magistrate,  who  ruled  from  1801  to  1802  and  again  from  1803  to 
1812,  was  a  fine  looking  man,  and,  with  his  hair  always  well 
powdered  and  queued,  presented  in  the  gubernatorial  chair  a 
most  dignified  appearance.  This  time  the  attesting  secretary  of 
state  is  James  Linn,  the  father  of  the  young  lady  we  saw  danc- 
ing with  Washington  at  the  Pluckaiuin  fete.  Peter  Sutphen's 
honors  were  not  confined  to  the  judiciary.  We  now  come  upon  a 
third  commissi(m,  dated  in  September,  1797,  appointing  him  to 
the  captaincy  of  a  troop  of  horse  in  a  Somerset  battalion,  com- 
manded by  Major  James  Henry.  It  is  signed  by  Richard  How- 
ell who  was  governor  of  the  state  from  1794  to  1801,  and  who 
during  the  war  served  in  the  continental  line  as  major  of  Colonel 
Isi'ael  Shrieve's  New  Jersey  battalion.  He  also  commanded  the 
New  Jersey  militia  that  aided  in  suppressing  the  Pennsylvania 
whiskey  insurrection  of  1794.  His  death  in  Trenton  in  1803 
at  the  early  age  of  forty-nine  was  much  deplored. 

The  close  of  the  Revolution  left  the  military  instincts  of  the 
American  people  most  actively  alert,  and,  there  no  longer  being  a 
standing  army,  it  was  necessarily  considered  important  for  each 
state  to  have  a  thoroughly  equipped  militia.  In  New  Jersey  all 
able-bodied  men  of  proper  age  were  enroUed,  and  until  far  into 
this  century  the  rural  citizen-soldier  cut  a  splendid  figure  before 
the  eyes  of  his  friends  and  neighbors.  For  the  country  people, 
37 


578  The  Story  ok  an  Old  Farm. 

about  him  centred  the  acme  of  everything  that  was  grand,  mag- 
nificent and  ostentatious,  and  the  "trainings"  of  the  militia  were 
always  important  occasions  and  insured  a  great  number  of  spec- 
tators. "Gfeneral  training  days,"  that  is,  when  the  entire  troops 
of  the  county  were  drilled,  were  considered  holidays,  and  high 
carnival  was  held,  attended  often  by  license  and  disorder.  In 
Somerset  this  field-day  was  frequently  held  at  Pluckamin,  the 
evolutions  generally  taking  place  on  land  now  owned  by  J. 
Mehelm  Brown,  lying  near  the  village.  At  such  times  all  grades 
of  society,  white  and  colored,  flocked  to  the  field  of  Mars  to  wit- 
ness the  grand  doings,  and  everywhere  was  flourish,  pomp  and 
ceremony.  The  importance  of  the  country  lad,  arrayed  in  a 
ranger's  or  cavalryman's  uniform,  as  he  strutted  before  the  admir- 
ing glances  of  his  sweetheart,  was  only  surpassed  by  the  magni- 
ficence of  the  mounted  officers,  who  curvetted  on  their  capari- 
soned horses  in  all  the  splendor  and  glitter  of  epaulettes  of  bullion 
and  cocked  hats  with  red,  white,   and  black  feathers. 

At  the  present  time  there  are  no  public  rural  gatherings  that 
approach  to  the  old  "general  trainings"  in  prominence  or  glory. 
Old  residents  still  remember,  and  enjoy  telling  of,  the  delight  with 
which  their  boyish  eyes  looked  upon  the  gala  scene — of  the 
flaunting  banners,  and  the  martial  array  of  men  in  their  starch 
and  frippery  ;  of  the  square  acres  of  people,  all  dressed  in  their 
Sunday  best,  before  whom  the  troops  deployed,  marched  and 
coimter-marched  to  the  inspiring  music  of  drum,  fife  and  bugle. 
Booths  were  set  up  for  the  sale  of  cakes,  pies,  beer,  and  rum; 
huckster  wagons,  laden  with  like  goodies,  were  distributed  about 
the  field,  and  eating  and  drinking  were  by  no  means  an  unim- 
portant portion  of  the  business  of  the  day.  When  the  drills  and 
ceremonies  of  the  militia  were  concluded  all  kinds  of  shows  and 
games  were  instituted  for  the  amusement  of  the  people;  gambling 
and  horse  racing  were  frequent  features  of  the  occasion,  and,  as 
the  hours  wore  on,  too  often  the  power  of  rum  asserted  itself,  and 
the  day  came  to  a  close  in  turbulence  and  riot. 

A  legislative  enactment  of  1815  reorganized  the  militia  of  New 
.Jersey.  By  this  new  system  a  company  comprised  sixty-five 
men,  whose  commissioned  officers  were  a  captain,  lieutenant,  and 
an  ensign.  The  companies  were  formed  into  two  battalions, 
commanded  by  majors,  which,  together,  made  a  regiment  under 


An  Old  Muster-Roll.  579 

a  colonel.  AU  the  troops  in  each  county  constituted  a  brigade. 
The  "trainings  "  were  annual ;  those  of  the  companies  occurred 
in  April;  the  battalions,  in  May;  the  regiments,  in  June;  while 
"general  trainings,"  or  brigade  drills,  were  ordered  at  the  plea- 
sure of  the  brigadier-general.  That  the  Old  Stone  House  fur- 
nished a  militia  officer  is  shown  by  two  saflfron-colored  muster- 
rolls  on  the  table  before  me.     They  are  inscribed: — 

The  Muster  Roll  of  the  first  company  of  the  first  Battalion  of  the  Second  Regi- 
ment in  Somerset  Brigade.  DanI  Meliok,  Cipt.;  William  Fiilkerson,  Lieut ; 
William  Smith,  Insign. 

Then  follow  fifty-one  names,  among  them  those  of  Demund, 
Bunn,  Lane,  Powlison,  Todd,  Van  Doren,  and  many  others 
familiar  to  the  Bedminster  ears  of  to-day.  Evidently  there  has 
been  but  little  change  in  the  resident  families  of  the  township 
since  1806,  which  is  the  date  of  these  company  rolls.  One  of 
these  lists  was  written  by  John  Blair,  who  seems  to  have  been 
the  general  scrivener  for  the  community,  as  numerous  bonds, 
conveyances  and  other  important  papers  in  my  hands  are 
exhibits  of  his  excellent  penmanship.  He  was  for  many  years  a 
storekeeper,  or  country  merchant,  at  the  Larger  Cross  Roads, 
and  considered  a  business  man  of  more  than  ordinary  intelligence. 

Lieutenant  William  Fulkerson  purchased  from  Aaron  Malick 
on  the  eleventh  of  April,  1800,  the  Bedminster  tavern,  with 
thirty  acres  of  land  extending  to  the  north  branch  of  the  Raritan 
river,  the  consideration  being  three  hundred  and  fifty-one  pounds, 
proclamation  money.  By  this  time  Aaron's  son  John  had  grown 
tired  of  keeping  a  "public;"  a  few  years  later  he  removed  with 
his  family  to  Schoharie  county,  New  York,  where  he  died  at  the 
age  of  seventy-five,  in  the  year  183-i.  Captain  Fulkerson,  as  he 
was  afterward  known,  continued  to  be  the  Bedminster  tavern- 
keeper  until  his  death  about  the  year  1820.  He  is  remembered 
as  an  honorable  old  gentleman,  much  respected  in  the  neighbor- 
hood, though  as  he  advanced  in  life  he  had  a  failing  which  was 
not  uncommon  with  his  generation.  On  infrequent  occasions  he 
had  seasons  of  intemperance,  lasting  a  week  or  ten  days.  At  such 
times  his  mind  ran  very  much  on  his  military  experiences,  which 
had  comprised  Revolutionaiy  as  well  as  militia  service ;  his  habit 
was  then  to  talk  of  himself,  using  often  a  favorite  expression 
which  he  applied  to  any  and  everything  that  met  his  approval : 


580  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

"I  honor  the  movement."  He  used  this  phrase  to  such  an 
extent  that  in  later  life  the  "Cross  Roads"  boys  disrespectfully 
dubbed  him— "The  Old  Movement." 

We  can  now  turn  from  these  militiamen,  with  their  vengeful 
blades,  to  consider  more  peaceful  pursuits,  for  our  next  old  paper 
treats  of  tending  flocks.  Instead  of  the  tramp  of  horse,  accou- 
tred for  war,  we  hear  the  midtitudinous  clatter  of  little  hoofs, 
and  view  spacious  meadows  where  foolish  sheep  with  bent  heads, 
and  necks  flaked  in  soft,  yellow  wool,  are  "  nibbling  sharp- 
toothed  the  rich,  thick-growing  blades."  But  here  is  the  paper 
referred  to  ;  it  leads  us  to  believe  that  Aaron's  flocks  were  too 
great  for  his  pasture  supply  : — 

Articles  of  Agreement  made  this  twenty-ninth  day  and  the  year  of  our  Lord 
one  thousand  Seven  hundred  and  Eighty  four  with  EHsha  Lowrance  that  is  to 
Let  him  liave  twenty  one  sheep  valued  at  Nine  Shillings  per  heiid,  all  said  sheep 
the  above  mentioned  Lowrance  is  to  have  for  four  years  from  this  Date  and  he 
Doth  Agree  to  give  unto  Aaron  Malick  one  pound  of  wool  per  head  yearly,  and 
Eeturn  the  sheep  at  the  Expiration  of  four  years  as  Good  as  when  he  Received 
or  the  money  if  said  Mealick  Chuses,  as  witness  my  hand  this  twenty  Ninth  day, 
1784.  Elisha  Lowrance. 

In  turning  over  these  old  papers  one  finds  among  them  a  great 
number  of  bonds,  notes  and  due  bills,  their  amounts  varying  from 
a  few  shiUings  to  several  hundred  pounds.  These  obligations 
are  signed  by  many  different  persons,  and  bear  no  evidence  as 
to  their  having  been  paid.  Many  of  them  were  given  by  Aaron 
and  Daniel  Melick  in  payment  of  debts,  and  returned  to  them  in 
the  ordinary  way  of  business  on  maturity.  But  how  can  we 
explain  finding  in  the  Old  Stone  House  those  that  were  not 
their  obligations?  If  they  had  been  held  by  members  of  the 
family  as  evidences  of  debt  one  would  suppose  that  they  would 
have  been  retained  only  in  case  of  non-payment.  That  many 
of  them  must  have  been  paid  is  proven  by  the  well-known  char- 
acter of  the  persons  whose  signatures  they  bear.  As  a  rule  they 
are  not  of  those  who  would  have  permitted  their  promises  to  pay 
to  have  remained  dishonored.  Besides,  at  that  time  of  a  no-cir- 
culating-medium, notes  were  rarel}'  issued  by  those  unable  to 
pay,  especially  in  quiet  country  communities,  where  rogues  were 
not  in  fashion  and  spendthrifts  were  rare.  Fortunately  the 
people  of  Bedminster  in  the  last  century  did  not  need  much 
monev.     Bank  bLUs  were  of  course  unknown.     Before  1781  the 


Early  Financial  Institutions.  581 

nearest  place  of  deposit  was  at  Baltimore,  Maryland,  then  a 
place  of  ten  thousand  people.  It  was  in  that  year  that  the  bank 
of  North  America  was  established  in  Philadelphia,  and  three 
years  later  the  bank  of  New  York  and  the  Massachusetts 
bank  in  Boston  opened  their  doors  for  business.  One 
of  the  earliest,  if  not  the  earliest,  financial  institution  in  our  state 
was  the  "Bank  of  New  Jersey"  at  New  Brimswick,  chartered 
in  1807,  which  was  followed  in  1812  by  the  "State  Bank"  at 
the  same  place.  In  Somerset  county  the  cost  of  living  was  but 
little;  land  and  taxes  were  low,  ministers'  salaries  were  small, 
farmers  raised  enough  to  supply  their  table  and  feed  their  stock, 
and  made  much  of  the  clothing  needed  by  their  families.  For 
what  they  had  to  buy  at  stores,  blacksmith-shops  and  vendues, 
they  were  all  in  excellent  credit,  and  notes  and  barter  served  as 
cash. 


""^-  ^1;^ z=^f- 


y^       yy^l^'^ii^^/Ce^ 


582  The  Stoky  of  an  Old  Farm. 

The  members  of  the  family  in  which  we  are  interested  were 
not  infrequent  purchasers  at  the  coimtry  stores.  This  is  evi- 
dent from  the  multifarious  paid  bills  to  be  seen  among  these 
relics  of  the  quill  on  the  table.  We  will  examine  a  few  of  them, 
choosing  several  of  various  dates  in  order  to  learn  the  prices 
that  prevailed,  and  that  we  may  know  for  what  manner  of  goods 
farmers  went  to  the  country  merchant.  We  will  begin  with  one 
of  a  store  at  Pluckamin,  reproduced  on  the  preceding  page. 

This  storekeeper  is  the  same  "Captain  Bullion"  whom  we 
foimd  standing  behind  his  counter  on  that  exciting  Sunday  in 
the  winter  of  1776,  when  Washington  and  his  soldier-lads,  fresh 
from  Princeton  and  Trenton,  encamped  at  Pluckamin.  Though 
over  one  hundred  years  old  the  ink  that  recorded  the  purchases 
entered  in  this  bill  is  still  distinctly  black,  and  in  the  flourishes 
and  figures  it  inscribed  it  has  preserved  an  excellent  exhibit  of 
the  bookkeeper's  art  of  that  time.  John  Boylan  was  a  man  of 
substance,  and  in  1788  was  one  of  the  Somerset  county  judges. 
He  carried  on  an  extensive  mercantile  business,  having,  besides 
his  Pluckamin  store,  stands  at  Liberty  Corner  and  at  Vealtown 
— Bernards  viUe. 

About  the  year  1790  this  Revolutionary  store-keeper  disap- 
pears from  view,  and  for  a  number  of  years  thereafter  the  lead- 
ing merchant  of  the  vicinity  was  George  I.  Bergen,  the  son  of 
John  B.  Bergen  and  Sarah  Stryker  of  Cranbury.  By  his 
energy  and  perseverance  he  developed  in  his  capacious  Plucka- 
min store  a  very  large  trade  which  extended  over  a  wide  area  of 
country,  overriding  competitors,  and  causing  several  store-keep- 
ers in  the  neighborhood  to  go  out  of  business.  After  1800  he 
dealt  largely  in  pork  and  provisions  for  the  European  markets, 
the  great  armies  at  that  time  creating  a  brisk  demand  and  high 
prices.  Owing  to  the  embargo  of  1808,  followed  by  the  non- 
intercourse  act,  he  became  financially  embarrassed,  and  a  few 
years  later  was  obliged  to  close  up  his  business.  Subsequently, 
in  company  with  other  New  Jersey  families,  he  settled  in  Illi- 
nois, where  his  descendants  now  live. 

Bergen's  successor  at  Pluckamin  was  John  Hunt,  the  son  of 
that  Colonel  Stephen  Hunt  who  commanded  a  New  Jersey  pro- 
%  isional  regiment  at   the   outset  of  the   Revolution.     He   estab- 


Country  Storekeepers  and  Their  Wares.  583 

lished  his  business  before  1806  as  is  indicated  by  the  following 
biU:— 


Capt.  Daniel  Mellick 


Pluckamin  May  1 ,  1806. 


Bought  of  John  Hunt. 

li  yds  Cloth  22  6                         X  1     13  9 

3    ScanesSilk  6                                     1  6 

1    D  twibt  6 

1}  Doz  Buttons  2  9                                    4  2 

1  Vest  Shape  7  6 
3    Yds  B'lk  Velvet  7                                   110 

2  D  Holland  3  6  0 
1  Doz  Molds  3 
1  pr  Gloves  6  0 
li  yds  Ribbon  13  1  11 
IJ  D  D  16                                    2  3 

I  Paper  pins  1  6 

II  Buttons  1  2 


£  4     7     6 


Aaron  and  Daniel  Melick  did  not  confine  their  purchasing  to 
near-by  stores.  The  sale  and  shipment  of  the  products  of  their 
tannery  and  farm  required  their  making  frequent  journeys  to 
tide-water  at  New  Brunswick.  This  city  was  at  that  time,  and 
for  many  years  later,  the  centre  of  an  active  trade,  and  possessed 
numerous  large  general  stores.  We  may  be  sure  that  the 
women  of  the  stone  house  had  plenty  of  commissions  to  be  filled 
when  their  husbands  went  "  to  towTi."  That  the  visitors  did  not 
return  empty-handed  is  evidenced  by  the  bills  that  have  been 
preserved,  dated  at  New  Brunswick.  Here  is  one  that  is  inter- 
esting as  showing  the  great  variety  of  goods  that  could  be  bought 
under  one  roof: — 

New  Brunswick,  Nov.  4th,  1800. 
Mr.  Melick 

Bought  of  Sarah  Brush. 
J  Dozen  China  cups  &  saucers 
1  Tea  pot,  4  6,  1  Sugar  Bowel,  3  6,  1  Cream  p.  2 
i  Doz.  Supe  plates  3  3 

i  Doz.  Blue  edge  Do  3  3 

i  Oval  Dish  2 

I  of  Swansdown 

§  of  Flannel  2  9 

1  Stick  of  twist 

1  Doz.  Small  Buttons  Id 

2  Bandannah  Hankerchiefs  6  6 
8  pains  of  8  By  10  Glass  lOd 
1  lb.  Hyson  Skin  tea 


E  0 

12 

0 

0 

10 

0 

0 

3 

3 

0 

3 

3 

0 

2 

0 

0 

.5 

6 

0 

1 

10 

0 

0 

6 

0 

1 

0 

0 

13 

0 

0 

6 

8 

0 

8 

0 

584  The  Story  of  as  Old  Farm. 

J  Doz.  7  By  9  Glass  8d 

Sundreys  of  wood  ware 

To  li  Bushels  of  Coarse  Salt  8 

To  Cash 


X  0  4 
0  9 
0  12 

0 
9 
0 

£  4  10 
2     0 

9 
0 

£  6  10    9 


Commencing  with  the  year  1785  New  Brunswick  experienced 
a  remarkable  era  of  prosperity.  It  continued  until  1834,  when 
the  opening  for  business  of  the  Delaware  and  Raritan  canal  and 
the  New  Jersey  railroad  paralyzed  industries  that  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  city  had  hoped  were  to  be  perpetual.  It  prospered 
not  only  from  the  fact  of  its  being  in  the  heart  of  a  rich  agricul- 
tural, long-settled  country,  but  because,  being  located  on  the 
Raritan  near  the  head  of  navigation,  it  was  the  terminus  of  sev- 
eral business  thoroughfares,  some  of  which  extended  all  the  way 
to  Pennsylvania.  The  traffic  across  the  state  between  these 
years  was  something  enormous.  Great  Conestoga  wagons, 
painted  blue,  from  Pennsylvania,  and  others  almost  as  large  from 
Hunterdon  county,  passed  daily  over  the  AmwellroadtoNew  Bruns- 
wick, many  of  them  drawn  by  four  and  six  horses,  all  heavily 
laden  with  flour,  flax,  grain  and  other  produce.  The  wagons 
conveying  the  productions  of  Sussex,  Warren,  Morris  and  Somer- 
set counties  came  by  way  of  Bound  Brook,  and  so  on,  down  the 
Raritan  valley.  It  is  said  that  at  one  time  on  an  account  being 
kept  of  the  teams  passing  through  Middlebrook  in  one  day  they 
were  found  to  number  five  hundred.  Hence,  probably,  no  place 
in  the  middle  colonies,  outside  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia, 
contained  busier  storekeepers,  mechanics  and  tradesmen  of  all 
kinds  than  did  this  Middlesex  city  ;  every  one  had  employment, 
and  its  wharves  were  scenes  of  busy  activity. 

All  the  blessings  flowing  from  the  Raritan  river  as  an  artery 
of  commerce  did  not  at  that  time  alone  fall  upon  New  Bruns- 
wick. One  mile  above  the  city  was  another  busy  shipping  point 
— Raritan  Landing.  Seated  amid  the  rural  quiet  of  its  grassy 
surroundings,  this  place  at  the  present  time  offers  no  indication 
of  the  commercial  prosperity  that  gave  it  an  active  business 
experience  of  nearly  half  a  century.  The  writer  has  often  heard 
his  father  tell  of  his  first  visit  to  New  Brunswick,  in  about  the 
year  1825,  when  he  rode  from  the   "Old  Farm"  on  a  load  of 


Raritan  Landing  and  New  Brunswick.  585 

corn,  in  the  company  of  an  elder  brother.  On  leaving  Bound 
Brook,  instead  of  crossing  the  bridge  and  continuing  along  the 
"  pike,"  they  travelled  the  river  road,  unconsciously  following  in 
the  footsteps  of  their  great-grandfather,  Johannes,  when,  seventy- 
five  years  before,  he  had  first  made  his  way  down  the  Raritan 
valley.  On  reaching  the  "  Landing  "  the  load  of  com  was  sold 
to  Michael  Garrish,  a  prominent  buyer  and  shipper  of  produce 
who  had  several  warehouses  facing  the  road  running  from  the 
river  road  to  the  "  Landing  "  bridge.  They  found  this  connect- 
ing road  well  built  up — the  north  side  almost  continuously  so — 
with  blacksmith  shops,  cooper-shops,  stores  and  warehouses.  At 
the  bridge  end  was  a  large  grist-mill  operated  by  Miles  Smith,  a 
wealthy  miller  who  lived  in  considerable  style  at  the  near-by 
"  Ross  Hall. "  Facing  the  main  highway,  and  opposite  this 
connecting  road,  was  the  stand,  or  store,  of  John  Pool,  whose 
residence  was  that  handsome  colonial  stone  mansion  on  the  hill, 
built  by  Cornelius  Lowe,  Jr.  in  1741,  and  which,  still  in  excel- 
lent preservation,  furnishes  a  most  pleasing  example  of  colonial 
architecture.  Mr.  Pool  carried  on  an  extensive  business  with 
the  farmers  and  country  merchants,  buying  their  produce  and 
supplying  them  with  salt,  plaster  and  heavy  goods. 

The  merchants  and  forwarders  of  New  Brunswick  occupied 
broad  lots  extending  from  Burnet  and  Water  streets  to  the  river. 
Their  retail  stores  and  dwellings,  which  were  often  in  one  build- 
ing, faced  the  streets.  In  the  rear  their  warehouses  fronted  a 
continuous  wooden  wharf,  or  bulkhead,  broad  enough  to  admit 
of  the  passage  of  teams  ;  frequently  the  wharves  and  streets  were 
connected  by  a  private  alley.  Here  on  this  river-front  a  lucra- 
tive trade  was  carried  on  which  amassed  for  not  a  few  merchants 
considerable  fortunes.  On  Water  street  were  Matthew  Freeman, 
afterward  Ayres  &  Freeman,  who  remained  in  business  till  1828, 
Josiah  Stout,  Samuel  Holcomb,  Peter  P.  Runyon,  Samuel  Metlar 
and  others.  On  Burnet  street,  among  others,  were  Colonel  John 
Neilson,  James  Richmond,  Samuel  Brush,  James  Schureman,  and 
James  Bennet,  afterward  James  Bishop  &  Co.  All  of  these  mer- 
chants owned  sloops — some  of  the  larger  dealers  owned  two  or 
three — so  at  all  times  there  was  a  very  respectable  fleet  of  small 
craft  moored  along  the  Raritan  river  front.  These  vessels  car- 
ried the  produce  of  the  back  country  to  New  York,  and  returned 


586  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

with  cargoes  of  salt,  plaster,  barrelled-fish  and  other  general 
merchandise  which  were  sold  from  the  Burnet  and  Water  street 
stores  to  the  farmers  and  country  storekeepers. 

Up  to  the  time  of  steamboats,  many  sloops,  that  were  built  for 
that  purpose,  served  as  packets  for  carrying  passengers.  When 
we  accompanied  Johannes  to  Perth  Amboy  in  1752  we  learned 
something  of  the  sloop  navigation  of  that  period.  As  the  cen- 
tury waned  many  improvements  had  been  made  that  added  to 
the  comfort  of  travelling  by  water,  until  "  a  cabin  fitted  up  with 
a  tea-table  "  was  no  longer  considered  so  luxurious  an  appoint- 
ment as  to  warrant  its  being  advertised  to  attract  passengers. 
The  year  1788  saw  a  great  revival  of  business  throughout  the 
middle  colonies,  and  the  era  of  stagnation  which  had  continued 
since  the  close  of  the  war  gave  way  to  one  of  activity  and  enter- 
prise. In  New  York  city,  in  the  few  months  of  the  open  and 
mild  winter  of  1778-9,  the  change  was  both  sudden  and  extraor- 
dinary. Houses  and  stores  sprang  up  in  every  direction,  and 
the  country  roads  north  of  Chambers  street  began  to  take  on  the 
aspect  of  a  town.  With  the  return  of  prosperity  came  a  marked 
increase  in  the  number  of  travellers,  and  from  this  time  dates  the 
introduction  of  large  passenger  sloops  with  much  heavier  ton- 
nage and  greater  breadth  of  beam.  Often  a  vessel  of  seventy 
tons  burden  and  less  than  sixty  feet  in  length  would  be 
twenty-two  feet  wide ;  as  the  cabin  occupied  much  of  the  space 
below  deck  the  passenger  accommodations  equalled  those  found 
on  a  full-rigged  ship  of  three  hundred  tons,  built  for  crossing  the 
ocean.  When  wind  and  tide  served,  these  short,  broad  and 
shallow  sloops  could  make  the  passage  to  New  York  within  about 
four  hours,  but  with  adverse  winds  and  bad  weather  the  voyage 
was  often  prolonged  for  two  days. 

It  would  appear  that  the  comforts  of  sloop  travel  on  the  Dela- 
ware at  the  beginning  of  this  century  were  much  less  than  what 
travellers  experienced  on  the  New  York  end  of  the  journey. 
From  1800  to  1810,  on  what  was  known  as  the  Amboy  and  Bur- 
lington route  the  water  passage  from  the  latter  place  to  Phila- 
delphia was  by  the  little  sloop  "  Mayflower,"  owned  and  com- 
manded by  the  then  celebrated  taciturn  Captain  Jacob  Myers. 
Often  twenty-four  hours  were  consumed  between  the  two  places, 
though  no  provision  was  made  to  supply  the  passengers  with  food 


Sloop  Travel  on  the  Delaware.  587 

and  light.  No  certainty  was  ever  felt  by  travellers  as  to  the 
hour  of  starting.  They  were  generally  required  to  be  on  board 
at  seven  in  the  morning,  but  when  ready  to  cast  off  the  lines,  did 
a  load  of  apples  or  country  produce  appear  on  the  wharf  the 
sailing  was  postponed  until  the  new  freight  was  on  board,  and 
until  it  was  very  sure  that  no  more  was  in  sight.  Thus  it  was 
often  midday  before  the  "  Mayflower  "  hauled  out  into  the  stream 
and  her  passengers  commenced  bobbing  and  dodging  to  keep 
their  heads  clear  of  the  ever-moving  boom.  If  the  comforts  of 
the  voyage  at  the  New  York  end  of  the  route  were  greater,  so, 
owing  to  the  open  water,  were  the  dangers.  The  "  New  Jersey 
Journal,"  No.  787,  recites  that  on  Saturday  the  tenth  of  Novem- 
ber. 1798,  one  of  the  J^lizabethtown  and  New  York  packet 
sloops  capsized  off  Bergen  Point,  drowning  eight  passengers, 
men,  women  and  children,  from  Union  and  Morris  counties. 

In  the  year  1807  Fulton  astonished  the  world  by  paddling  in 
the  ''Clermont"  from  New  York  to  Albany,  averaging  iive  miles 
an  hour  irrespective  of  winds  and  currents.  A  few  years  later 
John  R.  and  Robert  James  Livingston  purchased  from  Robert  R, 
Livingston  and  Robert  Fulton,  who  owned  the  exclusive  legisla- 
tive privileges  of  operating  steamboats  in  New  York  waters,  the 
right  to  establish  a  steam  line  from  New  Brunswick  to  New  York. 
They  constructed  at  a  cost  of  twenty-six  thousand  dollars  a  boat 
one  hundred  and  thirty  feet  long  and  twenty  feet  beam,  which 
they  named  the  "Raritan,"  and  ran  as  a  packet  between  those 
places,  touching  at  Elizabethtown-point  and  at  other  landings  on 
the  Jersey  and  Staten  Island  shores.  For  two  years  she  was 
operated  at  a  loss,  but  eventually  the  enterprise  became  pro- 
fitable. 

This  induced  Cohuiel  Aaron  Ogden  to  build  a  steamboat  called 
the  "Seahorse,"  about  one  third  the  dimensions  of  the  "Raritan," 
which  he  ran  from  Elizabethtown-point,  from  where  he  had  been 
operating  a  sloop  ferry  for  a  number  of  years.  As  Colonel  Ogden 
had  no  right  to  ply  in  New  York  waters  the  trips  of  the  "Sea- 
horse" ended  off  Bedloe's  Island,  where  passengers  were  trans- 
ferred to  a  boat  propelled  by  horse-power,  which  conveyed  them 
to  the  city.  Thomas  Gibbons,  an  eminent  lawyer  and  planter  of 
Georgia,  was  the  owner  of  an  undivided  half  of  the  "Ancient 
Ferry"  upon  which  the  "Seahorse"  was  running.  Colonel  Ogden 


588  Thk  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

being  the  owner  of  the  other  half,  and  the  lessee  for  a  term  of 
years  of  Gibbons'  moiety.  Upon  the  expiration  of  this  lease 
Ogden  and  Gibbons  ([uarrelled  as  to  the  conditions  of  a  partner- 
ship to  which  Gibbons  insisted  upon  being  admitted.  This 
resulted  some  time  previous  to  1815  in  Gibbons  bringing  out  a 
new  boat,  the  "  Bellona,"  which  was  soon  plying  to  New  Brunswick 
in  connection  with  the  "Old  Union  Line"  to  Philadelphia.  The 
company  operated  two  lines  of  transit  between  that  city  and  New 
York.  The  first  was  by  post-chaise,  one  leaving  number  145 
Broadway  each  morning  at  five  o'clock,  preceding  to  Whitehall 
ferry  and  crossing  to  Staten  Island;  thence  to  Blazing  Star  where 
the  Kills  was  crossed,  then  on  through  Woodbridge,  New  Bruns- 
wick and  Princeton,  crossing  the  Delaware  at  Bristol,  and  arriv- 
ing in  Philadelphia  at  five  o'clock  the  same  evening.  Before  me  as 
I  write  is  an  old  advertisement  of  the  second  route  of  this  ''Union 
Line  "  dated  in  1819.     It  announces  : — 

The  Vice-President's  steamboat  Nautilus  will  leave  New  York  every  day  (Sun- 
days excepted)  from  Whitehall  Wharf,  at  eleven  o'clock  a.  m.  From  her  the  pas- 
sengers will  be  received  without  delay  into  the  superior  fast-sailing  steamboat 
Bellona,  Capt.  Vanderbelt,  for  Brunswick ;  from  thence  in  Post  Chaises  to  Tren- 
ton, where  they  lodge,  and  arrive  next  morning  at  ten  o'clock  in  Philadelphia 
with  the  commodious  and  fast-sailing  steamboat,  Philadelphia,  Capt.  Jenkins. 

The  announcement  that  passengers  would  be  received  by  the 
"Bellona"  at  Staten  Island  was  an  advertising  fiction,  the  exchange 
being  made  at  the  mouth  of  the  Kills.  As  Gibbons  still  was 
without  the  right  to  navigate  the  New  York  waters  with  steam 
he  ran  his  boat  in  connection  with  the  ferry  licensed  to  ply 
between  New  York  and  Staten  Island.  t. 

Doubtless,  travellers  by  the  ''  Old  Union  Line "  considered 
that  the  height  of  comfort  had  been  reached  in  the  transit  from 
the  Hudson  to  the  Delaware.  The  "Bellona"  was  a  small  single- 
decked,  plainly-finished  steamboat,  but,  together  with  her  sister 
boat,  the  ''Thistle,"  put  on  the  route  soon  after,  was  considered  a 
marvel  of  speed  and  beauty.  Compared  with  a  boat  of  the 
present  day  she  presented  but  a  mean  appearance.  Her  cabin 
accommodations  were  meagre,  being  confined  to  a  small  saloon 
abaft  the  wheel  on  the  main  deck.  No  soft  cushions,  uphol- 
stered chairs  or  curtained  windows  added  to  the  comfort  of  the 
passengers.       Ladies   sat    on    hard-backed  benches,    while   men 


The  Steamboat   "Bellona."  589 

were  well  content  with  round  wooden  stools.  The  speed  of  "  the 
fast  sailing  and  superior  steamboat  Bellona  "  did  not  exceed  from 
ten  to  twelve  miles  an  hour,  but  this  her  passengers  thought 
exhilarating  as  compared  with  the  slow  and  uncertain  transit  of 
the  sloops  of  a  few  years  previous.  Her  captain  was  the  father 
of  the  late  William  H.  Vanderbilt — the  "  Old  Commodore  " — 
then  a  long,  lank  youth  of  twenty-four  years  of  age.  As  the 
commander  of  this  fine  vessel  he  was  looked  up  to  by  the  travel- 
ling public,  and  he  enjoyed  the  princely  income  of  fifty  dollars  a 
month  for  his  services.  The  wife  of  "  Captain  Corned,"  as  he  was 
called — whom  he  had  married  when  he  was  but  nineteen — kept 
"Bellona  Hall,"  a  small  tavern  on  the  steamboat-lauding  at  New 
Brunswick,  where  she  proved  to  be  a  most  popular  and  capable 
hostess.  She  saved  much  money,  which  later  contributed  to 
assist  her  husband  in  putting  on  the  river  opposition  boats 
whereby  he  laid  the  foundaticm  of  his  great  fortune. 

We  must  not  permit  ourselves  to  reflect  with  contempt  upon 
the  pride  with  which  our  fathers  and  grandfathers  walked  the 
decTc  of  the  "Bellona,"  flattering  themselves,  perhaps,  with  the  idea 
that  in  her  the  science  of  locomotion  had  attained  to  its  full  per- 
fection. In  the  picture  one's  mind  draws  of  the  progress  and 
development  of  the  means  of  river  navigation,  from  the  sloop  to 
the  magnificent  craft  of  the  present  day,  the  men  of  1819 
and  their  little  steamers  do  not  occupy  a  middle  distance  ;  on  the 
contrary,  they  are  wefl  in  the  foreground,  for  their  strides  from 
what  had  been,  covered  much  more  space  than  have  those  of 
their  posterity  in  reaching  to-day's  apparent  perfection  of 
transit. 

In  the  sloop  age  the  New  Brunswick  masters  did  not  secure 
aU  the  passengers.  Like  vessels  sailed  from  Elizabethtown- 
point,  to  which  some  stages  ran,  and  from  early  days  there  had 
been  a  stage  line  across  country  to  the  Hudson.  In  1772  John 
Meserau's  "  Flying  Machine  "  was  advertised  to  leave  Paidus 
Hook  thrice  weekly  for  Philadelphia.  This  "  Machine,"  like  the 
stages  we  saw  at  Perth  Amboy  in  1752,  was  stiU  a  country 
wagon,  but  it  had  four  horses,  with  changes,  and  was  supposed  to 
fly  over  the  ruts  and  stumps  at  such  a  high  rate  of  speed  as  to 
reach  the  Delaware  within  two  days.  In  the  same  year — 1772 
— an  act  of  the  assembly  authorized  a  lottery  to  raise   one  thou- 


590  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

sand  and  fifty  pounds  to  pay  for  gravelling  the  causeway  over  the 
Newark  meadows.  But  the  patient  colonists  were  obliged  to 
wait  two  years  before  connnencing  the  work,  as  it  was  not  until 
1774  that  the  king's  sanction  was  obtained.  Previous  to  this 
improvement  being  made  the  passage  of  this  bit  of  road  was 
attended  with  both  delay  and  danger.  Passengers  by  the  "  Fly- 
ing Machine  "  were  forced  to  cross  from  New  York  to  Paulus 
Hook  the  night  before  starting,  which  counteracted  to  a  consi- 
derable extent  the  advantage  of  flying  overland  instead  of  sailing 
leisurely  by  sloop. 

Elkanah  Watson,  who  journeyed  from  New  York  to  Philadel- 
phia in  1784,  recorded  his  experiences  in  a  journal.  He  crossed 
the  Hudson  on  a  cold  winter's  day  in  an  open  ferry-boat,  and 
the  Hackensack  and  the  Passaic  on  the  ice.  The  first  night  was 
spent  at  Newark,  which  he  called  a  handsome  town  with  spa- 
cious streets  bordered  by  trees,  and  the  surrounding  country  dis- 
tinguished for  its  orchards  and  advanced  culture.  The  next 
journey  was  by  stage-sleigh  as  far  as  Princeton,  and  on  the  third 
day  Philadelphia  was  reached.  Another  traveller,  of  just  ten 
years  later,  made  some  interesting  notes  on  his  journey.  He 
recites  that  after  spending  an  hour  and  a  half  on  the  Hudson 
ferry  he  left  Paulus  Hook  by  the  coach  "Industry"  paying  five 
dollars  for  his  seat.  In  crossing  the  cedar  swamp,  before  reach- 
ing Newark,  he  made  the  acquaintance  of  New  Jersey  mosqui- 
tos,  "  which,"  as  he  observes,  "  bit  our  legs  and  hands  exceed- 
inglv  ;  where  they  fix  they  will  continue,  if  not  disturbed,  till 
they  swell  four  times  their  ordinary  size,  when  they  absolutely 
fall  ofl^  and  burst  from  their  fullness."  The  Passaic  river  was 
crossed  by  the  "  Industry "  on  a  "  scoue,"  propelled  by 
pulling  a  rope  which  was  fastened  to  the  further  shore. 
He  calls  New  Brunswick  a  very  pleasant  town.  The  Rari- 
tan  bridge  had  been  carried  away  by  a  storm,  but  the 
coach  and  six  horses  was  ferried  in  a  "  scoue "  in  six 
minutes.  The  want  of  a  bridge  over  the  Raritan  did  not 
long  delay  travel,  as  the  journal  of  a  tourist  of  the  following  year, 
in  speaking  of  New  Brunswick,  mentions  the  "very  neat  and  com- 
modious wooden  bridge  that  has  been  thrown  across  the  Raritan 
river."  Our  first  traveller's  stage-coach  did  not  go  beyond  New 
Brunswick,  a  wagon  without  springs  being  used  as  far  as  Prince- 


Introduction  of  Mail  Coaches.  591 

ton.  The  road  was  so  full  of  deep  holes  and  rolling  stones  that 
on  reaching  the  college  town  the  passengisrs  had  been  so  badly- 
shaken  that  many  of  them  were  sick  and  could  hardly  stand. 

Coaches  at  that  time  were  yet  few,  being  the  exception  rather 
than  the  rule.  The  public  conveyances,  generally,  were  long- 
bodied  stage-wagons  without  doors,  windows  or  panels.  Leathern 
curtains  were  let  down  to  keep  out  the  rain,  and  entrance  was  had 
over  the  whiffle-trees  and  front  wheels,  the  passengers  clamber- 
ing back  over  the  intervening  benches.  After  the  jtresent  cen- 
tury came  in,  land  travel  was  made  more  expeditious  and  the 
discomforts  much  lessened.  Heavy  English  mail-coaches, 
swung  on  huge  leather  springs,  were  introduced,  and  more  fre- 
quent changes  of  horses  greatly  diminished  the  time  between 
New  York  and  Philadelphia.  The  traffic  so  rapidly  increased 
that,  long  before  the  advent  of  the  railroad,  how  to  carry  the 
many  passengers  became  a  no  inconsiderable  problem. 

In  the  palmy  days  of  road  and  steamboat  travel  the  hour  that 
heralded  the  arrival  of  the  southern  coaches  was  the  most  impor- 
tant one  of  the  day  for  New  Brunswick  citizens.  As  the  time 
drew  near,  a  crowd  gathered  where  the  taverns  clustered  in 
Albany  street,  the  eyes  of  each  one  of  the  expectant  throng 
bending  in  the  same  direction.  Presently  the  eager  cry,  "  here 
they  come !  here  they  come  !"  passed  from  mouth  to  mouth. 
Then  with  loud  huzzas  the  six-horse  coaches,  piled  with  luggage, 
topped  with  people,  and  coated  with  dust,  came  swinging  around 
the  corner  of  George  into  Albany  street.  With  much  clatter  of 
hoof  and  rumble  of  wheel,  cracking  of  whip  and  blo-(ving  of  horn, 
the  long  line  of  lurching  vehicles,  often  numbering  thirty,  rapidly 
approached,  until  with  a  final  flourish  of  whip  and  blast  of 
bugle  their  drivers  drew  rein  in  front  of  the  City  Hotel  and  the 
White  Hall  and  Bell  taverns.  Then  came  hubbub  and  excite- 
ment, for  Albany  street  was  alive  with  an  animated  multitude. 
To  the  New  Brunswick  people  it  meant  more  than  the  arrival  of 
passengers ;  with  them  came  letters,  papers  and  news  from  the 
outside  world.  The  Albany  street  arrival  was  a  scene  witnessed 
only  during  those  months  when  the  steamboats  were  not  running. 
When  navigation  was  open,  the  coaches  on  entering  town  turned 
down  New  street  to  Burnet  street,  thence  to  the  landing,  where 
the   steamboat  was  waiting   to   continue  the  journey.     The  last 


592 


The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 


stop  made  before  reaching  New  Brunswick  was  at  Enos 
Ayres'  well-known  tavern,  five  miles  south  of  the  town  at 
Dunham's  corners,  a  hamlet  whose  godfather  was  Captain  Jehu 
Dunham.  Regular  travellers  by  the  road  were  for  a  time  much 
interested  in  this  hostelrie  because  of  its  landlord's  daughter, 
who  before  she  was  twenty-eight  years  old  had  had  four  hus- 
bands. She  is  said  to  have  been  very  beautiful,  and  to  have 
secured  her  numerous  consorts  by  physical  rather  than  mental 
perfections.  Her  conversational  powers  were  limited,  but 
through  the  daily  scanning  of  over  two  hundred  coach  passen- 
gers she  probably  acquired  the  habit  of  "  looking  unutterable 
things." 

Before  turning  our  backs  on  New  Brunswick  we  will  do  a  little 
more  shopping,  and  thus  learn  something  of  the  prices  at  which 
di'y  and  wet  goods  were  sold  in  1809  : 

New  Brunswick  23d  Augt.  1809. 
Mr.  Daniel  Melick 

Bot.  of  Van  Dorn  &  Ditmars 
7  lbs 


14  lbs  Brown  Sugar 

6 

J  lb.   Soushong  tea 

8 

I    "  Hyson  Skin  " 

8 

1    "  Ground  Coffee 

2 

2  Bus.  Coarse  Salt 

7 

1     "     Fine      Do 

6 

4  Yds  Super  Calico 

3 

6 

1}  "     Coarse      " 

1 

9 

1  Bus  fine  sand 

£0     12 

0 

4 

0 

4 

0 

2 

0 

14 

0 

6 

0 

14 

0 

2 

2 

1 

0 

£2     19     2 
Received  payment  in  full 

Van  Dorn  &  Ditmars. 


CHAPTER     XXXIX. 

The  Old  Papers  Continue  Their  Story — The  Reverend  John  Dur- 
yea  of  the  Bedminster  Reformed  Dutch  Church — The  Tax 
on  Carriages — Somersefs  Paupers — Daniel  Melick's  Voyage 
to  Georgia — Slaveholding  on  The  Old  Farm. 

Aladdin,  standing  in  the  cave  of  the  magic  lamp,  could  with 
difficulty  decide  into  which  glittering  pile  of  gems  his  hand 
should  be  thrust.  We,  too,  feel  this  embarras  de  richesse  in  the 
presence  of  our  heap  of  interesting  manuscripts  on  the  table. 
When  each  scrap  speaks  so  eloquently  of  past  generations,  it  is 
not  easy  to  determine  which  one  shall  next  claim  our  attention. 
At  a  venture  we  will  take  up  a  package  of  narrow  papers  that 
time  has  tanned  to  the  hue  of  old  gold.  Ah!  on  looking  through 
them  we  find  that  they  do  not  belie  their  color,  as  they  all  treat 
of  money.  They  are  receipts  for  salary  given  by  the  Reverend 
John  Duryea,  the  third  clergyman  of  the  Bedminster  Reformed 
Dutch  church.  They  extend  over  a  period  of  several  months  of 
the  years  1789  and  1790,  and  are  issued  to  the  church  treasurer 
and  to  individual  members  of  the  congregation,  in  some  instances 
being  but  for  a  few  shillings.  The  domine  evidently  in  part 
collected  his  own  salary  and  often  had  difficulty  in  doing  so. 
Even  the  treasurer  was  not  always  on  time  in  his  payments,  as  is 
made  plain  by  the  following  exhibit : — 

Received  Bedminster  August  20th,  1789  of  the  Treasurer  of  the  Congregation 
Mr.  Guisbert  Sutphen  Esqr,  the  sum  of  Seventeen  Pounds  Thirteen  Shillings  & 
three  pence,  part  of  the  Sallery  which  was  Due  the  8th  of  July  1789. 

£17,  13,  3.  John  Duryea. 

Eecd.  Bedminster  Sept.  1,  1789  of  Mr.  Guisbert  Sutphen,  Esq.  the  sum  of 
Two  Pounds  Eleven  Shillings  which  was  Due  the  8th  of  July  1789. 

£2,  11,  0.  John  Duryea. 

38 


594  The  Stoby  of  an  Old  Farm. 

This  collecting  by  the  minister  from  members  of  the  congrega- 
tion must  have  been  attended  by  much  inconvenience,  as  his  par- 
ishioners were  widely  distributed,  and  their  subscriptions,  as 
is  shown  by  a  list  in  my  possession,  were  often  exceedingly 
small.  That  they  were  not  inclined  to  pay  even  these  meagre 
sums  is  told  us  by  a  writer  in  the  tenth  number  of  the  Somerville 
magazine,  "Our  Home."  He  narrates  that  when  the  invitation 
to  preach  was  extended  to  Mr.  Duryea  the  call  was  conveyed 
to  him  by  John  Vroom,  an  explanation  being  made  that  there 
was  but  little  money  in  the  congregation  but  that  all  his  tem- 
poral wants  should  be  provided  for.  He  preached  several  months 
without  any  payment  being  made,  whereupon,  after  a  regular 
morning  sermon  he  thus  addressed  his  people  : — "  You  made  cer- 
tain promises  to  me  if  I  would  preach  for  you.  Several  sermons 
have  been  given  and  I  have  performed  my  part.  A  bar- 
gain thus  made  becomes  a  sacred  contract.  If  you  refuse,  you 
are  a  congregation  of  story-tellers ;  and  you,  John  Vroom,  are  the 
biggest  liar  of  them  all."  From  such  a  circumstance  we  may 
fairly  deduce  that  while  this  preacher  was  under  the  sounding 
board  restful  sleep  did  not  unbidden  ''creep  from  pew  to  pew." 

Jacob  R.  Hardenbergh,  the  Revolutionary  pastor  of  Bed- 
minster  church,  resigned  in  1781  and  removed  to  Rosendale  on 
the  Hudson,  where  he  preached  until  1786,  when  he  was  called 
to  the  presidency  of  Queen's,  now  Rutgers'  college.  For  over 
two  years  the  Bedminster  people  were  without  a  minister,  when 
Theodore  F.  Romeyn,  the  grandson  of  Domine  Theodorus  Jacobus 
Frelinghuj'sen,  was  called.  His  pastorate  included  the  Raritan 
congregation,  the  Readington  people  having  before  this  time 
secured  a  minister  of  their  own.  On  the  death  of  Mr.  Romeyn 
in  1 785  the  two  congregations  united  in  calling  the  Reverend 
John  Duryea.  Born  in  1760,  he  was  licensed  to  preach  by  the 
New  York  synod  in  May,  1 784.  In  this,  his  first  charge,  two 
thirds  of  his  services  were  given  to  the  Raritan  congregation  and 
one  third  to  Bedminster,  and  he  was  bound  by  his  call  to  preach 
alternately  in  Dutch  and  English.  Mr.  Duryea  was  a  devout 
man  and  loved  to  preach,  but  his  preaching  did  not  satisfy  the 
more  intelligent  portion  of  his  people.  His  sermons  were  extem- 
pore and  he  was  not  inclined  to  over  study  in  their  preparation. 
Perhaps  this  rugged  divine   was  apt   at  times   to  be  too  abrupt 


Last  Century's  Carriage  Tax.  595 

to  suit  all  of  his  hearers  ;  at  any  rate  dissatisfaction  with  his  pas- 
torate spread,  forcing  him  to  resign  his  charge  over  the  two 
churches  in  the  autumn  of  1788.  At  that  time  the  Bedminster 
congregation  severed  its  connection  with  that  of  Raritan,  and  Mr. 
Duryea  continued  to  serve  Bedminster  for  one  year  in  connection 
with  an  unorganized  body  of  hearers  at  White  House  and  Pot- 
tersville  in  Hunterdon  county.  He  then  removed  to  Essex 
county,  New  Jersey,  and  finally  died  at  the  Notch,  near  the  vil- 
lage of  Little  Falls,  in  1836. 

In  the  last  century  it  was  not  usual  for  farmers  in  Somerset 
county  to  own  carriages.  As  a  rule  they  were  content  with  their 
white  covered  farm  wagons,  the  bodies  of  which,  on  Sundays,  were 
strewn  with  clean  straw,  while  chairs  from  the  kitchen  served  as 
seats.  Aaron  Malick  in  the  year  1796  appears  to  have  consid- 
ered himself  well-enough-to-do  to  warrant  his  riding  in  a  four- 
wheeled  carriage,  and  to  warrant  his  paying  the  government  a 
tax  for  the  privilege,  which  at  that  time  was  a  necessary  con- 
sequence of  such  a  luxury.     Here  is  the  proof: — 

THIS  IS  TO  CERTIFY,  THAT  Aaron  Melick  of  Bedminster  in  the 
County  OF  Somebset — hath  paid  the  Duty  of  two  Dollars  upon  a  four 
Wheel  Carriage  called  A  light  Waggon  owned  by  him,  having  framed  posts 
&  a  Top,  &  resting  on  wooden  spars — to  be  drawn  by  two  Horses — for  the 
Conveyance  of  more  than  one  Person;  for  the  Year  to  end  on  the  30tli  Day  of 
September  1797. 

Samuel  Annin 
September  10,  96.  Collector  of  the  Revenue, 

Receid  Sept.  1796.  10th  Division  of  New  Jersey. 

This  carriage  tax  was  imposed  by  congress  in  the  general 
impost  bill  of  1794.  It  created  much  dissatisfaction,  especially 
among  the  republicans.  The  carriage-makers  claimed  this  tax 
to  be  unconstitutional,  and  carried  the  question  to  the  supreme 
court ;  but  the  government  was  sustained,  and  the  law  remained 
in  force  until  Jefferson  and  the  republicans  came  into  power. 
The  impost  on  pleasure-wagons  was  removed  in  1802,  together 
with  many  other  obnoxious  impositions ;  the  effort  caused  a  bit- 
ter contest  in  congress  between  the  federalists  and  republicans, 
the  debate  lasting  for  five  days.  The  result  was  considered  a 
great  triumph  for  Jefferson's  administration,  and,  of  course,  was 
bitterly  deplored  by  the  federalists ;  they  urged  that  the  car- 
riage tax   had  been   only   paid  by  the  rich,  and  quoted  in  proof 


596  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

the  fact  that  Virginia  had  six  hundred   and   sixty-six   coaches 
paying  tax  while  Massachusetts  had  but  ninety-nine. 

Now  turn  your  eyes,  and  we  will  look  on  poverty.  He  is 
poor  whose  expenses  exceed  his  income.  This  is  the  kind  of 
poverty  that  harasses  a  man  and  makes  him  truly  miserable,  for 
sooner  or  later  he  is  struggling  in  the  vain  endeavor  to  keep  up 
a  hollow  show.  Such  a  person  is  waging  an  unequal  fight 
against  that  well  equipped  foe,  reality,  armed  with  the  weakest 
of  all  weapons,  pretence.  The  Bedminster  citizens  now  brought 
into  view  by  our  old  papers  are  not  of  this  unhappy  class.  They 
have  robbed  pov^erty  of  at  least  one  of  its  stings,  by  honestly 
acknowledging  their  indigence.  They  are  the  county  paupers. 
In  the  last  century  there  were  in  New  Jersey  neither  alms- 
houses nor  poor-farms.  In  some  counties,  notably  in  Hudson,  it 
was  the  custom  to  sell  the  paupers  at  auction  to  the  lowest  bid- 
der ;  the  amount  bid  was  paid  to  the  buyer  by  the  over- 
seers of  the  poor,  which  bound  him  to  mend  the  pauper's  clothes, 
to  furnish  him  with  a  good  bed,  with  washing,  lodging  and  vic- 
tuals for  one  year,  during  which  time  the  pauper  was  to  work 
for  the  buyer  as  much  as  he  was  able.  All  new  clothing  was 
supplied  by  the  county. 

The  Old  Stone  House  for  three  generations  furnished  over- 
seers of  the  poor  for  Bedminster  township.  After  the  jus- 
tices of  the  peace  had  passed  upon  the  application  of  a 
pauper  for  maintenance  it  was  the  duty  of  the  overseers 
to  provide  for  the  impoverished-one  a  comfortable  home, 
generally  with  a  farmer.  The  amount  paid  for  a  year's  support 
— judging  from  the  bills  before  me — varied  considerably,  depend- 
ing somewhat  upon  the  condition  of  the  paupers,  and  their  abil- 
ity to  aid  the  families  with  whom  they  were  living.  On  the 
twenty-tifth  of  January,  1797,  James  Wintersteen  received  from 
"  Daniel  Melick,  one  of  the  overseers  of  the  poor,"  forty-two 
shillings  "  in  full  for  keeping  Widow  Mahew  ;"  while  on  the 
eighteenth  of  March,  of  the  same  year,  Simon  Hagerman,  Jr., 
received  seven  pounds,  ten  shillings,  "  for  keeping  Leaney  Rush 
a  pauper  on  s'd  Town."  On  the  twenty-third  of  December, 
180.3,  Elizabeth  Castner  was  paid  "  Twenty  Dollars  in  full  for 
the  support  of  Salley  for  the  year  Ending  next  Town  meeting 
Day,"  while  the  following  bill  shows  that  in  the  next  year  double 
that  amount  was  paid  for  a  pauper's  support : — 


The  Care  of  Bedminster  Paupers.       597 

Mr.  Dan'l  Melick,  overseer  of  the  poor  for  Bedminster,  Dr. 
1804  To  Charles  Berger 

May  5  To  Keeping  Margaret  Biderman  a  pauper  54 

weeks  at  76  cents  pr  week  40  50 

Snufl'  25 


$40  75 
Kec'd  May  14th  1804  from  Dan'l  Melick 
the  above  sum  of  Forty  Dollars  ami  seventy  five  cents 
for  my  father, 

Catherine  Berger. 

It  was  the  duty  of  the  overseers  not  only  to  secure  comfortable 
homes  for  their  charges,  but  to  clothe  them  and  to  furnish  them 
with  extra  necessaries.  Thus  we  find  that  on  the  seventh  of 
January,  1804,  John  Deraund  was  paid  "  $2.50  for  making  a 
suit  of  clothes  for  Gideon  Berry,  a  pauper."  We  may  suppose 
that  this  charge  did  not  include  the  cloth.  On  the  twenty-sixth 
of  April,  the  same  year,  Levi  Sutton,  a  farmer  living  near  the 
lower  lime-kiln  on  the  Peapack  road,  was  paid  "One  DoUar  and 
twenty-five  cents  for  lOlbs  of  pickle  pork  for  Joseph  Richard- 
son last  fall."  The  next  bill  is  interesting  because  of  its  intro- 
ducing us  to  a  prominent  Bedminster  citizen  of  that  day  : — 

Mr.  Daniel  Melick,  Overseer  of  the  Poor 

1796                                           To  Nicholas  Arrosmith  Dr. 

Augt  3d  To  21  Yds  Lining                              3  £      7  6 

"   2  Sks  thread                                     2  4 

"   1  Thimble  3 


Deer     For  the  Widow  Wortman  8  1 

Deer  29  To  2  yds  Coating  8  6  17  0 

1797        For  Anny  Oppey 

Feby  2  To  paid  Jacob  Van  Deventer  18  0 

For  the  Widow  Wortman  

£2    3  1 
Eec'd  of  Daniel  Melick  overseer  of  the  poor,  the  above 
Sum  of  Two  pounds  3-1  Nich's  Arrosmith. 

Nicholas  Arrosmith  was  a  contemporary  of  Daniel  Melick,  and 
a  near  neighbor,  living  just  over  the  brook.  In  1792  he  pur- 
chased from  Robert  Gaston  the  property  now  known  as  Schomp's 
mills,  rebuilding  the  grist  and  saw  mills,  and  improving  the 
water-power.  He  also  farmed  extensively,  and  kept  a  general 
store  which  was  located  on  the  east  side  of  the  Peapack  road, 
just  beyond  the  bridge.     At  that  time  the  road  mounted  the  hill 


598  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

instead  of  followinoj  the  bank  of  the  river  as  at  present.  Mr. 
Arrosmith  was  without  doubt  the  most  conspicuous  Bedminster 
resident  of  that  day  ;  he  was  a  judge  of  the  county  court,  filled 
many  other  positions  of  honor  and  trust  in  the  community,  and 
at  his  death  left  a  large  estate. 

A  bill  of  Doctor  Robert  Henry,  dated  the  twentieth  of  Sep- 
tember, 1756,  "For  medicine  and  attendance  done  for  Mrs. 
Biderman,  one  pound,"  shows  that  the  paupers  when  ill  were 
not  neglected.  Doctor  Henry  graduated  at  Princeton  in  1776, 
and  in  the  spring  of  the  following  year  was  commissioned  as  sur- 
geon's mate  in  the  general  hospital,  continental  army,  as  assist- 
ant to  Doctor  Cochran,  whom  we  met  at  Morristown  in  1780. 
He  afterwards  entered  the  line,  serving  four  years  in  Colonel 
Read's  regiment,  General  Poor's  brigade.  He  was  in  several 
engagements,  and  in  the  fight  at  Croton  river  Colonel  Greene  of 
Rhode  Island  and  Major  Flagg  were  killed  by  his  side,  and  he 
himself  was  wounded  and  taken  prisoner.  He  continued  in  the 
service  until  the  army  was  disbanded,  when  he  settled  in  Bed- 
minster, where  he  practiced  medicine  until  his  death  in  1800. 
So  it  is  that  our  old  papers  tell  us  how  the  Bedminster  poor  were 
cared  for  in  sickness  and  in  health.  They  do  more  than  this ; 
they  bring  us  to  the  paltry  bed  of  the  pauper  when  death  has 
burst  the  prison  bars  of  his  poverty,  and  made  him  the  equal  of 
princes. 


^^u^f'^y^/^^a^'^^pr^a^^^^ 


. 


Poor  Thomas  Carey  !  "  Rattle  his  bones  over  the  stones,  only 
a  pauper  that  nobody  owns."  We  suspect  that  he  had  but 
little  honor  while  living,  and  when  dying,  perhaps  no  friendly 
voice  spoke  comfort  to  his  soul,  or  gave  him  the  melting  tear  of 


An  Attorney  and  His   Bill.  599 

pity.  But  now,  after  being  many  years  dead,  his  name,  at  least, 
shall  be  rescued  from  oblivion.  Whatever  immortality  it  may 
be  insured  by  appearing  on  these  pages  can  be  charged  to  the 
fortuitous  circumstance  of  its  having  been  necessary  to  buy  a 
robe  that  he  might  lie  down  decently  to  his  long  night's  sleep. 

While  each  township  was  willing  to  take  excellent  care  of  the 
poor  within  its  own  borders,  they  were  all  exceedingly  jealous  of 
having  on  their  hands  those  for  whom  it  was  not  properly  their 
duty  to  provide.  Before  Joseph  Richardson  was  able  to  gratify 
his  taste  for  pickled  pork  at  Bedminster's  expense,  the  courts 
were  called  upon  to  decide  whether  it  was  not  Hillsborough 
township  that  should  assume  his  maintenance.  Here  is  our 
means  of  knowing  this  fact : — 


Somerset  Sessions. 
The  Inhabitants  of 

On  appeal  from  an  order  of 
Kemoval  of  Joseph  Richardson 
A  pauper. 


Bedminster 
vs 
The  Inhabitants  of 
Hillsborough        J 

Rec'd  January  4th  1804  of  Mr.  Daniel  Melick  overseer  of  the  poor  of 
the  township  of  Bedminster  the  sum  of  six  dollars  as  a  fee  for  arguing  the  above 
cause.  Thos.  P.  Johnson. 

The  attorney  retained  for  this  suit,  Thomas  Potts  Johnson, 
was  the  second  son  of  William  Johnson,  an  Irish  emigrant  who 
was  an  earlj'  settler  in  Hunterdon  county.  His  mother  was  a 
daughter  of  Stacy  Potts  of  Trenton,  at  whose  house  the  Hessian 
Colonel  Rail  died  in  1776.  He  married  a  daughter  of  Robert 
Stockton,  studied  law  with  Richard  Stockton,  and  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  in  1794.  Lawyer  Johnson's  practice  soon  grew  to  be 
considerable  in  Hunterdon  and  Somerset  counties,  due  largely  to 
a  natural  eloquence  and  an  unusually  retentive  memory.  He 
died  in  1838  in  his  seventy-eighth  year. 

The  counsellor  may  have  plead  the  Richardson  case  to  the  sat- 
isfaction of  his  clients,  but  his  argument  did  not  secure  a  ver- 
dict. Had  he  prevailed  perhaps  his  fee  would  have  been 
larger.  He  was  well  treated  by  the  township  otherwise,  as  is 
exemplified  by  the  following  receipt  of  John  Meklrum,  who  for 
many  years  was  the  popular  host  of  a  Somerville  tavern  known 
as  the  Somerset  House,  which  stood  on  the  site  of  the  present 
Van  Arsdale's  hotel,  called  yet  ''  The  Somerset." 


600  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

6th  Jany  \     Rec'd  of  Daniel  Melick  overseer  of  poor,  11  shillings  for  a  treat  tO' 
1804      /  the  Lawyers  after  the  tryal  of  Joseph  Richardson. 

John  Meldrum. 

In  the  winter  of  1792-93  Daniel  Melick  went  on  a  trading 
voyage  to  Georgia.     Here  is  his  bill  for  freight  and  passage. 

Mr.  Daniel  Melick  to  W.  Kennedy  Dr. 

To  freight  of  goods  from  York  to  Savannah 

To  16  Barrels  brandy  @    4                 £    3     4  0 

4  Hhd's    Do  12                      2    8  0 

1  Cask  shoes  0     4  0 

his  passage  4     0  0 

Savannah  Ist  Deer.  1792  £     9  16  0 

Received  payment  0     4  0 

£  10    0  0 
W.  Kennedy. 

He  sailed  from  New  York  late  in  December,  and  preserved  a 
faithful  account  of  bis  journey,  making  daily  entries  in  a  journal, 
the  pages  of  which  I  am  now  turning  over.  The  first  few  leaves 
are  missing,  the  diary  commencing  on  Friday  the  fourth  of  Janu- 
ary when  he  had  landed  at  Newport  Bridge,  a  few  miles  from 
Savannah,  and  complains  that  the  extremely  hot  weather  had 
made  him  iU.  On  Sunday  he  walked  out  with  Mr.  Rodes  to  the 
ferry,  about  five  miles  away,  and  then  on  "  to  Mr.  Peacock's 
plantation  to  meet  his  wife  and  children."  On  the  fourteenth 
he  attended  the  trial  of  three  negroes,  and  on  the  next  day  again 
visited  the  Peacock  plantation — this  time  in  company  with  Mr. 
Thurber,  of  Princeton — and  "  went  in  the  large  bam  to  see  the 
negroes  work."  On  the  seventeenth  he  bought  three  barrels  of 
rice  and  put  them  in  Mr.  Walker's  warehouse,  and  two  days 
later  a  horse-race  claimed  his  attention,  where  there  was  an 
exciting  brush  for  thirty  guineas. 

On  the  twenty-first  our  diarist  was  present  at  the  trial  of  two 
negro  women  for  "  poisoning  their  mistress."  They  were  found 
guilty,  and  sentenced  to  have  their  right  ears  cut  oiF  and  to  be 
branded  on  the  forehead  with  a  letter  P.  In  addition  one  was  to 
receive  sixty  and  the  other  one  hundred  lashes.  "  Nothing 
remarkable"  occurred  on  Friday  the  twenty-fifth,  excepting 
that  the  "  small-pox  came  at  the  Landing  aboard  Capt.  Gibbs." 
Daniel  does  not  seem  to  have  met  with  much  success  in  the  sale 
of  his  liquors,  and  meanwhile  appears  to  have  found  difficulty  in 


A  Trading  Voyage  to  Georgia.  601 

amusing  himself.  Dull  days  were  the  rule.  There  were  excep- 
tions noted,  however,  as,  for  instance,  on  the  first  of  February 
when  he  attended  a  raflSe  for  forty-one  pounds  sterling,  and  on 
the  following  Sunday  when  he  went  for  a  walk  of  two  miles  in 
the  woods.  On  the  fourteenth  he  sold  some  deerskins  to  Mr. 
James  for  four  pounds  and  eleven  shillings. 

Our  traveller  remained  several  weeks  longer  at  Newport 
Bridge,  occupying  himself  in  endeavoring  to  sell  his  liquor,  and 
in  buying  hides  and  rice  which  he  shipped  on  the  sloops  of 
Captains  Khodes  and  Man,  bound  for  Savannah.  Perhaps  he 
thought  to  make  his  apple-jack  more  palatable  for  southern 
palates,  and  consequently  sell  better,  for  he  records  that  on  one 
day  he  "  Bot  7  lbs.  of  Sugar  and  Colored  2  Hhds.  of  Brandy  "  ; 
and  on  another  occasion  he  "  Drawed  off  Hhd.  Brandy  and 
Reduced  it  1  Gallon  to  every  3J  Gallons."  We  should  be  sorry 
to  suspect  Daniel  of  doctoring  his  liquor,  so  will  charitably  believe 
that  to  save  freight  he  brought  his  apple-jack  South  much  above 
proof,  and  then  reduced  it  to  a  marketable  grade.  On  Sunday 
the  twenty-fourth  of  February  he  "  paid  a  half  Dollar  for  a  horse 
to  ride  to  meeting."  I  fear  that  this  ancestor  was  not  as  faith- 
ful to  his  religious  duties  as  had  been  his  father  and  grandfather 
before  him  ;  this  is  the  only  mention  made  of  church-going  dur- 
ing his  three  months'  absence.  On  Monday  the  fourth  of  March 
he  put  his  trunk  on  Captain  Man's  sloop  for  Savannah,  and  the 
next  morning,  which  was  very  rainy,  he  set  off  on  foot  for  that 
city  in  company  with  a  Mr.  Sutton.  They  lodged  that  night  at 
Mrs.  McKnight's  tavern,  twenty-six  miles  on  the  road,  which 
they  reached  about  sunset,  very  much  fatigued.  By  simrise  the 
next  morning  they  were  again  on  their  way,  tramping  over  a 
fertile  country  abounding  in  extensive  plantations  devoted  to  the 
culture  of  rice,  indigo  and  tobacco.  Savannah  was  reached  at 
ten  o'clock  ;  they  found  it  embowered  in  trees  in  full  leaf,  with 
peach  trees  in  bloom,  and  the  place  alive  with  people  because  of 
''  Great  horse  Racing." 

Daniel  procured  board  at  the  Widow  Spencer's  for  five  dollars 
a  week,  and  at  once  turned  his  thoughts  to  business,  but  he  com- 
plains the  next  day  that  little  coidd  be  done  owing  to  racing 
"  Still  Going  forward."  He  soon  sold  his  rice,  which  arrived  by 
the  sloops,  and  bought  more,  as  well  as  a  lot  of  hides  and  indigo. 


602  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

His  liquors  continued  to  be  a  drug  on  the  market,  so  finally,  on 
the  twenty-second  of  March  what  remained  unsold  he  shipped 
back  to  New  York,  together  with  other  merchandise,  by  the 
ship  "  Jenny,"  Captain  Schermerborn.  He  also  took  his  own 
passage  home  by  this  vessel.  On  the  afternoon  of  the  twenty- 
fifth  the  "  Jenny  "  hauled  out  in  the  stream,  and  the  next  day 
"  Dropt  Down  the  River  to  five  fathom  Hole."  At  seven 
o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  twenty-seventh  the  ship  was  under 
way,  and  by  two  in  the  afternoon  Tybee  lighthouse  was  abeam 
and  the  "  .Jenny  "  was  plowing  northward  before  a  free  breeze. 
The  voyage  was  much  like  others  along  the  coast,  before  and 
since.  There  were  days  of  sea-sickness,  several  whales  were 
seen,  and  occasionally  vessels  were  spoken,  bound  south.  At 
three  in  the  afternoon  of  the  third  of  April  the  Highland 
Lights  were  in  sight  and  the  pilot  came  on  board,  and  by  even- 
ing the  ''  Jenny  "  was  lying  at  anchor  within  the  Horseshoe.  At 
nine  o'clock  the  next  morning  all  sails  were  set,  and  with  a  fair 
wind  the  ship  made  good  time  across  the  bay  and  through  the 
Narrows,  reaching  New  York  in  the  afternoon. 

Our  next  contribution  from  these  manuscript  treasures  on  the 
table  contains  but  a  few  words,  but  it  opens  up  the  whole  subject 
of  slaveholding  on  the  Old  Farm  : — 

Although  the  buying  and  selling  of  negroes  had  been  common 
throughout  the  century  in  Somerset  county,  Aaron  Malick  was 
an  old  man  before  he  became  a  slaveholder.  He  had  often 
desired  to  purchase  a  few  hands  to  work  in  the  tannery  or  on  the 
farm,  but  had  refrained  in  consideration  of  the  wishes  of  his  wife 
who  had  always  strenuously  opposed  the  introduction  of  bonds- 
people  into  her  household.  Charlotte  was  a  descendant  of  a 
Quaker  family,  and  had  inherited  that  hatred  of  the  institution 
which  has  always  most  honorably  distinguished  the  peace-loving 
Society  of  Friends.  But  in  the  year  1786  Aaron's  brother-in- 
law,  Jacob  Kline,  offered  to  sell  him  his  negro  man  Yorabo,  who 


Slavery  on  the  Old  Farm.  603 

was  a  master-hand  at  tanning,  currying  and  finishing  leather. 
This  offer  came  at  a  time  when  Aaron  was  sorely  pressed  for 
help,  and  the  opportunity  seemed  too  good  to  be  passed  by. 
After  much  urging  on  the  part  of  the  husband,  the  wife  finally 
stifled  her  scruples  and  acquiesced  in  the  purchase. 

So  Yonibo  was  transferred  from  the  Hunterdon  tannery  on  the 
Rockaway  river  to  the  Bedniinster  tannery  on  the  Peapack 
brook,  where  he  soon  proved  himself  a  most  valuable  workman. 
He  was  a  Guinea  negro,  having  been  brought  from  Africa  when 
a  boy,  where,  as  he  claimed,  his  father  was  a  ''  big  man." 
Yombo  was  stout,  coal  black,  club-footed  and  very  bow-legged. 
At  first  his  appearance  quite  terrified  Daniel's  little  children  ;  he 
rarely  wore  a  hat,  always  chewed  tobacco,  rings  hung  from  his 
ears,  and  his  language  was  a  mixture  of  poor  English  and  a  jargon 
peculiar  to  himself.  In  addition,  his  disposition  was  not  in  any 
sense  agreeable,  and  his  perverseness  always  displayed  itself 
when  he  was  not  under  the  immediate  eye  of  his  owner  and 
master.  But  being  an  excellent  workman  his  peculiarities  were 
passed  over,  and  for  many  years  he  was  a  conspicuous  feature  of 
life  at  the  homestead.  Yombo  had  a  slave  wife  living  at  Eliza- 
bethtown.  It  was  Aaron's  custom  to  permit  him  occasionally  to 
visit  her,  for  that  purpose  putting  money  in  his  pocket  and  lend- 
ing him  a  horse  and  chair — as  the  two  wheeled  gigs  of  that  day 
were  called.  Notwithstanding  his  master's  goodness  the  darkey 
was  treacherous,  and,  when  all  ready  to  start  on  the  journey, 
Aaron  was  always  particular  to  look  under  the  seat  of  the  chair, 
where  he  not  infrequently  found  a  wallet  stuffed  with  finely- 
finished  calf-skins,  with  which  Yombo  had  hoped  to  improve  his 
fortunes  at  Elizabethtown. 

The  shoi-t  note  written  to  Aaron  Malick  by  Oliver  Barnett 
presages  the  advent  of  the  second  slave — or  rather  a  whole  fam- 
ily of  slaves- -on  the  "  Old  Farm."  General  John  Taylor  was  a 
well-known  resident  of  Hunterdon  county,  who  had  been  an 
active  militia  ofiicer  in  the  war,  closing  his  service  as  colonel  of 
a  regiment  of  state  troops  He  was  only  a  paper  brigadier,  that 
is,  had  attained  the  rank  and  honor  of  general  after  the  war.  At 
the  time  this  note  was  written  he  had  become  financially  embar- 
rassed, and  finding  it  necessary  to  sell  some  of  his  slaves  had 
ofi'ered  Dick  and  his  family  to  Aaron.     General  Taylor's  princi- 


604  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

pal  creditor  was  Doctor  Oliver  Barnett  of  New  Germantown. 
Aaron,  knowing  this,  was  unwillinj;-  to  entertain  the  idea  of  pur- 
chasing these  chattels  until  the  doctor's  permission  had  been 
obtained  ;  hence  the  note  we  have  under  consideration.  Oliver 
Barnett  reached  Hunterdon  county,  unheralded,  in  1765,  his 
entire  worldly  possessions  being  represented  by  a  Maryland 
pony.  In  ten  years'  time  he  had  developed  an  extensive  prac- 
tice, and  had  saved  enough  money  to  buy  the  farm,  mill  and 
homestead  of  Tunis  Welick  ;  the  latter  he  enlarged  and  beauti- 
fied, giving  it  the  name  it  still  bears  of  Barnet  Hall.  Doctor 
Barnett  was  an  excellent  physician  and  soon  grew  rich  ;  during 
the  war  he  was  surgeon  of  the  4th  Hunterdon  battalion,  and 
until  his  death  was  widely  and  highly  esteemed. 

So  now  for  the  second  time  we  behold  Aaron  and  Charlotte 
facing  the  question  of  the  wisdom  of  buying  slaves.  The  matter 
was  given  much  serious  reflection  and  provoked  warm  and  earn- 
est discussions  in  the  living-room  of  the  old  house.  We  may 
imagine  that  Daniel  urged  the  purchase.  His  parents  were 
growing  old  ;  their  children  were  married,  and  all  but  himself 
had  left  home.  His  son,  little  Aaron,  had  grown  to  be  twelve 
years  old,  his  second  child,  Elizabeth,  was  ten,  the  third,  Char- 
lotte, eight,  and  the  youngest,  Rozannah,  but  six.  The  care  of 
these  children  and  the  old  people,  and  the  oversight  of  the  house- 
hold generally,  was  largely  on  his  wife's  shoulders,  and  he  doubt- 
less thought  that  so  unusual  an  opportunity  of  procuring  efficient 
help  should  be  embraced.  Every  one  said  that  Dick  was  a  "  most 
likely  nigger  ;"  every  one  was  right,  for  he  was  an  exemplary, 
pious  black  of  sterling  parts,  and  his  family  but  reflected  the 
virtues  of  the  sire.  Cliarlotte  was  at  last  induced  to  give 
unwilling  assent  to  the  purchase,  which  was  finally  consummated 
in  the  spring  of  1798. 

In  fancy  we  see  these  colored  people  as  they  reach  their  new 
home,  and  stand  a  little  abashed  and  nervous  while  receiving 
welcome  from  their  new  mistresses  Dick  is  of  a  good  dark 
color,  heavy-set  and  dignified  in  appearance,  courteous  and  quiet 
in  demeanor,  while  Nance  does  the  talking  and  laugliing  for  the 
family  through  thick  lips  which  partially  cover  a  full  set  of 
white  teeth.  She  is  lighter  in  color  than  her  husband,  and  very 
short — not  to  say  fat.  You  know  where  her  waist  is  because  you 


Black  Dick  and  Nance.  605 

see  her  apron  strings,  but  with  that  feminine  badge  removed,  to 
locate  her  zone  would  be  like  establishing  the  equator — a  matter 
of  calculation  rather  than  visual  certainty.  Her  breadth  affords 
a  good  cover  for  her  three  frightened  children,  who  peer  shyly 
from  behind  her  ample  skirts  at  the  new  "  white  folks,"  at  the 
same  time  taking  curious  note  of  Daniel's  flock  who  form  a 
background  to  their  mother  and  grandmother.  Diana  the  oldest 
is  seven  and  large  for  her  age,  Sam  is  four,  Ben  the  youngest  is 
a  little  pickaninny  of  two — all  pretty  black,  and  each  one  well 
ivoried.  A  few  pleasant  words,  emphasized  with  cookies,  soon 
calm  their  agitation,  and  it  is  not  long  before  parents  and 
youngsters  are  at  their  ease  and  taking  kindly  to  their  new  sur- 
roundings. The  children  proved  to  be  quiet  and  obedient  and 
quickly  found  themselves  possessed  of  a  happy  home  ;  they  had 
playmates  in  Daniel's  boys  and  girls,  mutually  kind  feelings 
existed  almost  immediately,  and  white  and  black  lived  happily 
together. 

Nance  was  duly  installed  in  the  outer  kitchen  at  the  east  end 
of  the  house,  and  Dick  was  made  general  farmer,  he  having  been 
well  recommended  for  that  work.  Both  husband  and  wife  were 
devout  Christians  and  regular  attendants  at  church,  greatly  to 
the  satisfaction  of  Charlotte  whose  affections  soon  went  out  to 
these  worthy  bondspeople,  causing  her  prejudice  against  slavery 
to  wane  daily.  Nance  became  her  devoted  attendant,  cook,  and 
skilful  housekeeper,  while  Dick  met  his  master's  expectations  as 
a  farmer  and  trusty  servant.  In  a  few  years  he  had  nearly  the 
entire  control  of  the  farm,  wliich  he  managed  with  great  prudence 
and  intelligence  ;  being  always  faithful  to  the  interest  of  his  mas- 
ter, he  was  rewarded  with  a  leniency  and  trust  that  few  white 
people  in  the  same  situation  would  have  enjoyed.  In  March, 
1800,  a  fourth  child,  Joe,  was  born.  Two  years  later  the  cur- 
rent of  home  life  was  unhappily  disturbed  by  the  sudden  death  of 
Charlotte.  It  was  the  result  of  an  accident  which  occurred  in 
February,  when  she  and  her  husband  were  returning  from  a  visit 
to  some  friends  living  near  Rockaway.  Owing  to  the  breaking  of 
the  harness,  the  chair,  or  gig,  in  which  they  were  riding  was 
overturned,  and  its  occupants  were  thrown  violently  to  the  ground. 
Aaron  escaped  with  a  few  bruises,  but  Charlotte  was  so  injured 
that  for  five   weeks   she  was  on  the  "  verge  of  Heaven."     Then 


606  The  Story  of  an  Old  Fakm. 

came  the  thirteenth  of  March,  an  unhappy  day  for  those  who 
loved  her.  While  sitting  in  a  rocking  chair  at  the  window  of  the 
best  room,  looking  out  on  the  familiar  meadows  with  their  tree- 
fringed  river,  suddenly,  for  her  the  world  grew  dim, — death 
softly  laid  his  hand  upon  her  heart. 

"  Niglit-dew8  fall  not  more  gently  to  the  ground 
Nor  weary  worn-out  winds  expire  so  soft." 

The  grief  of  Nance  at  the  loss  of  her  mistress  was  as  deep  and 
sincere  as  that  of  any  other  member  of  the  household,  but  to 
Daniel's  wife  as  sole  mistress  she  was  equally  faithfid,  and  to 
Aaron  in  his  old  age  and  loneliness  she  gave  the  most  devoted 
care. 

The  slaves  on  the  "  Old  Farm  "  had  their  indulgences  and 
enjoyments.  The  Christmas  season  was  one  of  great  festivity, 
of  some  pomp,  and  not  a  little  dignity.  During  the  week  between 
Christmas  and  New  Year's  day  they  generally  gave  a  party  when 
the  older  colored  people  of  respectability  were  invited.  In  those 
days  the  slaves  were  known  by  the  family  names  of  their  mas- 
ters, so  on  such  occasions  in  the  living-room  and  outer  kitchen, 
which  were  given  up  to  the  entertainment,  were  to  be  seen 
the  Gastons,  Klines,  Linns,  Van  Dorens,  Van  der  Veers,  and 
such  others  from  near  and  far  as  attended  the  same  church  and 
mingled  in  the  same  colored  society.  There  was  much  style  and 
a  profuse  use  of  large  and  heavy  words,  each  person  being 
addressed  as  Mr.,  Mrs.  or  Miss.  At  the  supper,  after  a 
lengthy  grace  fervently  uttered  by  the  one  supposed  to  be  the 
most  gifted,  even  staid  Dick  Melick,  who  took  upon  himself  the 
service  of  the  table,  displayed  airs  quite  foreign  to  his  generally 
modest  deportment.  This  supper  was,  of  course,  entirely  under 
Nance's  supervision,  and  in  quality  and  quantity  was  creditable 
alike  to  her  as  cook  and  to  her  old  master  as  showing  the  liberal- 
ity and  kind  feeling  he  extended  to  his  slaves,  ''  No,  Sah.  Sarvunts, 
if  you  please.''''  Although  whiskey,  cider  and  metheglin  were 
always  furnished  to  the  lowly  guests,  a  too  free  indulgence  would 
not  have  been  countenanced  by  the  hosts,  nor  was  it  ever  known, 
the  whole  party  always  conducting  themselves  most  decorously  and 
politely,  endeavoring  as  far  as  possible  to  be  "  jes  like  white  folks." 
The  pleasures  of  the  Christmas  season  were  not  confined  to  thia 
one  festivity ;  but  little  work  was  expected  of  the  blacks  during 


Dick  and  Nance  go  to  General  Training.        607 

the  entire  holiday  week,  for,  dressed  in  their  best,  their  wliole 
time  was  devoted  to  visiting  and  pleasure. 

Another  great  day  for  the  Bedminster  colored  people,  always 
celebrated  by  Dick  and  Nance,  was  "  general  training,"  usually 
occurring  in  the  middle  of  June.  Then  it  was  that  Dick  took  the 
big  wagon  and  put  on  its  tow  and  linen  wagon-cover,  tying  up 
the  sides  so  that  from  within  an  unobstructed  view  could  be  had 
of  the  martial  array.  Nance  and  the  children  were  placed  on 
chairs  in  front,  and  behind  was  a  barrel  of  root  beer  of  Dick's 
own  manufacture,  and  a  corn-basket  full  of  large  round  ginger 
cakes — they  called  them  bolivars — baked  by  Nance  the  day  before. 
In  addition  there  was  a  plentiful  suppy  of  new-moivn  grass  from 
the  bleach  patch  in  the  garden,  which  was  always  mowed  at  that 
time ;  this  was  to  keep  the  beer  cool  and  to  give  the  horses  a 
bite  during  the  day.  Dick,  in  his  Smiday  clothes  and  display- 
ing a  most  conspicuous  nosegay,  would  then  seat  himself  on  the 
foreboard,  seize  the  reins,  and  with  the  stalk  of  a  long  whip  against 
his  shoulder  and  the  lash  hanging  behind,  would  set  off  with  his 
happy  family  and  join  the  procession  of  teams  that  from  early 
morning  had  been  slowly  moving  up  the  long  hill  in  the  direction 
of  Pluckamin.  On  reaching  the  gr.ounds  the  horses  were  taken 
out  and  tied  to  a  fence,  and  the  business  and  pleasures  of  the  day 
commenced.  As  long  as  the  barrel  and  basket  held  out,  beer  was 
to  be  had  for  two  cents  a  glass  and  cakes  for  a  penny  a  piece. 
Between  customers  the  sable  merchants  had  plenty  of  friendly 
visitors,  the  children,  meanwhile,  playing  about  the  wagon,  or 
sitting  quietly  in  round-eyed  wonder  at  all  the  glories  of  the  day. 
With  the  approach  of  night  Dick  "  geared "  his  horses  and 
drove  slowly  home,  his  spirits  lightened  by  the  pleasures  he  had 
experienced,  and  his  pockets  full-weighted  with  big  copper  pen- 
nies. He  would  now  have  pocket-money  for  all  his  needs  for 
months  to  come,  and  some  to  drop  in  the  black  bag  each  Sunday 
morning  at  church  when  the  deacon  passed  it  in  the  gallery, 
which  Dick  always  did  with  a  most  reverential  bow. 

Our  old  papers  furnish  numerous  proofs  of  the  excellent  care 
bestowed  by  Aaron  and  Daniel  on  their  servants.  I  cannot 
refrain  from  inserting  just  here  one  or  two  bills  that  fitly  illus- 
trate the  time  and  subject  upon  which  we  are  now  dwelling : — 


608  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

The  Estate  of  Aaron  Melick 

1806  Calvin  McKidder  Dr 
Deer  25  To  work  for  Yombo  2  6 

1807  Feb.  27    "  making  two  pantaloons  for  Negro  boys  6  0 

"  cutting  Negro  cloths  0  6 

9  0 
Keceived  May  10th  1811  the  above  sum  of  Nine  Shillings. 

Calvin  McKidder. 

Not  only  were  the  bodies  of  the  dusky  toilers  clothed,  but 
their  minds  were  not  neglected,  for  here  is  a  bill  of  Christopher 
Logan  to  the  "  Estate  of  Aaron  Melick  Dec'd,"  dated  the  twenty- 
third  of  March,  "To  Schooling  Negro  boy  Joe  61  days  $1..39." 
The  village  schoolmaster  of  eighty  years  ago  evidently  was  not 
an  expensive  institution,  nor  were  such  low  charges  for  tuition 
confined  to  colored  scholars.  I  find  another  bill  of  two  years 
later  for  one  of  Daniel's  children  in  which  "William  Hambly 
teacher,"  charges  "$4.16  for  159  Days'  Schooling." 

It  will  be  seen  that  slavery  on  the  "  Old  Farm  "  was  not  alto- 
gether an  unmitigated  evil.  For  a  number  of  years  much  hap- 
piness in  their  mutual  relations  came  to  both  bond  and  free  ; 
their  lives  moved  on  with  but  little  friction,  excepting  an  occa- 
sional outbreak  from  Yombo,  .which  was  met  by  a  few  earnest 
words  of  reproof  from  Aaron,  who  even  in  extreme  old  age 
retained  the  spirit  of  mastery.  But  on  the  seventh  of  April, 
1809,  the  peaceful  calm  of  home  life  was  rudely  arrested  by  the 
death  of  the  head  of  the  houseliold,  who  succumbed  to  an  ettack 
of  apoplexy  in  his  eighty-fourth  year.  Then  Dick  and  his  fam- 
ily knew  what  trouble  was.  Not  only  did  they  honestly  grieve  at 
the  loss  of  a  good  master,  but  they  sorrowed  because  they  knew 
they  must  be  sold,  and  possibly  separated.  A  fifth  child,  Ann, 
had  been  born  since  the  manumission  laws  had  gone  into  effect ; 
she,  consequently,  could  be  sold  only  for  service  until  reaching 
twenty-five  years  of  age,  but  the  other  slaves  had  no  reason  to 
expect  anything  but  servitude  for  life.  What  to  do  with  the 
negroes  had  been  a  serious  question  with  Aaron,  and  a  subject 
of  much  anxious  thought  on  his  part  ;  but  the  decision  he  had 
reached  could  not  be  known  until  his  funeral  was  over  and  the 
will  read.  His  death  occurred  on  Monday,  the  funeral  being 
held  at  half  past  ten  on  the  following  Thursday.  The  interven- 
ing days  offered  but  little  opportunity  for  sorrow,    owing  to  the 


A  Country  Funeral.  609 

busy  activity  of  the  household  in  brewing,  baking,  and  in  gen- 
erally preparing  for  the  obsequies,  as  in  that  age  the  occasion 
was  made  one  of  feasting  as  well  as  of  grieving. 

The  morning  of  this  all  important  day  found  the  Old  Stone 
House  full  of  friends  and  neighbors,  for  Aaron  had  been  widely 
known  and  greatly  beloved.  Daniel,  aided  by  other  relatives, 
received  the  people,  at  the  same  time  listening  to  their  words  of 
greeting  and  sympathy.  Pastor  Graff  came  over  from  New 
Germantown  to  conduct  the  services,  it  being,  it  is  believed,  the 
last  time  he  officiated  on  such  an  occasion.  As  the  hour 
approached  for  the  service  the  immediate  friends  and  relatives 
gathered  in  the  darkened  best  room.  In  one  corner  on  a 
table  were  several  decanters  containing  rum,  apple-jack  and 
madeira,  while  before  tlie  looking-glass,  which  was  covered  with 
a  sheet,  the  plain,  almost  rude,  coffin  rested  on  two  chairs. 
There  were  no  caskets  in  those  days,  nor  much  if  any  of  the 
multitudinous  paraphernalia  now  attendant  upon  funerals.  Farm- 
ers of  the  olden  time,  as  a  rule,  supplied  their  osvn  burial  cases  and 
accessories.  It  was  not  uncommon  for  them  to  put  aside,  years 
before  the  death  of  any  of  the  household,  suitable  boards  for 
making  coffins.  These  primitive  shells  were,  of  course,  roughly 
fashioned,  tiie  interior  trimmings  and  decorations  furnished  by 
members  of  the  family  being  of  the  plainest  character. 

On  this  funeral  morning  all  the  other  rooms  and  the  hall  were 
filled  \vtli  neighbors  who  overflowed  through  the  open  doors  on  to 
the  front  and  rear  porches.  In  fancy  we  can  see  the  aged  and  fee- 
ble rector,  robed  in  his  Lutheran  vestments,  standing  at  the  foot 
of  the  stairs — before  him  a  little  mahogany  table  upon  which 
rest  the  big  family  Bible  and  the  pastor's  well-thumbed  prayer- 
book.  At  his  side  the  tall  clock  ticks  in  solemn  unison  with  the 
slow,  measured  and  sad  tones  of  the  holy-man,  who  speaks  from 
the  heart,  for  he  is  bidding  a  last  adieu  to  dust  that  is  dear  to 
him.  His  voice  grows  husky  as  he  dwells  on  the  virtues  of  the 
departed,  and  points  out  to  the  sorrowing  hearers  how  that  the 
common  walk  of  the  good-man  of  the  house  had  been  beyond 
that  of  ordinary  every-day  life.  He  cannot  refrain  from  speak- 
ing of  his  own  bereavement  as  he  remembers  that  during  his 
thirty-four  years  of  ministrations  over  Z ion's  congregation  he, 
who  now  lies  before  him  shrouded  for  the  tomb,  had  been  not 
39 


610  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

only  a  parishioner  but  a  friend  and  counsellor  as  well.  In  fancy 
we  see  the  simple  country-folk  in  their  Sunday  garb  as  they 
gather  about  the  bier — we  hear  their  low  tones  and  the  noise  of 
their  feet  scraping  along  the  sanded  floor.  Through  the  rear 
door  comes  the  sympathetic  murmur  of  the  dam  below  the  hiU, 
borne  on  the  soft  April  wind,  which  as  it  draws  through  the 
house  carries  with  it  to  the  outer  air  a  faint  mingled  odor  of 
cake,  varaish  and  spices. 

The  burial  was  at  Pluckamin,  and  it  was  a  large  funeral  cor- 
tege that  slowly  toiled  up  the  long  hill.  The  hearse  was  an 
ordinary  farm  wagon  as,  indeed,  were  nearly  all  the  vehicles 
that  followed  after,  although  a  few  one-horse  chairs,  with  quite  a 
number  of  neighbors  in  the  saddle,  offered  a  little  variety  to  the 
funeral  procession.  After  the  interment,  as  was  the  fashion  of 
the  time,  very  many  of  the  people  returned  to  the  house  when 
much  of  the  rest  of  the  day  was  taken  up  with  eating  and  drink- 
ing, a  succession  of  dinners  being  spread  in  the  living-room. 
The  appetites  all  being  satisfied,  the  relatives  and  immediate 
friends  gathered  in  the  best  room  to  listen  to  the  reading  of  the 
will.  It  was  soon  known  as  to  the  manner  in  which  Aaron  had 
partially  solved  the  problem  of  what  to  do  with  his  negroes. 
The  will  ordered  that  Nance's  children  should  be  sold  under 
indenture  to  serve  until  the  boys  reached  the  age  of  twenty- 
eight  and  Diana  twenty-five,  when  they  were  to  be  manumitted. 
This  was  evidently  a  compromise  of  the  old  gentleman's  between 
his  children  and  his  slaves.  Had  he  freed  his  negroes  it  would 
have  meant  pauperism  for  them,  and  an  incubus  for  his  estate, 
as  they  would  have  had  to  be  supported.  This  plainly  had 
seemed  to  him  to  be  the  best  way  out  of  the  difficulty,  and  as  no 
mention  in  the  will  was  made  regarding  Dick  and  Nance  there 
probably  was  an  understanding  between  him  and  his  children  as 
to  their  disposal. 

The  auction,  or  vendue,  was  to  be  held  on  the  twenty-second 
of  May.  The  intervening  weeks  proved  a  serious  time  to  both 
whites  and  blacks,  and  the  hours  wore  heavily  on,  though  only 
too  fast  when  the  thought  of  separation  and  the  loss  of  a  happy 
home  confronted  the  poor  slaves.  The  fateful  day  at  last  arrived 
and  with  it  came  a  large  assemblage  of  people,  as  at  that  time  an 
auction  sale  of  this  character  was  always  made  a  festive  occasion. 


Auction  Sale  of  the  Slaves.  611 

We  can  judge  of  the  numbers  present  by  the  following  extract 
from  a  bill  of  Levi  Sutton,  showing  the  amount  of  apple-jack  that 
was  consumed  in  their  refreshment.  "  1809  May  20th  To  27 
Gallons  cyder  spirits  for  vendue  and  settling  a'cts  <©  69  cents — 
$18.63."  William  Cummins,  well  known  in  those  parts  as  an 
auctioneer,  cried  the  sale,  and  Nicholas  Arrosmith's  son 
William  acted  as  clerk,  each  charging  two  dollars  a  day  for  their 
services.  The  sale  commenced  at  the  barns,  when,  after  the  hay, 
grain  and  other  property  had  been  disposed  of,  the  people  were 
invited  to  the  house  to  buy  the  "  niggers."  Dick's  family  were 
sold  in  the  following  order,  as  shown  by  the  account  sales  pre- 
served : — 

One   Negro    girl    till    she    is  25    years   of  age,  Diana — to    Jonathan    Dayton 

Esqr.  '  $100 

One  negro  boy,  Sam,  till  lie  is  28  years  of  age — to 

Revd.  John  McDowell  225 

One  negro  boy,  Dick,  till  he  is  28  yrs  of  age  to 

William  R.  Smiley  225 

One  negro  boy,  Joe,  till  he  is  28,  to  .Jacob  Kline  120 

One  Old  Negro  man,  Dick,  sold  a  slave  to 

Daniel  Melick,  40 

One  Old  Negro  Wench,  Nance,  a  slave,  to 

Daniel  Melick,  40 

One  Negro  girl  named  Ann,  born  under  Manumission 

law — to  Daniel  Melick,  36 

The  dark  cloud  had  a  silver  lining :  Sam  and  Diana  both  went 
to  Elizabethtown  to  prominent  men  well  known  to  them,  and  who 
had  been  old  friends  of  their  late  master.  They  were  to  be  well 
cared  for  and  to  have  good  homes.  Mr.  Smiley  who  purchased 
Dick  was  also  intimately  known  to,  and  respected  by,  the  house- 
hold. Joe  was  carried  off  to  New  Germantown  by  Jacob  Kline, 
Daniel  Melick's  imcle,  which  was  next  to  being  at  home  ;  but 
above  all  Dick,  Nance,  and  the  little  Ann  would  stay  in  the 
stone  house.     The  old  home  was  stiU  theirs. 

Then  came  under  the  hammer  poor  old  Yombo,  bending  under 
the  weight  of  his  seventy  years.  Here  is  the  record  of  his  sale. 
"  One   old   Negro  Man,  Yombo,   sold   a  slave   to    John   Hastier 

$50."     It  is  my  impression  that  this  purchaser  was  the 

owner  of  Yombo's  wife;  at  any  rate  he  was  a  tanner  and  currier 
doing  business  at  Elizabethtown.  The  sale  over,  Yombo  goes 
contentedly  to  his  new  home ;  the  old  bark  mill  and  currying 


612 


The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 


shop,  and  the  seat  by  the  fireplace  in  the  outer  kitchen,  know 
him  no  more.  Nothing  more  was  heard  of  him  by  the  Bedmin- 
ster  people,  excepting  that  several  years  afterwards  wprd  came 
from  Elizabethtown — "Old  Yombo  is  dead." 


CHAPTER     XL. 

What  the  Old  Papers  Have  to  Say  About  the  Drinking  Habits 
of  Our  Forefathers — The  Last  Century's  Tidal  Wave  of 
Intemperance — National  Bcform — Farewell  to  the  "  Old 
Farm. " 

As  we  turn  again  to  the  manuscripts  on  the  table — these  silent 
witnesses  of  the  past — did  even  a  few  of  them  receive  at  our 
hands  the  attention  their  mute  appeals  for  a  hearing  claim,  this 
work  would  be  extended  through  many  pages.  As  their  num- 
ber, then,  bars  the  possibility  of  oiir  taking  them  up  singly,  we 
will  choose  for  consideration  in  this  final  chapter  a  subject  to 
which  directly  or  indirectly  very  many  of  them  bear  some  rela- 
tion— the  drinking  habits  of  our  ancestors. 

While  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  diffusive  moral  influence  of 
Christianity  is,  and  has  been,  paramount  to  that  of  all  other 
religions,  still  a  sad  commentary  on  the  beneficent  results  of  the 
civilization  of  this  nineteenth  Christian  century  is  the  failure  of 
its  generations  to  understandingly  grapple  with  and  overcome 
the  dread  evil  of  intemperance.  Though  a  great  conservator  of 
morality  it  is  only  to  a  limited  extent  that  Christianity  has  been 
able  to  check  the  moral  pestilence  and  physical  scourge  of  dram 
drinking.  In  nearly,  if  not  all,  American  cities  the  vital  politi- 
cal factor  is  the  saloon;  the  one  great  question  before  the  better 
element  of  the  community  is,  how  shall  the  elective  power  of  the 
liquor  interest  be  defeated  I  It  may  be  admitted,  however,  that 
within  seventy  years  there  has  been  a  marked  decrease  in  the 
social  use  of  intoxicants,  and  that  at  present  the  tendency  is  still 
for  better  things,  but  there  must  yet  be  a  great  improvement 
before  we  can  hope  in  our  drinking  habits  to  even  equal  the  vir- 
tue of  the  remote  ages  of  the  past.     In  our  day,  though  it  is  a 


614  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

maxim  in  legal  practice  that  those  who  presume  to  commit 
crimes  when  drunk  must  submit  to  punishment  when  sober, 
the  fact  remains  that  grave  offences  are  condoned  by  intoxica- 
tion. That  a  person  should  have  been  so  under  the  influence  of 
liquor  as  to  have  partially  weakened  his  understanding  is  often 
considered — at  least  by  juries — as  in  some  degree  extenuating 
crime.  In  this  regard  we  must  confess  to  comparing  most  unfa- 
vorably even  with  pagan  times.  When  the  Greeks  still  worship- 
ped, among  other  false  deities,  the  vine-crowned  Bacchus,  a  citi- 
zen was  the  worse,  not  the  better,  before  the  law  and  judgment 
when  by  self  indulgence  he  put  himself  in  such  a  condition  as  to 
be  unable  to  control  his  mental  and  moral  faculties.  Pittacus 
decreed  that  he  who  was  guilty  of  crime  when  intoxicated  should 
be  doubly  punished — once  for  the  crime  itself,  and  once  for  the 
drunkenness  that  prompted  the  guilty  act.  The  Athenians  pun- 
ished offences  done  in  drunkenness  with  increased  severity,  and 
Solon  the  wise  enacted  a  law  making  inebriety  in  magistrates 
capital. 

Intemperance  in  the  use  of  liquor  has  been  the  gradual  growth 
of  many  hundred  years  over-indulgence,  but  the  culmination  of 
its  baleful  influence  may  be  said  to  have  been  during  the  close 
of  the  last  and  the  beginning  of  the  present  century.  Six  hun- 
dred years  ago  alcoholic  drinks  were  confined  to  malt  liquors, 
wines,  ciders  and  metheglin.  It  is  only  within  three  centuries 
that  brandy  and  whiskey  have  been  recognized  as  beverages, 
before  that  time  their  use  having  been  confined  to  medicinal  pur- 
poses. The  great  impetus  to  intemperance  came  in  about  1640 
with  the  introduction  of  West  India  rum,  and  in  this  country 
sixty  years  later  intoxicants  were  powerfully  reinforced  by  the 
beginning  of  the  manufacture  of  Medford  and  other  rums  by 
puritan  New  England.  The  next  period  in  the  increase  of  the 
vice  of  drinking  followed  the  French  and  Indian  war,  when  the 
soldiers,  who  during  the  campaigns  had  been  furnished  with 
regular  rations  of  spirits,  acquired  habits  of  drinking  "  strong 
water"  which  they  introduced  on  their  return  home  into  their 
families  and  communities.  Then  came  the  Revolution,  when  the 
government  considered  it  as  necessary  for  the  troops  to  be  sup- 
plied with  rum  as  with  bread  ;  with  it  the  tidal  wave  of  intem- 
perance rose  to  a  great  flood,  and  for  over  forty  years  rolled  its 


Introduction  of  Apple-jack  in  New  Jersey.       615 

devastating  wave  almost  unchecked,  foV  it  was  not  until  1825 
that  any  combined  effort  was  made  to  arrest  the  inordinate  love 
of  liquor  which  was  carrying  with  it  the  property,  reputation, 
health  and  lives  of  tens  of  thousands  of  people.  In  the  middle 
states  during  the  last  quarter  of  the  eighteenth  century  many 
new  devices  arose  for  concocting  stimulants.  In  New  Jersey  the 
most  important  of  these  innovations  was  the  production  of  apple- 
jack from  apple  pulp,  and  the  distilling  of  cider-brandy  from 
cider.  Peaches,  too,  were  converted  into  a  sweet,  rich  brandy, 
and  the  same  strong  liquor  was  made  from  cherries,  plums,  per- 
simmons and  pears.  The  last,  known  as  perry,  was  considered 
the  most  delicate  and  appetizing  of  the  stronger  drinks.  But 
in  Somerset  and  Morris  counties  apple-jack  sprang  at  once  into 
favor,  and  from  then  until  now  in  that  portion  of  the  state  in 
rural  communities  it  has  been  the  standard  tipple.  Morris  soon 
became  the  banner  county  in  the  production  of  this  seductive 
compound ;  to  one  of  its  citizens,  Richard  Kimball,  who  lived  on 
the  south  side  of  Mount  Washington  (Kimball  Hill  i  in  Pas- 
saic township,  is  given  the  honor  of  introducing  "  Jersey  light- 
ning "  in  the  neighborhood,  he  having  in  1773  imported  from 
England  a  twelve  gallon  copper  still,  and  commenced  its  manu- 
facture. 

In  examining  the  papers  before  us  we  find  that  very  many  of 
them  verify  the  belief  that  with  the  people  of  the  last  century, 
from  the  ci-adle  to  the  grave,  plentiful  drinking  was  the  feature 
of  every  occasion.  It  was  not  uncommon  for  a  father  at  the 
birth  of  a  son  to  lay  in  two  pipes  of  wine  or  two  barrels  of  rum. 
As  the  boy  grew  toward  manhood  he  frequently  surveyed  these 
two  packages  with  both  a  lively  and  a  melancholy  interest,  for 
one  was  to  be  broached  at  his  marriage,  the  other  at  his  funeral. 
At  christenings  if  not  the  baby  at  least  the  event  was  always 
baptized  in  copious  quantities  of  liquor.  The  chances  of  the 
child,  both  as  to  moral  and  physical  health,  were  greatly  ham- 
pered by  the  condition  of  society  to  which  an  advent  into  this 
world  at  that  period  introduced  him.  The  seeds  of  intemperance 
were  literally  sown  in  the  cradle,  for  while  yet  little  toddlers 
the  male  children  learned  to  love  the  spirit-soaked  sugar  reserved 
for  them  in  the  bottom  of  their  parent's  tumblers.  At  home  and 
abroad,  in  summer  and  in  winter,  in  prosperity  and  in  adversity, 


616  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

in  the  house  of  mourning  and  in  the  house  of  feasting,  a  free  cir- 
culation of  rum,  apple-jack,  or  fiery  madeira  was  invariably  the 
rule.  At  public  vendues  "  a  dram  to  the  next  bidder  "  was  a 
frequent  announcement  of  the  auctioneer.  At  the  stores  where 
the  farmers  sold  their  produce  a  big,  brown,  stone  pitcher  full  of 
water  and  a  teapot  of  whiskey  usually  stood  at  the  end  of  the 
counter,  and  all  customers  were  invited  to  take  a  cup  of  tea. 
That  New  Jersey  farmer  who  refused  each  hay  or  harvest  hand 
a  daily  portion  of  one  pint  of  rum  was  considered  a  mean  man. 
Did  neighbors  assemble  to  aid  in  raising  a  barn,  to  shear  sheep, 
or  to  draw  and  stack  the  minister's  winter  supply  of  wood,  the 
bottle  was  deemed  requisite  to  give  strength  to  arm  and  will,  and 
to  restore  flagging  energies.  An  old  gentleman  of  my  acquaint- 
ance, of  Connecticut  ancestry,  informs  me  that  his  grandfather 
always  kept  in  the  cellar  a  hogshead  of  New  England  rum.  It 
was  his  custom  on  summer  mornings  to  draw  a  pitcherful,  and 
then  go  to  the  garden  and  obtain  from  a  bed  kept  for  the  pur- 
pose a  bunch  of  tansy,  with  which  he  woidd  mix  a  bowl  of  punch. 
Then  calling  together  his  wife,  children  and  servants  each  one 
was  given  a  drink,  whereupon  they  had  family  prayers.  After 
this  came  breakfast,  all  feeling  conscientiously  satisfied  with  the 
day's  beginnings,  for  the  rum  punch  would  warn  off  fevers, 
miasmas  and  fluxes,  while  the  prayers  ensured  the  family  virtue 
for  twenty-four  hours  to  come. 

During  the  last  century  in  all  households  of  any  substance  a 
tankard  of  punch  was  brewed  each  morning  and  placed  on  the 
sideboard  for  the  use  of  the  family  and  chance  visitors.  In  fact, 
almost  everybody  drank,  and  the  majority  of  people  in  good 
society  thought  it  no  shame  to  become  tipsy  at  table  ;  it  was  the 
manners  of  the  world,  not  only  of  one  country  or  of  one  state. 
Even  a  noble  English  lord  of  that  time,  an  exponent  of  virtue, 
though  opposed  to  "  the  habitual  soaking  of  port  wine,  or  whiskey 
punch,"  expressed  himself  in  his  autobiography  favorably  toward 
"  an  occasional  booze  "  as  having  "  a  tendency  to  excite  the 
faculties,  to  warm  the  affections,  to  improve  the  manners,  and  ta 
form  the  character  of  youth."  This  scion  of  nobility  probably 
thought,  with  Coleridge,  that  men  were  like  musical  glasses — to 
ring  their  best  they  must  be  wet.  So  it  was,  for  the  time  being 
aU  knowledge  seemed  to  be  lost  as  to  the  boundary  line  between 


Drinking   at  Fi^nerals.  617 

moderation  and  excess.  Even  when  death  entered  the  door,  and 
friends  and  neighbors  assembled  to  pay  their  final  tribute  of 
respect  to  the  departed,  copious  libations  were  considered  neces- 
sary, until  it  was  not  unknown  for  persons  to  reel  in  funeral  pro- 
cessions or  even  to  stagger  on  the  brink  of  the  grave.  Haw- 
thorne, in  describing  the-  obsequies  of  a  colonial  governor, 
recounts  that  the  minister's  nose  glowed  like  a  ruddy  coal  of  fire, 
and  the  aged  bearers  staggered  as  they  endeavored  to  solemnly 
uphold  the  coffin,  for  all  day  "  many  a  cask  of  ale  and  cider  had 
been  on  tap,  and  many  a  draught  of  spiced  rum  and  aqua-vitse 
quaffed."  At  the  funeral  of  Joanna  Nevius  in  1735  the  bill  of 
expenses  paid  by  her  son  Wilhelmus — published  in  the  Bergen 
genealogy — shows  that  while  the  coffin  cost  fifteen  shillings  the 
outlay  for  wine,  beer,  rum,  spices,  sugar  and  pipes  was  nearly 
five  pounds.  When  Philip  Livingston,  the  father  of  New  Jer- 
sey's first  governor,  died  in  1749,  funerals  were  held  both  at  his 
Hudson  river  mansion,  and  at  his  city  residence  on  Broad  street 
in  New  York.  At  each  place  a  pipe  of  spiced  rum  was  con- 
sumed, and  to  the  eight  bearers  were  given  gloves,  mourning 
rings,  scarfs,  hankerchiefs  and  monkey  spoons.  These  spoons 
had  a  shallow,  circular  bowl,  with  the  figure  of  an  ape  carved  on 
the  end  of  the  handle.  Among  the  papers  of  the  late  William  A. 
Whitehead  is  the  following  bill  of  expenses  attendant  on  the 
burial  of  Eleanor  Bryant  of  Perth  Amboy  in   1776  : — 

Cash  paid  for  7  prs.  gloves 
"         "     "  Nutmegs 
'  1  Gal  wine 

"     "  1    "    rum 

"        "    "  4  prs.  Gloves 

"     "  1  Load  of  Wood 

"     "  2  lbs  loaf  Sugar 

"     "  Seiton 

"     "  Coffin 

£  6.6.2 
This  universal  habit  of  toping  in  the  olden  time  must  have 
sadly  seduced  the  morals  of  the  communities  when  we  find  that 
even  the  ministers  were  unable  to  withstand  the  alluring  vice, 
and  occasionally  over  indulged  without  forfeiting  the  respect  of 
their  people.  In  the  Memorial  Hall  at  Deerfield,  Massachusetts, 
is  an  oblong  flask  with  a  round  hole  in  the  top  just  large   enough 


1.  6.3 

5 

1.  4.0 

7.6 

12.0 

9.6 

4.0 

7.6 

1.15.0 

618  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

to  admit  the  small  end  of  a  goblet.  For  a  long  time  it  was  a 
matter  of  conjecture  as  to  what  original  use  this  curious  article 
had  been  put.  After  abandoning  various  theories  it  has  been 
proved  that  the  purpose  of  the  flask  was  to  keep  the  parson's 
glass  of  toddy  warm  on  a  winter  Sunday  morning.  We  have 
been  told  by  Doctor  Lyman  Beecher  that  clergymen  at  consocia- 
tion meetings  always  had  something  to  drink,  and  though  not 
intoxicated  there  was  among  them  on  occasions  a  considerable 
amount  of  exhilaration.  Doctor  Leonard  Woods  has  recorded  that 
he  could  count  at  one  time  among  his  ministerial  acquaintances 
forty  pastors  who  were  immoderate  drinkers,  and  that  he  saw  at 
one  ordination  two  aged  ministers  literally  drunk,  and  a  third  inde- 
cently excited.  Of  course  there  were  instances  of  clergymen 
becoming  habitual  drinkers  to  an  excess  that  necessitated  their 
deposition  from  the  ministry,  but  such  cases  were  happily  rare. 
The  Reverend  Samuel  Melyen,  one  of  the  early  pastors  of  the 
First  Chui'ch  of  Elizabethtown,  was  obliged  to  sever  his  relations 
with  the  congregation  owing  to  intemperance.  The  unfortunate 
example  of  a  minister's  lapse  from  virtue  does  not  seem  to  have 
proved  a  warning  to  the  officers  of  the  church,  for  we  are  told 
that  at  the  ordination  and  installation  of  Mr.  Melyen's  successor, 
Jonathan  Dickinson,  then  barely  twenty-one,  '■  great  quantities 
of  toddy  was  consumed." 

Drinking  at  the  meetings  of  religious  bodies  continued  pre- 
valent throughout  the  century.  Doctor  Hall,  in  his  history  of  the 
Presbyterian  church  at  Trenton,  recites  that  the  treasurer's  book 
of  that  congregation  for  the  year  1792  records  a  charge  "  for  beer 
at  Presbytery,  45.10d;"  also  "bought  of  Abraham  Hunt  for  the 
use  of  the  congregation  when  Presbytery  sat  at  Maidenhead  :" — 

s    d  £    8    d 

8  gals  Lisbon  Wine  @  7     6  3     0     0 

5    "    Spirits  @  9    0  2    5    0 

Well  authenticated  traditions  are  current  that  when  the  tem- 
perance question  began  to  be  agitated  in  New  Jersey  it  was  not 
uncommon  for  ministers  who  were  conscious  of  their  own  failings 
to  urge  the  people,  saying,  "  Do  as  I  tell  you,  not  as  I  do  !"  At 
the  time  of  the  installation  of  Doctor  Leonard  Bacon  over  the 
First  Congregational  church  of  New  Haven  free  drinks  were 
furnished  by  the  society  at   an   adjacent  bar  to  all  who  chose  to 


The  Drink  Evil  Overwhelms  Society.  619 

order  them.  The  spiritual  shepherds  were  not  only  consumers 
but  producers.  Not  content  with  furnishing  themselves  as 
examples  to  their  flocks  in  this  pernicious  habit  of  drinking,  at 
times  they  set  up  stills,  and  supplied  their  followers  with  the 
means  of  tarnishing  their  reputations  and  impairing  their  facul- 
ties. In  a  previous  chapter  we  have  learned  that  the  Reverend 
Jacob  G.  Green,  of  Morris  county,  was  equally  learned  in  law, 
medicine  and  theology,  and  engaged  largely  in  secular  pursuits. 
Although  so  pious  that  he  would  not  permit  the  members  of  his 
family  on  Sunday  to  converse  on  any  but  religious  subjects,  he 
did  not  hesitate  to  own  and  operate  a  distillery.  In  the  year 
1790  the  Reverend  Nathan  Strong,  pastor  of  the  First  Congre- 
gational church  of  Hartford  and  the  author  of  the  familiar  hymn, 
"  Swell  the  Anthem,  raise  the  song,"  engaged  with  a  member  of 
his  congregation  in  the  distilling  business.  The  enterprise 
failed,  and  the  financial  straits  brought  upon  the  minister  pre- 
vented his  appearing  in  public  Life  for  some  time  excepting  on 
Sundays,  that  being  the  only  day  on  which  he  could  not  be  legally 
aiTested.  This  circumstance  did  not  operate  against  his  receiv- 
ing the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Di\'inity  from  Princeton  college  in 
1801. 

The  evil  of  intemperance  continued  to  increase  to  an  alarming 
extent  until  by  the  turn  of  the  century  it  had  assumed  proportions 
in  New  Jersey  that  threatened  to  overwhelm  and  destroy  the 
physical  vigor  and  the  moral  character  of  all  grades  of  society. 
Ralph  Voorhees,  in  writing  of  Somerset  county  at  this  period, 
says  that  drunkenness  was  like  the  destroying  angel  that  passed 
over  the  land  of  Egypt, — there  was  scarcely  a  house  where  it  did 
not  leave  one  dead.  The  bottle  and  the  hand  were  constant  com- 
panions, and  the  wonder  is  that  so  many  of  our  forefathers 
were  preserved  from  the  grave  of  the  destroyer,  and  not  only 
lived  to  old  age  as  useful  members  of  society,  but  were  even 
ornaments  and  pillars  in  church  and  state.  Mr.  Voorhees 
writes: — 

During  that  period,  land  became  reduced  by  improper  culture,  when  it  was 
found  most  profitable  to  plant  orchards,  and  convert  their  fruit  into  cider,  and  that 
into  spirits.  In  one  township  along  the  Raritan  there  were  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  present  century  eight  or  more  distilleries  in  operation,  and  the  price 
of  cider-spirits  became  so  reduced  that  it  was  sold  from  twenty-five  to  thirty 
cents  pr.  gallon  by  the  quantity.  Almost  every  farmer  had  his  cellar  stocked  with 


620  The  Story  of  an  Of.d  Fakm. 

barrels  and   hogsheads  of  cider-spirits,  of  wliich   tlie  family  partook    as   their 
inclinations  and  appetites  dictated. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  (luring  all  this  time  there  were 
not  men,  far-seeing  in  their  generation,  who  had  some  conception 
of  the  terrible  blight  that  was  likely  to  fall  on  the  morals  and 
health  of  their  fellows  if  some  endeavor  was  not  exerted  to  stem 
this  torrent  of  human  folly.  Even  before  the  middle  of  the  last 
century  sporadic  efforts  had  been  made  to  abate  the  evil.  As 
early  as  1 744  John  Wesley  stigmatized  rum-sellers  as  "  poison- 
generals,"  who  "  drive  men  to  hell  like  sheep."  General  Putnam 
of  Connecticut  and  John  Adams  of  Massachusetts  had  both 
before  the  Revolution  protested  against  liquor-sellers;  and 
everyone  is  familiar  with  Franklin's  appeals  to  his  fellow  joiu-ney- 
men-printers  that  they  should  abstain  from  intoxicants. 

It  is  to  our  old  friend  whose  acquintance  we  made  at  Prince- 
ton and  Pluckamin  in  1777,  Doctor  Benjamin  Rush  of  Phila- 
delphia, that  the  honor  must  be  given  of  being  the  pioneer  in  a 
movement  that  has  been  of  more  advantage  to  the  human  race 
than  has  any  other  of  modern  times.  While  connected  with  the 
army  he  had  become  impressed  with  the  error  made  by  the  gov- 
ernment in  so  plentifidly  supplying  the  soldiers  with  rum.  In 
1777  he  published  a  pamphlet  addressed  to  the  army  protesting 
that  the  frequent  use  of  spirits  by  the  men  wore  away  rather 
than  supported  their  bodily  powers,  and  laid  the  foundation  of 
fevers,  fluxes,  jaundice  and  other  ills  common  in  military  hospit- 
als. But  it  was  in  1785  that  this  father  of  temperance  reform 
gave  to  the  world  what  soon  exerted  a  powerful  influence  in 
checking  and  controlling  the  high  carnival  of  drunkenness, 
disease  and  death  that  had  overspread  the  land.  This  was  his 
celebrated  essay,  "The  Efifects  of  Ardent  Spirits  on  the  human 
Body  and  Mind,"  a  treatise  which  was  the  germ  from  which 
grew  the  great  temperance  movement  that  has  since  extended 
over  the  entire  globe.  Though  the  seed  fell  into  ground  that  was 
rank  from  the  decaying  weeds  of  many  years  of  excess  and  indul- 
gence it  did  not  at  once  develop  ;  but  containing  the  potentiality 
of  great  results  it  eventually  became  quick  with  life,  and  forced 
its  way  above  ground  up  into  the  sunlight  of  public  endorsement, 
until  it  grew  into  a  great  tree  bearing  rich  fruit.  Doctor  Rush, 
armed  with  this  essay,  commenced  an  individual  crusade  against 


Doctor  Rush  and  Temperance  Reform.  621 

the  dominant  evil  of  the  time.  Religious  societies,  general 
assemblies  and  other  bodies  were  visited,  stirring  appeals  were 
made  in  support  of  the  tract,  thousands  of  copies  of  which  were 
distributed ;  leading  men  of  the  country  were  extensively  corres- 
ponded with,  Quaker  yearly  meetings  and  Methodist  confer- 
ences were  beseiged,  and  wherever  went  this  earnest  doctor  his 
voice  could  be  heard  crying  aloud,  beseeching  ministers  of  every 
denomination  to  aid  him  with  all  the  weight  and  influence  of  their 
sacred  offices  in  saving  "fellow-men  from  being  destroyed  by 
the  great  destroyer  of  their  lives  and  souls."  This  was  the  incep- 
tion of  the  temperance  reformation.  Its  germ,  the  celebrated 
essay,  had  slumbered  long,  awaiting  more  genial  influences;  but 
eventually  they  were  created  by  the  magnetic  personality  of  the 
tireless  author,  untU,  nurtured  by  the  churches,  an  interest  was 
kindled  among  the  masses  which  raised  the  first  barrier  to  the 
fearful  tidal  wave  of  drunkenness  that  threatened  to  overwhelm 
humanity. 

The  tight  of  Doctor  Rush  was  not  against  wine  and  beer — these 
he  accepted  as  nourishing  and  healthful — but  against  distilled 
spirits.  He  declaimed  against,  not  only  the  abuse,  but  the  use 
altogether  of  ''hard  liquor,"  excepting  in  cases  of  sickness 
"when"  he  said  ''it  is  better  applied  to  the  outside  than  to  the 
inside  of  the  body."  His  continuous  agitations  resulted  in 
enlisting  the  sympathies  of  many  prominent  men  ;  among  them 
the  Reverend  Doctor  Lyman  Beecher,  who  after  reading  Rush's 
essay  "blocked  out"  sis  powerful  temperance  sermons  which,  it 
is  said,  went  echoing  around  the  world  in  the  English,  French, 
German,  Danish,  Hottentot,  and  other  languages.  In  1808 
Saratoga  county  in  New  York  gave  America  its  tirst  temper- 
ance society.  Other  like  organizations  were  soon  established  in 
the  same  state,  and  in  Connecticut  and  Massachusetts,  and 
within  a  few  years  the  movement  had  extended  through  aU  the 
middle  and  New  England  states.  At  this  time  the  propriety  and 
good  policy  of  total  abstinence  had  been  conceived  by  but  few 
minds.  The  fight  was  against  distilled,  not  fermented  liquor, 
and  it  was  the  moderate  use  of  the  former,  rather  than  abstain- 
ing from  it,  that  was  advocated.  It  is  on  record  that  after  the 
organization  in  a  tavern  of  one  of  the  earliest  societies,  the  offi- 
cers, in  return  for  the  honors  conferred  upon  them,  treated  the 


622  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

members  at  the  bar.  The  president,  raising  a  glass  of  liquor 
to  his  lips,  said  to  his  associates — "Now,  brethren,  let  us  show 
to  the  world  that  we  can  drink  in  moderation." 

For  a  number  of  years  the  progress  of  reform  was  exceedingly 
slow.  It  had  been  instituted  at  a  period  when  the  morals  of  the 
American  people  were  on  the  lowest  plane  known  in  their  his- 
tory. The  breaking  up  of  the  army  at  the  close  of  the  Revolu- 
tion had  distributed  throughout  the  country  men  whose  appetites 
for  liquors  had  been  unnaturally  developed  by  the  great  quantity 
of  free  rum  furnished  the  troops  by  continental  congress.  The 
government,  notwithstanding  the  protest  of  Doctor  Rush,  had 
acted  under  the  fatal  delusion  that  the  soldiers,  owing  to  their 
privations  and  hardships,  needed  a  plentiful  supply  of  stimulants 
in  order  to  preserve  their  health  and  spirits.  Throughout  the 
war  in  the  army  rum,  when  it  was  to  be  had,  was  the  feature  of 
every  occasion,  and  double  quantities  were  always  served  to  the 
men  on  high-days  and  holidays.  Lieutenant  Ebenezer  Elmer,  of 
the  3d  New  Jersey  battalion,  thus  describes  the  reception  of  the 
news  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  when  the  courier  bear- 
ing it  reached  brigade  headquarters,  on  the  fifteenth  of  July, 
1776:— 

At  twelve  o'clock  assembly  was  beat  that  the  men  might  parade  in  order  to 
receive  a  treat,  and  drink  the  state's  health  When,  after  having  made  a  barrel 
of  grog,  the  declaration  was  read,  and  the  following  toast  was  given  by  Parson 
Caldwell : — "  Harmony,  honor,  and  all  prosperity  to  the  free  and  independent 
United  States  of  America  ;"  when  three  hearty  cheers  were  given. 

A  letter  written  by  Major  Barber  to  Mr.  Caldwell,  on  the 
seventeenth  of  the  same  month,  informs  us  how  the  news  of  inde- 
pendence was  received  by  Colonel  Dayton's  New  Jersey  command 
— then  at  Fort  Stanwix.  After  the  Declaration  had  been  read, 
cannons  fired,  and  huzzas  given,  the  battalion  was  formed  in  a 
circle  with  three  barrels  of  grog  in  the  centre.  The  Colonel 
took  a  cup  and  drank  to  the  toast — "God  bless  the  United  States 
of  America."  The  other  officers  followed,  drinking  the  same 
toast,  as  did  afterward  the  battalion,  accompanied  by  loud  hur- 
rahs, shouting,  and  other  signals  of  approbation.  So  it  was  to 
the  end, — when  on  the  announcement  of  the  cessation  of  hostilities 
barrels  were  broached  in  every  camp, — rum  seemed  to  be  con- 
sidered the  one  thing  needful,  either  as  a  panacea  for  evil  days, 
or  as  an  aid  in  rejoicing  over  success. 


Farewkll  to  the  Old  Farm.  623 

The  period  between  the  Revolution  and  the  war  of  1812  was 
a  singularly  unpropitious  time  in  which  to  endeavor  to  inculcate 
in  the  public  mind  the  idea  of  restrictive  habits  and  controlled 
appetites.  The  people  having  gained  their  own  political  inde- 
pendence had  also  become  imbued  through  the  teachings  of  the 
French  Revolution  with  the  most  reckless  notions  rea-ardina- 
their  personal  rights  ;  and  they  were  but  little  inclined  to  brook 
any  interference  that  tended  to  check  their  individual  liberty  in 
thought  or  conduct.  It  was  not  until  the  establishment  in 
February,  1826,  of  the  "  American  Society  for  the  Promotion  of 
Tempei-anco"  that  any  extraordinary  or  persistent  advancement 
of  the  cause  ensued.  All  that  had  gone  before  had  been  but 
introductory — the  laying  of  the  foundation  upon  which  was  to  be 
reared  the  grand  superstructure  of  national  reform.  Town  and 
county  auxiliaries  to  the  parent  societies  were  soon  formed  in 
almost  all  of  the  states,  resulting  in  a  temperance  agitation  which 
was  widely  distributed,  and  from  which  has  since  sprung  the 
Washingtonian  movement,  the  Father  Matthew  societies,  the 
National  League,  church  societies,  law  and  order  leagues,  and 
the  many  cold  water  armies  that  for  over  half  a  century  have  so 
bravely  fought  the  common  foe  of  humanity. 


We  have  used  the  old  farm  as  a  cord,  or  chaplet,  upon  which 
to  string  our  historical  pearls.  That  cord,  having  been  cut  for 
the  needs  of  a  single  century,  is  now  full.  It  remains  for  us, 
therefore,  but  to  tie  the  ends  together  and  to  modestly  lay  our 
votive  gift  at  the  feet  of  Clio — the  fair  muse  of  history.  Of 
books  in  her  honor  there  have  been  no  end.  Many,  like  lumi- 
naries in  the  literary  heavens,  have  thrown  floods  of  light  over 
vast  areas  of  the  globe  and  have  embraced  long  eras  of  time,  but 
it  is  hoped  that  the  work  we  are  now  concluding  will  also  serve 
her  cause.  All  cannot  be  suns,  yet  a  modest  torch  or  candle  can 
throw  light,  and  reveal  what  has  before  been  hidden.  Thus 
would  we  fain  believe  that  this  book  will  find  a  welcome,  because 
of  the  little  it  contributes  to  our  fund  of  knowledge  of  times  and 
ways  long  bygone.  Of  course  it  falls  far  short  of  what  was 
hoped  for  when  planned,  but  the  ideal  is  rarely  realized  in  exe- 


624  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 

cution.  Content  must  come  with  the  consciousness  that  the  pre- 
ceding pages  embody  an  honest  endeavor  to  faithfully  and  truth- 
fully preserve  unrecorded  facts  and  traditions,  which,  meteor-like, 
had  they  once  fallen  to  the  ground  could  never  have  been 
rekindled,  but  now,  so  far  as  this  book  may  be  considered  a 
repository  of  information,  they  become  fixed  stars  in  the  firma- 
ment of  history. 

Some  one  has  said  that  the  two  most  engaging  powers 
of  a  historical  writer  are  to  make  new  things  familiar,  and 
familiar  things  new.  Thus  as  we  have  turned  over  the 
pages  of  the  past,  blurred,  and  often  indistinct,  though  ''  rich 
with  the  spoils  of  time,"  an  effort  has  been  made  in  retell- 
ing an  oft-told  tale  to  increase  the  interest  in  the  narrative  by 
correcting  some  errors,  by  adding  a  little  that  is  new,  and  by 
throwing  the  light  of  the  most  recent  research  on  much  that  is 
old.  Care  has  been  taken,  meanwhile,  to  follow  the  injunction 
of  Johnson  not  to  lie  on  the  watch  for  novelty  and  great  things, 
for  such  cannot  have  escaped  former  observation,  but  rather  to 
follow  the  quiet  undercurrents  of  life  of  both  ordinary  and  extra- 
ordinary folk,  and  thus  fill  in  many  interstices  left  by  greater 
historians.  The  writing  of  these  pages  has  not  been  in  vain  if 
they  influence  their  readers,  especially  their  youthful  readers,  to 
turn  their  minds  from  the  present,  and  carry  their  sympathies 
and  interest  back  to  the  early  days  of  their  country's  inception 
and  growth,  and  fill  them  with  a  desire  to  become  more  and 
more  familiar  with  its  gradual  advancement  from  primitive 
beginnings  to  its  present  state  of  high  civilization,  and  impor- 
tance among  the  nations  of  the  world. 

And  now  it  is  time  to  say  farewell  to  the  "  Old  Farm."  We 
found  it  an  unrecognized  indefinite  part  of  an  indefinable  wilder- 
ness. We  have  traced  its  emergence  from  such  a  condition  into 
definite  boundaries  and  an  individual  possession.  We  have 
followed  the  gradual  growth  of  its  surrounding  country  from 
barbarism  to  a  state  of  progressive  refinement  and  cultivation ; 
we  have  witnessed  the  introduction  of  religion  and  noted  the 
increase  of  population ;  we  have  seen  our  forefathers  leading 
contented  lives  subjects  of  a  king  ;  we  have  leanied  what  a  poor 
thing  is  a  king  when  he  tries  his  power  against  freemen.  An 
old  world's  kinsman  has  crossed  the  seas  and  established  himself 


So  Generations  in  Their  Course  Decay.  625 

on  our  ancestral  plantation.  With  interest  we  have  watched  in 
him,  in  his  children  and  descendants,  the  gradual  transformation 
of  German  subjects  into  American  citizens.  Three  successive 
generations  of  occupants  have  peopled  the  Old  Stone  House, 
and  now  we  leave  it  with  a  fourth  playing  their  simple  parts 
therein.  Soon,  like  their  predecessors,  they  will  make  their 
exit,  following  that  behest  of  nature,  as  inexorable  in  their  day, 
and  in  ours,. as  it  was  in  that  remote  age  when  time  was  meas- 
ured by  olympiads  instead  of  centuries,  and  when  Homer 
wrote : — 

"  Like  leaves  on  trees  the  race  of  man  is  found, 
Now  green  in  youth  now  withering  on  the  ground, 
Another  race  the  following  spring  supplies, 
They  fall  successive,  and  successive  rise  ; 
So  generations  in  their  course  decay. 
So  flourish  these  when  those  have  passed  away." 


The  End. 


^. 


l<^  ''^^.^'w^-ir-  v;t;-<3^^ 


40 


MOELICH-MALICK-MELICK-MELLICK 

GKNEALOGY. 


"  Those  only  clessrve  to  lie  remembered  who  treasure  up  a  history  of  their  ancestors." 

—Burke. 

So  far  as  can  be  learned  the  Moelich  family  originated  in  Germany.  It  still 
exists  in  that  country,  there  being  resident  representatives  in  Frankfort  on  the 
Main,  in  Bendorf  on  the  Rhine,  and  in  VVinningen  on  the  Moselle.  A  tradi- 
tion has  come  floating  down  tlirough  the  generations,  which  proclaims  in  a  shad- 
owy sort  of  way  that  the  first  Moelich  in  Germany  was  a  migrator  from  Greece, 
and  that  the  word— or  one  approaching  it — in  ancient  Greek  stands  for  lyric 
verse.  It  certainly  appears  in  various  forms  in  that  language.  It  will  be 
remembered  that  it  was  by  the  way  of  the  shores  of  the  deep  Gulf  of  Malic  that 
the  Persians  reached  the  Pass  of  Therraopolic;  and  the  English  word  melie, 
defined  in  the  Imperial  dictionary  "  relating  to  song,  lyric,"  is  from  the  Greek 
root  melikos,  or  melos,  a  song.  The  word  is  also  to  be  found  in  other  languages, 
and  is  said  to  be  a  not  unusual  family  name  in  the  East,  especially  in  Armenia — 
an  Armenian  poet  of  distinction,  Agob  Melik  Agobian,  died  in  1888  at  Tillis  in 
Georgia,  and  was  honored  with  a  public  funeral.  There  is  a  Mount  Mellick  in 
Ireland.  A  millet  grass  that  grows  on  the  coast  of  Lincolnshire,  Britain,  is 
called  "  melick,"  and  one  of  England's  sweetest  singers  has  embalmed  the  word 
in  the  lines :  "  From  the  mead  where  the  melick  groweth."  In  Germany  the 
family  name  is  commonly  written  Molich,  the  diaresis  over  the  o  indicating  that 
a  second  vowel  lias  been  dropped.  In  America,  during  the  last  one  hundred  and 
fifty  years,  various  spellings  and  pronunciations  of  the  name  have  been  in 
vogue;  the  signatures  of  descendants  of  emigrant  ancestors  Moelich  appearing  as 
Mfilich,  Malick,  Malik,  Meligh,  Mehlig,  Melik,  Melick  and  Mellick.  Distributed 
throughout  the  United  States  and  Territories  there  are  at  present  families, 
known  as  Moelich,  Malick,  Melick  and  Mellick.  The  latter  name,  in  some 
instances,  is  pronounced  as  if  the  syllable  division  was  made  between  the  I  and  i, 
the  first  syllable  being  accented. 

The  plan  of  this  genealogical  record  is  to  first  give  an  outline  of  the  German 
ancestry  and  then  to  follow  descents  down  five  ancestral  streams,  flowing  from 
five  different  German  emigrants  Moelich,  who  all  came  from  Bendorf  on  the 
Rhine,  viz. :  JOHANNES  (A),  who  reached  America  in  1735,  and  settled  on 
the  "old  farm"  in  Somerset  Co.,N.  J.;  GOTTFRIED  (B),  a  brother  of  JOHAN- 
NES (A)  who  came  with  him  to  America,  and  on  reaching  maturity  settled  in 


628  WiNNINGEN    AKD    BeNDORF. 

Sussex,  now  Warren,  Co.,  N.  J. ;  JOHAN  PETER  (C),  another  brother,  who 
reached  America  in  1728,  and  whose  son  Tunis  settled  in  Hunterdon  Co.,  N.  J.; 
DAVID  (D),  believed  to  have  been  a  cousin  of  JOHANNES  (A),  who  also  set- 
tled in  Hunterdon  Co. ;  and  PETER  (E),  a  brother  of  the  last,  who  settled  in 
what  is  now  Columbia  Co.,  Pennsylvania.  In  addition  will  be  given  the  record 
of  all  the  descendants  of  JOHAN  .JACOB  KLEIN  (Jacob  Kline),  and  SIMON 
LUDEWIG  HIMROTH  (Simon  Himrod),  two  German  emigrants  who  married, 
respectively,  Veronica  Gerdrutta  and  Marie  Cathrine,  the  only  daughters  of 
JOHANNES  (A). 

The  following  abbreviations  will  be  used  : — b.  born — d.  died — dec.  dead — m. 
married — unm.  immarried — wid.  widow — Presb.  Presbyterian — Meth.  Methodist 
— Epis.  Episcopal — desc.  descendant — Northumb.  Northumberlajid — grad.  grad- 
uated— bro.  brother — Col.  Columbia — app'd.  appointed — ch.yd.  churchyard — 
Luth.  Lutheran — Rev.  Reverend — S.  O.  F.  Story  of  an  Old  Farm. 


THE  MOELICH  FAMILY  IN  GERMANY.     • 

The  first  of  the  name  is  PETER,  who  appears  in  or  about  tbe  year  1500  on  the  reg- 
ister of  tlie  Lutheran  congregation  at  Wiuningen.  This  place  is  a  market  town  of 
about  three  thousand  inhabitants,  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Moselle,  five  miles  above 
Cobleutz.  It  has  a  background  of  lofty  and  precipitous  rocks,  every  available  spot 
of  which  is  planted  with  vines,  producing  the  best  flavored  wine  of  the  Lower 
Moselle.  Winniugen  is  one  of  the  most  ancient  settlements  in  Germany,  the 
unearthing  of  numerous  coins,  bits  of  arms,  and  remains  of  masonry,  proving  con- 
clusively its  Roman  origin.  In  the  year888  the  place  was  called  Windiga,  the  present 
name  havinging  first,  been  used  about  11,36.  In  1288  Winniugen  came  into  the  posses- 
sion of  the  county  Sponheim.  whieli  resulted,  a  few  yeai-s  later,  in  its  forming,  like 
Enkirch,  Trarbach,  and  other  places  on  the  Moselle,  a  strong  Protestant  enclave  in 
the  midst  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Electorate  of  Treves.  Since  1814  it  has  been  part  of 
the  kingdom  of  Prussia,  and  for  sixty  years  before  that  date  was  attached  to  the 
Grand  Dukedom  of  Baden,  During  the  year  1657  the  congregation— whose  register 
has  supplied  the  little  information  I  have  regarding  the  Moselle  Moelichs,— went 
over  in  a  body,  under  the  leadership  of  Father  George  Muller,  to  the  reformed  reli- 
gion and,  to-day,  there  are  only  Lutherans  in  Winniugen.  The  church,  which  is  a 
very  plain  but  noble-looking  Romanesque  structure,  was  built  soon  after  the  year 
1200.  During  the  seventeenth  century  the  side  naves  were  raised,  in  order  to  intro- 
duce galleries,  which  of  course  much  mars  its  original  architectural  outlines. 
Pastor  Theveny,  the  present  incumbent,  exhibits  with  much  pride  a  Roman  baptis- 
mal font,  and,  if  his  visitors  are  willing  to  climb,  he  will  also  show  the  fine  large 
bells  hanging  in  the  tower.  On  one  of  them  is  inscribed  "  in  godes  namen  lueden  ich, 
matlieus  heis  ich,  henrich  vom  protm  rjois  mien  anno  X  oc  unde  seven."  (In  the 
name  of  God  X  do  ring;  my  name  is  Mathens,  and  was  formed  by  Henry  of  Proim  in 
the  1507).  .--  7 

I.  PETER  MOELICH  of  Winningen  had  a  son,  II.  THEISS  (Matthias),  b.  1530,  d.  l|D7.  '.: 
Theiss  had  a  son,  III.  MICHEL,  who  m.  in  1598  Margaretta  Knaus.  They  had  a  son, 
IV.  FRIEDRICH,  b.  17  Jan.,  1611,  d.  9  Jan..  1695,  m.  Lucia  Bormer.  Priedrich  had  a 
80n  V  JONAS,  b.  1650,  who  m.  and  had  b.  to  him  in  Winningen,  four  ch.,  viz:— VI. 
GEORG  THILMANN.  b.  1678:  VII.  JUSTINIA  MARIA,  b.  1681;  VIII.  HANS  PETER, 
b.  19  Sep.,  1683,  and  IX.  ANNA  APOLLONIA.  date  of  birth  unknown.  ,  In  the  year 
1688,  JONAS  (V.),  leaving  his  eldest  son  GEORG  THILMANN  and  his  daughter  JUS- 
TINIA MARIA  in  Winningen,  removed  with  his  two  remaining  children  to  Bendorf . 
This  town,  of  4600  people  is  located  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Rhine,  four  miles  below 
Cobleutz.  Like  Winningen  it  was  founded  by  Roman  settlers  early  in  the  Christian 
era.  they  establishing  a  fortress  there,  which  was  destroyed  by  Huns,  A.  D.  375. 
The  next  known  settlement  at  this  point  was  in  the  eighth  century  when  the 
nucleus  of  a  population  was  formed  by  the  establishing  of  a  mission  station  in  the 
vicinity  by  an  English  missionary  named  Wilibrord.  The  baptismal  font  of  brown 
jtone  now  in  the  possession  of  the  Evangelical  Head-Church  of  that  place  is  said  to 


The  Moselle  and  the  Rhine  Moelichs.  629 

have  been  the  one  used  hy  this  missionary  in  baptizing  the  converted  Bhlne 
heathens.  About  the  tenth  century,  as  recited  in  the  old  documents  of  the  county 
Wied,  the  Prankish  Isings  set  up  here  three  courts.  This  attracted  many  settlers  and 
the  place  soon  after  assumed  the  name  of  Bethin,  or  Bede,  meaning  cheap,  said  to 
refer  to  the  low  price  at  which  land  could  then  be  acquired.  Since  then  the  name 
has  gradually  changed  from  Bethendorf  and  Bedendokp  to  Bendorf.  (See  pp.  22 
-84.) 

JONAS  (V)  established  at  Bendorf  a  tannery,  and  became  a  prominent  citizen  and 
an  assessor  of  the  court.  His  wife  having  died  on  the  eleventh  of  May  1693,  he  mar- 
ried as  a  second  wife  Gertraut  Lucas.  In  Bendorf  by  his  first  wife  he  had  born  to 
him  S  ch.,  X.  JOHAN  MICHAEL,  b.  13  Feb.,  imo,  who  remained  in  the  place  of  his 
nativity  and  had  there  ch.  and  grand-ch. ;  XI.  MARIA  CHRISTINA,  b.  35  Sep.,  1691. 
His  second  wife  bore  him  three  ch.,  viz:— XII.  JOHANNES,  b.  14  Feb.,  169.5,  who 
remained  in  Bendorf  and  had  there  eleven  ch. ;  XIII.  MARIA  CATHRINE,  b.  HI  July, 
1699,  d.  in  infancy,  and  XIV.  ANNA  CATHRINE,  b.  17  Apl„  1704,  d.  in  infancy.  The 
second  wife  of  JONAS  (V)  having  d.  in  1718,  hem.  for  the  third  time,  *1  Sep.,  1719,  the 
widow,  Elisabetta  Pistoris.  JONAS  (V)  d.  at  Bendorf  in  1732,  his  last  wife  surviving 
him  for  20  years,  dying  at  the  age  of  eighty  In  1743, 

HANS  PETER  (VIII)  the  second  son  of  JONAS  (V)  had  born  to  him  in  Bendorf 
eleven  ch.,  viz :— XV,  JOHAN  JONAS,  b.  27  July,  1710,  who  emigrated  to  America,  and 
d.  unm.  in  Hunterdon  Co.,  N.  J.,  (Seep.  79);  XVI.  ANNA  CHRISTINA,  b.  9Nov.,  1712; 
XVII.  JOHAN  DAVID  (D),  b.  13  Nov.,  1715.-  who  emigrated  to  America,  and  d.  in 
Hunterdon  Co.,  N.  J.  see  p.  79;  for  his  descendants  see  genealogy  of  Johau  David 
(D);  XVIII.  ANNA  SYBILLA,  b.  10  June,  1718,  d.  in  infancy;  XIX.  JOHAN  PETER, 
(E)  b.  29  Aug.,  1719,  who  emigrated  to  America  and  d.  ia  what  is  now  Columbia 
Co.,  Pa.;  for  descendants  see  genealogy  of  Johan  Peter  (E);  XX.  MARIA 
ELISABETH,  b.  30  Sep.,  1731,  d.  in  infancy;  XXI.  JOHANNES,  b.  32  Sep.,  173;3,  who 
did  not  d.  in  Bendorf  and  probably  emigrated  with  his  brothers,  he  may  have  been 
the  unlinown  John  Melick  whose  name  occasionally  appears  in  the  last  century  on 
the  register  of  Zion  Lutheran  Church  at  New  Germantown.  N.  J.,  XXII.  CATH- 
ERINE MARGARETTA,  b.  3.3  Nov.,  1725;  XXIII.  MARGARETTA  GERDRUTTA,  b. 
10  Nov..  1727;  XXIV.  CATHERINA,  b.  10  Feb.,  1730;  XXV,  MARIA  CATHRINE,  b.  13 
Dec,  1733. 

When  JONAS  (V),  migrated  from  Winningen  to  Bendorf  in  1688  he  was  accom- 
panied by,  XXVL  JOHAN  WILH-ELM  MOELICH,  the  father  of  XXVIL  JOHANNES, 
who  founded  the  "Old  Farm,"  whose  story  is  told  in  this  volume.  Thorelsevery 
reason  to  believe  Ihat  if  not  the  son  he  was  at  least  a  nephew  of  JONAS  (V),  Four 
of  Johan  Wilhelm's  children  were  named  after  the  children  of  JONAS  (V),  and,  as 
will  be  shown,  in  the  baptism  of  his  nine  ch.  in  almost  every  instance  the  godfathers 
and  godmothers  were  the  daughters  of  Jonas  and  one  instance  Jonas  himself  stood 
sponsor.  Investigations  are  being  continued  whicli.  It  is  hoped,  will  establish  the 
relationship  between  these  two,  and  thus  provide  a  common  German  ancestor  for 
all  of  the  name  in  America.  Johan  Wilhelm's  wife  was  Anna  Cat  brine,  her  parent- 
age not  being  known.  Shchadasisterlivingin  Winningen,  the  wife  of  Johan  David 
Krober,  he  standing  godfather  in  1712  tor  her  son  JOHAN  DAVID  (XVII).  Another 
sister  was  the  wife  of  a  Mr.  Hermann  of  Hochstenbach,  who  stood  godfather  in  1708 
to  her  son  JOHAN  PETER  (XIX).  Anna  Cathrine  Moelich  died  in  1729  as  is  shown 
by  the  following  record  on  the  register  of  the  Evangelical  Head-Church  at  Ben- 
dorf, in  the  handwriting  of  Pastor  Job.  Georg  Schmidt:— "  Certificate  ot  Death; 
1729,  the  22d  of  July,  Anna  Cathrine  Molich,  wife  of  Hauss  Wilhelm  Molich,  has  been 
buried.  God  grant  her  the  eternal  life.  Amen."  (Hans.,  Job.,  Johan.,  Johannes 
all  stand  for  the  same  name,  John.) 

Johan  Wilhelm   Moelich  (XXVI)  had   12  children. 

XXVIL  JOHANNES  (A),  b.  36  Feb.,  1702,  emigrated  to  America  in  1735,  he  being 
the  founder  of  the  "  Old  Farm."  For  his  record  and  that  of  his  pos- 
terity see  p  631. 

XXVIII.  JOHAN  PETER  (C),  b.  in  1708,   emigrated  to  America  in  1728,   his  chil- 

dren settling  in  Hunterdon  Co.,  N.  J.;  for  his  record  and  that  of 
his  posterity  see  genealogy  of  Johan  Peter  (C). 

XXIX.  MARIA  CHRISTINA,  b.   in  1710,   bap.  in  the  Bendorf    church  by  Rev'd 

Johannes  Reusch,  the  certificate  reading:— "  The  30th  of  October  1710 
to  Hans  Wilhelm  Molich  has  been  baptized  a  young  daughter  and  ha.s 
been  named  by  the  Christian  name,  ilaria  Christina.    The  godmothers 


630 


JOHAX    WiLHELM   MOELICH'S    ChILDKEN. 


have  been  Jonas  Mollch's  daughter  Maria  Chriertina,  and  Hans  Peter 
Molich's  wife.  The  godfather  was  the  barber  Mr.  Reichard.  God  grant 
all  prosperit}-  to  the  child.    Amen." 

XXX.  JOH.VN   DAVID,  b.  Jul.v.   171j3,  bap.  in  the  Bendorf  church  by  the  Hev'd 

Johannes  Reusch,  the  certificate  reading:— "The  24th  of  July.  1712,  to 
Hans  Wilhelm  Molich  a  young  son  has  been  baptized  and  has  been 
named  by  the  Christian  name  Johannes  David.  The  godfathers  were 
Johannes  David  Wortman,  citizen  of  this  place,  and  Johannes  Molich, 
Jonas  Molich's  son.  The  godmother  was  Jonas  Molich's  daughter, 
Justina  Maria,  living  at  Winningen.  God  grant  to  the  baptized  all 
prosperity,  here  and  there.  Amen.  "  This  Johan  David  d.  in  Bendorf 
15  July,  1756. 

XXXI.  ANNA  GERTRATTT,  b.  Jan.,  1714,  bap.  in  the  Bendorf  church  by  the  Rev'd 

Johannes  Reusch,  the  certificate  reading:—"  The  Slst  January,  1714, 
to  Joh.  Wilhelm  Molich  a  young  daughter  has  been  baptized  and 
named  by  the  Christian  name,  Anna  Gertraut.  The  godmother  was 
Anna  Gertraut.  Johann  Michael  Molich's  wife  ;  the  godfather  was 
Philipp  Wilhelm  Fassbender.  God  grant  all  blessings  to  the  baptized. 
Amen."  Godfather  Fassbender  was  a  brother  of  the  Jacob  Fassbender 
who  in  the  year  1750  was  a  cotrustee  with  Johannes  Molich  (A)  in  Zion 
Lutheran  Church  in  New  Germantown,  N.  J.  He  was  also  the  uncle 
of  Gottfried  Klein  (Godfrey  Kline)  the  emigrant  ancestor  of  a  well 
known  Hunterdon  family.    (See  p.  91.) 

XXXII.  MARIA    CATHRINA    CHRISTINA,    b.    Feb.,    1716,    bap.  in  the  Bendorf 

church  by  the  Rev'd  Johannes  Reusch,  the  certificate  reading:— 
"  The  23d  of  February,  1716,  to  Joh.  Wilhelm  Jlolicb  a  young  daughter 
has  been  baptized  and  named  by  the  Christian  name  Maria  Cathrina 
Christina.  The  witnesses  of  baptism  were  Mrs.  Dr.  Senheim,  of  Cob- 
lentz.  but  whose  place  in  proxy  took  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Councillor  of 
the  Court,  Pohl.  The  other  godmother  was  my  beloved  wife.  The 
godfather  was  Jonas  Molich,  citizen  and  assessor  of  the  Court  of  this 
place.  Godgrant  all  blessings  to  the  baptized.  Amen."  "My  beloved 
wife  "  was,  of  course,  Mrs.  Reusch.  This  was  the  last  occasion  of  her 
husband's  officiating  at  Molich  baptisms  as  he  d.  22  Dec.  of  that  year, 
having  served  the  Bendorf  Head-Church  congregation  since  3  Aug., 
1697.    His  successor  was  Pastor  Joh  Georg  Schmidt  (See  p.  70.) 

XXXIII.  ANNA  SIBYLLA,  b.  May,  1718,  bap.  in  the  Bendorf  church  by  the  Rev'd 

Joh  Georg  Schmidt,  the  certificate  reading:— "The  28  of  May,  1718,  to 
Joh.  Wilhelm  Molich  a  daughter  has  been  baptized.  Her  witnesses  of 
baptism  have  been  Mr.  Ehrenreich  Kirberger,  Sibylla  Elisabeth,  wife 
of  Johan  Wimmer,  and  Maria  Cathrina,  wife  of  Joh.  Peter  Fassben- 
der, citizen  of  this  place.  To  her  has  been  given  the  name  of  Anna 
Sibylla.  God  grant  her  grace  for  Jesus  sake.  Amen."  This  child  was 
evidently  named  after  Anna  Sibylla  (XVIII)  second  dau.  of  Hans 
Peter  Moelich  (VIII).  Godfather  Kirberger  was  a  cousin  of  the  wife  of 
Johannes  Moelich  (A). 

XXXIV.  ELISABETH  GERDRUTTA,  b.  Aug..  1720.  bap.  in  the  Bendorf  chuich  by 

Rev'd.  Joh  Georg  Schmidt,  the  certificate  reading:— "The  28ra  of 
August,  1730,  to  Hans  Wilhelm  Molich  a  daughter  has  been  baptized. 
Witnesses  of  baptism  were  Master  Hans  Peter  Hoffbauer.  citizen  and 
resident  of  this  place;  further,  Maria  Elisabeth,  Johann  Molich's  wife; 
Veronica  Gerdrutta.  Georg  Peter  Otto's  wife.  To  the  chili  has  been 
given  the  name  Elisabeth  Gerdrutta.  God  bless  the  child  for  Jesus 
Christ's  sake.  Amen."  Godmother  Maria  Elizabeth  Molich  was  the 
wife  of  Johannes  (XII),  the  son  of  Jonas  (V).  Jlrs.  Otto  was  a  sister 
of  the  wife  of  Johannes  (A). 

XXXV.  JOHAN  GOTTFRIED,  (B)  b.  14  July,  1724,  emigrated  to  America  in  1735, 

with  his  eldest  brother  Johannes  (A)  and  settled  in  Sussex,  now  War- 
ren, Co.,  N.  J.  For  his  record  and  that  of  his  posterity  see  genealogy 
of  Johan  Gottfried  (B). 

Johan  Wilhelm  and  Anna  Cathrine  Moelich  also  had  born  to  them 
three  ch.  between  the  years  1702  and  1708.  who  all  d.  soon  after  birth. 
There  is  no  record  of  the  death  of  Johan  Wilhelm  in  Bendorf,  and  he 
evidently  removed  from  there  after  the  death  of  his  wife  in  1729,  and 


Johannes  Moelich  of  Bedminster.  631 

is  said  to  have  emigrated.  No  record  has  been  discovered  of  him  in 
America;  had  he  beeu  there  his  youngest  son  Gottfried  (B)  would 
hardly  have  remained  until  his  maturity  as  the  ward  of  his  eldest 
brother  Johannes  (A).  (See  p.  74).  There  is  a  tradition  extant, 
the  foundation  of  which  has  not  been  discovered,  that  he  started  for 
America  with  his  sons  Johannes  and  Gottfried,  and  d.  on  the  way, 
either  in  Holland  or  during  the  voyage. 


THE  GERMAN  EMIGRANTS  MOELICH  AND  THEIR  POSTERITY  IN  AMERICA. 

JOHANNES     MOELICH     (A). 
(John  Melick,  of  Bedminster,  and  his  descendants.) 

I.  JOHANNES  MOELICH,  was  the  son  of  Johan  Wilhelm  (XXVI)  and  Anna 
Catharine  of  Bendorf  on  the  Rhine.  Germany,  where  he  was  born  in 
1702,  and  baptised  in  the  Evangelical  Head-Church  by  the  Rev"d. 
Johannes  Keusch,  the  baptismal  certiflcate  reading:— "  The  26th  of 
February,  1703,  a  young  son  is  born  to  the  world  to  Master  Hanss 
(Johan)  Wilhelm  Molich.  and  baptised  by  me  on  the  29th,  and  named 
by  the  christian  name.  Johannes,  the  godfathers  were  Master  Johan- 
nes Relchard,  citizen  and  shoemaker  in  the  city  of  Kranckf  urth.  but  he 
was  represented  in  proxy  by  his  brother  Monsieur  Reichard,  theologi- 
cal student.  The  other  godfather  was  Johannes  Bohm,  citizen  at  Win- 
niiigen.  The  godmother  was  Anna  Apollonia  Molich,  daughter  of 
Master  Jonas  Molich.  God  grant  all  satisfaction  of  the  body  and  of 
the  soul  to  the  baptised,  for  Christ's  sake.  Amen."  Johannes  (I),  d. 
10  Nov.,  1763,  at  Bedminster,  Somereet  Co.,  N,  J,,  and  is  buried  in  the 
Lutheran  church-yaid  at  Pluckamin.  He  m.  1  Nov.,  1723,  at  Bendorf, 
Maria  Cathrina,  dau.  of  Burgomaster  Gottfried  Kirberger.  of  that 
place,  b.  in  1698,  and  bap.  in  the  Evangelical  Head-Church,  by  the  Kev'd. 
Johannes  Rcusch,  the  baptismal  cei-tiflcate  reading:  "The  8th  of 
January  1698  to  the  actual  burgermeister,  Gottfried  Kirberger,  a 
young  daughter  has  been  born  for  the  world  and  baptized  the  next 
Sunday.  The  godfather  was  Master  Eberhard  Reichard,  the  god- 
mother was  maid  Maria  Cathrina  Hahnin,  daughter  of  Wilhelm  Hahn. 
In  the  act  of  baptism  to  the  child  has  been  given  the  name  Maria 
Cathrina.  God  give  to  the  baptized  all  spiritual  and  material  pros- 
perity." (See  p.  71.)  Johannes  (1)  emigrated  with  his  wife,  his 
fourch.  born  in  Bendorf.  and  his  youngest  brother  Johan  Gottfried 
(B),  to  America,  arriving  at  Phlla.  29  Ma.v,  17:15,  by  the  ship  "  Mercury," 
Captn.  William  Wilson.  Tradition  speaks  of  his  having  remained  in 
Pennsylvania  about  ten  years.  He  first  appears  in  New  Jersey  in 
December.  1747.  as  the  purchaser  from  John  F.  Garrits  of  409  acres  in 
Greenwich  township  in  Sussex,  now  Warren,  county,  fronting  on  the 
Delaware  river  and  Pohohatcong  creek.  In  1750  he  was  living  In 
Readington  township,  Hunterdon  county,  his  homestead  being  400 
acres  lying  adjacent  to  the  present  line  of  C.  R.  R  of  X.  J.,  midway 
between  North  Branch  and  White  House  stations.  Here  he  estab- 
lished one  of  the  first  tanneries  in  the  province.  The  business  and 
property  was  subsequently  transferred  to  his  partner  and  son-in-law, 
Jacob  Kline.  Until  his  death  he  was  an  officer  and  active  in  the  affairs 
or  Zion  Lutheran  church  at  New  Germantown.  in  that  county.  In 
November,  1751,  he  purchased  of  George  Leslie  :«7  acres  in  Bedminster 
Tp.,  Somerset  co.,  on  the  road  as  now  running  from  Pluckamin  to 
Peapack.  On  this  land  he  erected  a  substantial  stone  house,  to  which 
he  removefl,  and  which  is  still  in  possession  of  his  descendants,  being 
now  occupied  by  William  P.  Sutphon.  On  this  property  he  also  estab- 
lished an  extensive  tannery  and  a  bark  mill,  which  continued  in  suc- 
cessful operation  for  over  one  hundred  years.  For  a  complete 
account  of  Johannes  Moelich  and  his  children  see  preceding  chapters, 
S.  O,  F. 


632  Children  of  Johannes  Moelich. 

second    generation    (a). 

Johannes  Moelich  (I)  had  ch. 
■2.  I.  GEORG  WILHELM.  His  baptismal  certiflcate  entered  by  Pastor  Job. 
Georg  Schmidt  on  tbe  register  of  the  Evangelical  Head-Church  at  Ben- 
dorf  reads  as  follows:  "17*4,  the  twelfth  of  August,  to  Johannes 
Molich  a  son  was  born;  because  of  his  great  debility  he  was  baptized 
at  once;  but  the  child  recovering  fairly  afterwards  he  had  been 
solemnly  blessed  in  the  church  the  next  Sunday.  His  witnesses  have 
been  Johan  Wilhelm  Molich  the  child's  grandfather,  Master  Georg 
Peter  Otto,  and  finally  Master  Job.  Wilh.  Kirberger's  wife,  and  has 
been  given  to  the  child  the  name  Georg  Wilhelm."  Georg  Peter  Otto 
was  the  husband  of  Johannes' (1)  wife's  sister,  and  Job.  Wilh.  Kirber- 
ger  is  believed  to  have  been  a  brother  of  Johannes'  father-in-law,  the 
Burgomaster.    The  child  d.  the  20th  of  the  same  month. 

3.  II.    AABON,    b.    at  Bendorf    in  Rhenish  Prussia,   17   Oct.,  I72S,  and  was  bap. 

Ehrenreich,  on  the  following  Sunday,  in  the  Evangelical  Head-Church 
by  Pastor  Job.  Georg  Schmidt.  The  sponsors  were  Ehrenreich  Kir- 
berger, — believed  to  have  been  his  mother's  cousin — and  Johan  Wim- 
mer,  both  of  Bendorf.  Aaron  d.  at  Bedminster,  N.  J.,  7  Apl.,  1809 
and  is  buried  in  the  churchyard  at  Pluckamin,  m.  Charlotte  Miller,  b. 
14  May,  17.M,  d.  13  Mch..  1802,  from  injuries  received  by  being  thrown 
from  a  carriage.  Aaron  inherited  from  his  father  the  tannery,  the 
stone  house  and  two  hundred  acres  of  land  upon  which  he  lived  until 
his  death.  He  was  an  active  member  of  Zion  Lutheran  Church  at 
New  Gerraantown  in  Hunterdon  Co..  and  of  St.  Paul's  at  Pluckamin. 
During  the  Revolution  he  was  an  active  patriot  and  at  its  outset  was 
a  member  of  the  Bedminster  Com.  of  Observation  and  Inspection. 
He  filled  many  minor  offices,  was  frequently  called  upon  to  serve  as 
executor  and  administrator  in  the  settlement  of  estates,  and  during 
a  long  and  honorable  career  was  always  recognized  as  a  leader  among 
the  substantial  and  prominent  citizens  of  the  county.  He  anglicised 
his  name  into  Malick.  See  S.  O.  F.  tor  a  full  account  of  his  life.  (For 
his  .5  ch.  see  p.  C.33.) 

4.  III.    VERONICA  GERDRUTTA,  b.  at  Bondort,  Germany,  19  Doc.,  1727,  and  was 

baptized  a  tew  days  later  in  the  Evangelical  Head-Church  by  Pastor 
Job.  Georg  Schmidt.  Her  certiflcate  of  baptism  reads:— "The  21st  of 
November  1727  to  Johann  Molich,  junior,  a  daughter  has  been  bap- 
tized ;  her  witnesses  of  baptism  were  Veronica  Gerdrutta,  Georg 
Peter  Otto's  wife  [her  mother's  sister]  ;  the  wife  of  the  Burgomaster 
of  Hochstenbach  [her  mother's  brother];  Master  Joh.  Wilh.  (?),  citizen 
and  tanner  of  Sayn,  and  has  been  given  to  the  child  the  name  Vero- 
nica Gerdrutta;  God  grant  her  his  grace  for  Christ's  sake.  Amen." 
In  America  Veronica  Gerdrutta  was  familiarly  known  as  Fanny;  she 
d.,  9  Oct.,  1801,  while  visiting  a  dau.  at  Germantown.  Penna.,  where 
she  is  buried;  m.  about  1749,  Johan  Jacob  Klein  (Jacob  Kline),  (for  her 
husband  and  descendants  see  genealogy  of  Johan  Jacob  Klein.) 

5.  IV.    ANDREW,    b.    at    Bendorf,   Germany,   in    Dec,  1739,   and  was  baptized, 

Andreas,  in  the  Evangelical  Head-Church  by  Pastor  Joh.  Georg 
Schmidt.  His  certiflcate  of  baptism  reads:— "The  17th  December  1729 
to  Master  Joh.  Molich  jun.  of  this  place  a  son  has  been  baptized.  His 
witnesses  were  Praeceptor  Kippold's  wife  Maria  Cathrina;  further 
Maria  Christine.  Joh.  Hermann  HoUinghaussen's,  (also)  tanners  of 
this  place,  wife,  and  Master  Andreas  Kirberger  [his  mother's  half-bro- 
ther] of  this  place,  and  has  been  given  to  the  child  the  name  Andreas. 
God  grant  to  the  same  his  grace.  Amen."  Andrew  (.'i)  d.  29  June,  1820, 
after  living  over  90  years;  he  Is  buried  within  the  shadows  of  St. 
James'  Lutheran  church,  near  PhlUipsburg,  N.  J.,  which  congrega- 
tion he  was  instrumental  in  founding.  (See  p.  305.)  Hem.  Catherine 
b.  1741,  d.  27  Oct.,  1804;  she  is  buried  by  the  side  of  her  husband.  On 
reaching  manhood  Andrew  settled  in  Greenwich  tp,  Sussex,  now 
Warren,  Co.,  on  land  he  inherited  from  his  father  Johannes,  being  a 
portion  of  the  409  acres  that  he— Johannes— purchased  from  John  F. 
Garrets,  fronting  on  Pohohatacong  Creek  and  the  Delaware.    (See 


Children  of  Johannes  Moelich.  633 

p.  74)  On  this  property  Andrew  erected  a  substantial  dwelling 
wherein  he  lived  until  1810  when  by  deed  dated  May  5,  in  considera- 
tion of  fourteen  thousand  dollars  he  conveyed  his  homestead  farm, 
"containing  283  acres  and  8  perches,  strict  measure,"  to  Abraham 
Carpenter  of  Greenwich  tp.  On  July  4,  1776,  he  was  commissioned 
captain  in  the  1st  Sussex  reyt.  (commanded  by  Col.  afterwards  Gen. 
William  iMaxwell.)  and  served  during  the  war.  His  camp  chest  and 
military  trappings  were  preserved  by  his  descendants  until  1849  when 
they  were  lost  while  his  granddaughter,  Mrs.  John  Derr,  was  moving 
from  Buclfa  to  Northumberland  Co.,  in  Pa.  He  anglicised  his  surname 
Malick  sometimes  signing  it  Malili.  (For  his  5  ch.  see  p.  6.30.) 
6.  V.  GEOEGANTHON.  His  baptismal  certiflcate  entered  by  Pastor  Job.  Georg 
Schmidt  on  the  register  of  the  Evangelical  Head-Church  at  Bendorf, 
reads  as  follows :— "  The  6th  of  April,  1832,  Joh.  Moiich's-a  citizen  and 
tanner  of  this  place— son  in  the  Easter  Service  has  been  blessed,  hav- 
ing received  previously  on  account  of  great  debility  the  baptism  of 
necessity  In  the  house.  With  the  blessing  to  him  has  been  given  the 
name  Georg  Anthon;  his  witnesses  were  Master  Georg  Thillman 
Molich  a  citizen  and  law  assessor  in  Winningen;  further,  Anthon 
Kirberger,  citizen  and  court-assessor  of  this  place,  BendorfT;  and  fin- 
ally Master  Philipp  Wilhelm  Fassbendcr's.  a  citizen's  wife.  God  grant 
to  the  child  His  Grace  and  blessing  for  Christ's  sake.  Amen."  This 
certiflcate  is  interesting,  first,  as  showing  that  Johannes  (1)  was  a  tan- 
ner in  the  old  country  as  well  as  in  N.  J.,  and  second,  because  in  hav- 
ing George  Thillman  Moelich  (VI)  as  godfather  it  is  additional  evi- 
dence of  an  existing  relationship  between  the  father  of  Johannes  (1) 
and  of  Jonas  (V)  with  whom  he  came  to  Bendorf  from  Winningen. 
Godmother  Fassbender  was  the  wife  of  another  brother  of  Jacob 
Fassbender,  a  co-trustee  with  Johannes  (1)  in  Zion  Lutheran  Church 
at  New  Germantown.  The  child  George  Anthon  (6)  died  25  June  same 
year. 

7.  VI.    MARIE  CATHKINE  (Maria),  b.  at  Bendorf,  Germany,  5  Dec,  173.3,  bap.  at 

the  Evangelical  Head-Church  by  Pastor  Joh.  Georg  Schmidt,  the  cer- 
tiflcate of  baptism  being  as  follows :— "  The  8th  December  1733  to  Joh. 
Molich  a  daughter  was  baptized,  the  witnesses  being  Christian  Klein, 
citizen  of  this  place,  of  reformed  confession;  further  Marie  Cathrine 
Hoffbauer,  wife  of  Peter  HolTbauer,  law-assessor  of  this  place;  and 
flnally  Anna  Marie  Cathrine  Marxin  wife  of  Andreas  Marx  of  this 
place,  and  has  been  given  to  her  the  name  Marie  Cathrine.  God  bless 
the  baptized  for  Christ's  sake.  Amen."  Godfather  Christian  Klein 
was  the  father  of  Gottfried  Klein  who  emigrated  to  America  and 
settled  in  Hunterdon  Co.,  N.  J.,  and  who  was  the  immigrant  ancestor 
of  the  well-known  county  family  of  that  name.  Marie  Cathrine  m. 
Simon  Ludewig  Himroth  (Simon  Himrod)  who  emigrated  from  Ger- 
many to  America  iu  1752.  For  his  full  record  and  Marie  Cathrine's 
descendants  see  genealogy  of  Simon  Ludewig  Himroth. 

8.  VII.    PHILIP,  b.  in  Penna.,  9  Oct.,  1736,  settled  In  the  vicinity  of  Pluckamin. 

Somerset  Co.,  N.  J.    (For  his  8  ch.  see  p.  6.30.) 

9.  Vin.    PETER,  b.  in  Pa.,  5  Dec,  1739,  m.  Mary  Magdalena  King.    After  the  mar- 

riage he  settled  on  100  acres  that  he  inherited  from  his  father,  being 
the  southern  portion  of  the  Bedminster  tract,  Johannes  purchased 
from  George  Leslie  in  1751.  Peter  built  a  house  and  farm  buildings  on 
the  present  site  of  the  village  of  Bedminster.  Here  he  was  living  dur- 
ing the  Revolutionary  war,  and  here  at  least  3  of  his  ch.  were  born. 
He  subsequently  sold  his  farm  to  his  brother  Aaron  and  removed  to 
Perth  Aniboy  in  Middlesex  Co.,  and  later,  to  Washington  Valley,  in 
Somerset  Co.  He  anglicised  his  surname  into  Melick.  See  pp.  304,  .338, 
335.    (For  his  8  ch.  see  p.  637.) 

THIRD  GENERATION   (A). 
Aaron   Malick   (3J  had  children  :— 

10.  I.    JOHN,  b.  at  Bedminster,  31  July,  1758,   d.   in  Schoharie  Co..  N.  T.,  7  Oct., 

1834,  m.  15  April,  17K),  Jane  CorioU,  b.  13  March.  1765  d.  7  June  1814.    She 


634     Children  of  Aakox\  Malick  and  Petee  Ferine. 

and  her  husband  are  buried  at  Argusville  in  the  above  Co.    John 
served  in  the  army  throughout  the  Revolutionary  war.    When  18  years 
old  he  enlisted  in  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eycli's  company,  in  the  1st  Somerset 
battalion.     He  fought  at  the  battle  of  Long  Island,  in  a  provisional 
regiment,  commanded  by  Col.  Philip  Johnston  ;  was  captured   and 
imprisoned  in  one  of  the  New  York  sugar  houses.    Tradition  says  that 
he  was  taken  from  prison  by  a  British  general  whom  he  was  forced  to 
serve  as  a  page.    When  finally  exchanged,  he  re-enlisted  in  the  con- 
tinental line.    Abont  1807,  he  removed  with  his  family  to  Sharon,  N. 
y..  taking  with  him  from  the  Bedminster  stone  house,   his  father's 
long  clock  and  the  family  Bible.    He  spelled  his  name  Malick,  as  do  all 
his  descendants.    See  pp.  313,  316,  56.5,  579;  (tor  9  ch.  see  p.  63«.) 
11    II.    CATHARINE  b.  at  Bedminster,  15  July,  1761,  d.  10  Aug.  1793,  m.  3  April,  1782, 
Peter  Perine,  b.  15  July,  1753,  in  Bedminster  tp.,  Somerset  Co.,  N.  J.,  d. 
16  Nov.  1828,  at  Salera,"N.  Y.,  where  he  and  his  first  wife  are  buried,  m. 
2d.,  Mary  Mix  of  Middletown,  Conn.  He  was  the  .3d  son  and  6th  child  of 
Peter  and  Mary  Perine  and  the  great-great-grandson  of  Daniel   Per- 
rin,  b.  in  France,  and  emigrated  from  the  Island  of  Jersey  in  1665,  land- 
ing at  Elizabethtown  from  the  ship  •Philip"  with  Gov.  Philip  Car- 
teret.   He  was  a  French  count  and  boasted  of  arms  and  a  crest,  m. 
Mariah  Thorel,  18th  Feb.  1666,  who  came  over  on  the  same  ship.    Peter 
Perine  and  Catharine  Melick  settled  at  Salem,  N.  Y.,  and  had  7  ch. 
I.    Charlotte,  ni.  John  Van  Duyu;  their  ch.  Harriet,  m.  Henry  Arren- 
feldt;  Catherine,  m.  Edward  Blackford;  Mary,  unm.;  a  desc.  is  Mrs, 
Edward  Blackford,  20  S.  Union  St.,  Rochester,  N.  Y. 
II.    Aaron  M.,  b.  6  Mch.,  1787,  at  Bedminster,  N.  J.,  d.  in  the  west,  ra.  Cath- 
erine, dan.  of  Hon.  John  W.  McLean,  b.  at  Jackson,  Wash.  Co.,  N. 
Y.,  39  Sep.,  1788,  d.  at  same  place,  18  Dec,  1825;  their  one  ch.,  Jane 
M.,  res.  Argyle,  N.  Y.,  b.  10  Oct.,  1815,  m.  James  Savage,  M.  D.,  b. 
1798,  d.  1879. 
III.    Henry,  b.  16  Feb.,  1786,  d.  12  Aug.,  1869,  m.  .nrst,  Delana  Cartie,  b.  17 
Jan.,  1794,   dec,  their  2  ch.,  Eliza  C,  res.  East  Salem,  N.  Y.,  b.  10 
Mch.,  1810,  wid.  of  Lewis  T.  McLean,  had  4  ch.  all  m. : 
riioiiias  K.,  res.  Lysander  Onon.  Co.,  N.  Y.,  b.  6  May,  1818,  m.  Mary 
Brown,  has  4  ch.,  all  m. 

Henry  Perine— (III),  m.  second,  Amanda,  dau.  of  Fred  Kellogg, 
of  Cayuga  Co.,  N.  Y.,  b.  24  Aug.,  1794,  d.  4  Dec,  1877 :  their  13 
ch.;  yla)-on  M.,  res.  Detroit,  Mich.,  b.  26  Sep.,  1821,  m.  24  Sep.,  1850, 
Mary  Harvey,  who  d.  8  Oct.,  1886;  has  2  oh.  living,  Velana  C,  h.  1823, 
d.  1827.  Julia  A.,  res.  Jordan,  Onon  Co.,  N.  Y.,  b.  29  Mch.,  1824,  m. 
Jared  Tyler,  no  ch.  Leu'is  B.,  b.  1825,  d.  1888,  wife,  dec,  no  ch. 
Mary  O.,  res.  Ira,  Cayuga  Co.,  N.  Y.,  b.  28  Mch.,  1827,  unm.  Peter  L., 
res.  Omaha,  Neb.,  b.  24  Feb..  1829,  m.  Gertrude  Parker;  1  adopted 
dau.  Reuben,  res.  Ira,  N.  Y.,  b.  1830,  m.  Caroline  Benedict,  has  5  ch. 
Sarah  M.,  res.  Meridian,  Cayuga  Co.,  N.  Y.,  b.  1831,  m.  K.  DabaU, 
no  ch.  Francis  H.,  res.  Los  Angeles,  Cal„  b.  1833,  m.  Mary  Lock- 
wood,  has  3  ch.  WiUiavlM.,  b.  1834,  d.  1878,  num.  Caroline  A.,ti. 
1836,  d.  1883,  m.  John  Pardee,  of  Lysander,  N.  Y.,  has  1  ch.  CIms.  W., 
res.  Kansas,  b.  18.38,  m.  a  Miss  Ells.  De  Witt,  res.  Fulton,  N.  Y.,  b.  1840, 
m.  Jane  Smith,  has  2  ch. 
IV.  John,  b.  1788,  d.  1848,  m.  Hannah  Billings,  their7ch.,  Melancthon;  Moses 
Ji.;  Jos.  .S.;  Mary;  Kate;  yicholas;  William;  a  desc  is  M.  B.  Per- 
ine, Doon,  Canada. 
V.  Mary,  b.  14  Feb.,  1789,  d.  10  Mch.,  1882,  m.  11  Mch.,  1813,  Thos.  K.  McLean, 
b.  1784,  d.  1872.  Their  7  ch.,  Aaron,  b.  31  Dec.  1812;  De  Witt,  b.  13  Nov. 
1814;  Mary  Anne,  res.  Greenwich,  N.  Y.,  b.  17  May,  1819,  m.  Revd. 
Chas.  Pitcher;  IJenry  A'.,  b.  8  June,  1824;  EliiabetU,  b.  1827,  d,  1870; 
Lerov,  res.  N.  Y.  city,  b.  14  Feb.,  1830;  Reva.  John  K.,  res.  Oakland, 
Cal.,  b.  March,  1834. 
VI.  Martha,  b.  9  Jan.,  1791,  d.  16  July,  1873,  ra.  20  Jan.  1816,  Joseph  South- 
worth,  b.  1791,  d.  1863;  theirch.,  James  C,  b.  1819,,  d.  1824;  Anna 
Mary,  b.  1828,  d.  1868;  Cornelia  t\,  res.  Hurley,  N.  Y.,  b.  13  Aug.,  1829, 
m.  Revd.  Sam.  T.  Searle. 
VII.  Catherine,  m.  Ellsha  Billings;  a  desc.  Is  Mrs.  M.  A.  Porter,  Cam- 
bridge. N.  Y. 


Children  of  Aaron  Malick  and  Robert  Gaston.     635 

12.  III.  DANIEL,  b.  in  the  "old  stone  house"  at  Bcdmr.  38  Oct.,  1703,  d.  In  s.  w. 
room  of  same  house  9  July.  1815,  bur.  in  Bedminster  Ref.  Ch.  yd.;  m. 
Jlrst.  in  178.5,  Margaret,  dau.  of  Robert  Gaston,  of  Bedmr.,  b.  17  Mch., 
1768,  d.  10  Sep.,  1807,  bur.  at  Plucbamin,  by  whom  10  ch. ;  m.  second,  June, 
1808,  Catharine  Johnston  La  Rue,  b.  at  Peapack,  Somerset  Co.,  SO  Mch., 
1780,  d.  24  Apr.,  1SG2,  buried  at  Bedminster;  by  whom  2  ch.  She  was  the 
dau.  of  Albert  and  Catharine  Johnston,  (he,  b.  1725,  d.  1799,  she  b.  1745. 
d.  1794);  and  the  wid.  of  Othniel  La  Rue,  b.  177.3,  d.  31  July,  1803,  whom 
she  m.  26  Mch..  1601.  La  Rue  lived  on  the  east  side  of  the  Peapacis; 
road,  half  a  mile  north  of  the  "  Old  Stone  House,"  near  the  "  Folly." 
They  had  one  ch.,  David  O.  La  Rue.  b.  5  July,  1803,  d.  24  Oct.,  1829,  Mur- 
der Creek,  Alabama.  Ho  was  educated  at  Princeton  College,  studied 
medicine  at  Morristown  under  Dr.  Whelpley ;  for  one  year  had  charge 
of  a  classical  school  at  Oxford,  North  Carolina,  and  then  commenced 
practising  medicine  at  Fayciteville,  in  that  state.  He  afterwards 
established  himself  as  a  physician  in  Alabama,  where  he  died.  Daniel 
Melicli  led  an  active  and  useful  life  as  a  tanner  and  farmer,  1st  as  his 
father's  partner,  and  after  Aaron's  death  as  his  successor.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Bedminster  Reformed  Dutch  church,  held  minor  posi- 
tions of  trust  in  the  township,  and  was  considered  a  leading  man  in 
the  community.  His  papers  and  accounts,  that  have  been  preserved, 
show  him  to  have  been  an  excellent  penman  and  a  methodical  man  of 
business.  He  uniformly  spelled  his  name  Mellclc,  thouirh  his  corres- 
pondents generally  addressed  him  as  Maliclt.  After  his  death  his 
widow  continued  residing  in  the  "Old  Stone  House,"  for  two  years 
when  she  removed  to  Van  Neste  house,  on  the  east  side  of  the  North 
Branch  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  below  the  mouth  of  the  Peapack 
brook.  Here  she  lived  with  her  ch.  tor  two  years,  when  she  purchased 
from  William  Britton  a  new  house,  with  a  half  acre  lot  at  the  Cross 
Roads— Bedminster  village— adjoining  on  the  west  the  present  store 
and  residence  of  Martin  Bunn.  In  1830,  she  removed  to  the  house  of 
her  dau.,  Margaret,  who  had  m.  Abram  D.  Huff,  with  whom  she 
made  her  home  until  her  death.  (See  index  of  S.  O.  F..  and  for  Daniel's 
12  ch.  see  p.  630.) 

13.  IV.    ELIZABETH,  b.  at  Bedminster,  8  Nov.,  1765,  injured  by  falling  under  the 

grinding  wheel  of  her  father's  bark  mill,  6  May  17U8  ;  d.  14  May,  1768  ; 
buried  at  Pluckamin. 

14.  V.    MARGARET,  b.  22  Dec,  1767,  m.  12  March,  1789,  Joseph,  son  of  Robert  Gas- 

ton of   Bedminster,  b.  19  Nov.,  1766,  d.  18  April,  18.i4.    He  settled  In 
Northumberland  Co.,  Penna.,  where  he  was  a  member  of  the  Presby- 
terian church  and  served  as  county  commissioner  ;  had  ch. 
I.    RoBETiT,  b.  30  Mch.,  1790.  d.  22  Sept.,  1854,  m.  Eleanor  Shannon,  b.  12  Dec, 

1794,  d.  12  Oct.,  1867  ;  he  was  an  elder  of  the  Warrior  Run  Pres.  Ch.; 

their  6  ch..  Martha  J.,  b.  1  June.  1826,  unm.  ;  Margaret  .1/.,  b.  1828,  d. 

1857,  unm.  ;  Solomon  P.,  res.  Turbotville,  North.  Co.,  Pa.,  b.  16  Dec, 

1839,  m.5  Nov.,  1861,  Lydia  M.  Matohin,  b.  10  Jui^c,  1839  ;  Mary  E.,  b. 

183.3,  d.  1865,  m.  1836,  Rev.  Henry  Q.  Graham,  how   pastor  United 

Presb.  Ch.  at  Homer  City,  Indiana  Co.,  Pa..  ha3  5  ch. ;  Charlotte  A., 

b.  3  April,  18.35  ;  liaruh  G.,  b.  18S7,  d.  1845. 
II.    Charlotte,  b.  23  Sept.,  1792,  d.  13  Aug.,  1831,  ra.  1813,  James  Durham,  b. 

1784,  d.  1812,  a  dau.,  Mrs.  Harriet  Hansel,  lives  at  Marion,  Lynn  Co., 

Iowa. 

III.  RoSANNA,  b.  17  June,  1795,  d,  4  Mch,,  1845. 

IV.  Aaron,  b.25  Apl.,  1799,  d.  24  Oct.,  1868,  m.  jlrst,  Sarah  Ann  Clarke,  by 

whom  one  ch„  Clarle,  d.  in  infancy  ;  m.  secoiul,  Rosanna  Camp,  by 
whom  2  ch.,  John  11'..  b.  38  Mch.,  1855  ;  Anna  Rosa,  res.  Turbotville, 
b.  26  Jan.,  1859,  m.  1886,  Amos  C.  Heacock,  and  has  2  ch. 
V.    Daniel,  b.  26  July,  1801,  d.  28  Apl.,  1865,  m.  1839,  Rosa  Morris,  b.  1803,  d. 

1873;  was  a  Presb.  ministerat  Phila. 
VI.    Marv,  b.  14  May,  1804,  d.  U  July.  1880. 
VII.    Anne,  b.  20  Dec,  1808,  m.  William  Sample. 

15.  VI.    MARIA,  b.  at  Bedminster,  24  March,  1771,  d.  li  Nov.,  18*J,  m.  Solomon  Pat- 

erson,  settled  at  Chambersburgh,  Pa.  :  had  ch.,  I.  Mcholas,  b.  in  1793, 
d,  7  Jan.,  1865,  a  Presb.  minister  at  Wilmington,  Del.,   m.  Elizabeth 


636      Children  of  AxniiEW  Malick  and  John  Fine. 

Haugrhey,  no  ch.  ;  II.  Charlotte,  m.  James  McCracken,  of  Chambers- 
burgh,  Pa. 

THIRD     GENERATION     (A). 

Andrew  Malick  (5)  had  at  least  5  ch. 

16.     I.    CATHARINE.    The   baptismal    record   of    St.    James    Lutheran    Church, 

Phillipsburgh,   N.  J.,  has  the  entry  :—"  Parents.     Andreas  Meligh  & 

frau  Catarina.    Child,  Catarina.  b.  Apl.  4,  1770,  bap.  June  3,  witnesses 

Christopher  Inslee  &  frau  Catarine."    She  d.  May  8,  1831,  ra.  ai  Aug., 

1787,  Johannes  Fine  (John  B'ine)  b.  5  June,  1768,  d.  11  May,  1826.    Church 

record  shows  them  to  have  been  confirmed  together  in  1T87,  he  aged  20 

and  she  17,  and  that  they  paitools  of  their  last  communion  together  in 

Nov.  1885.    John  Fine  was  the  son  of  Philip  Fine  b.  1744,  d.  1810,  and 

who  in  1767  was  living  on  the  Barker  tract  in  Alexandria  township, 

Hunterdon  Co. ;  near  the  close  of  the  last  century  he  built  a  saw  and 

flour  mill  on  the  south  side  of  Musconetcong  creek,  at  Finesville,  in 

that  Co.;  at  his  death  his  flour  mill  was  continued  by  his  son  ;  it  is 

now  owned  by  Taylor  &  Co.  and  used  as  a  knife  factory.    John  Fine 

early  in  the  century  owned  36  acres  near  AUertown,  Hunterdon  Co., 

which  he  sold  to  Joseph  Fritts.    He  was  elected  in  1813,  for  4  years 

warden  of  St.  James  Lutheran  church  near  Phillipsburgh.    John  and 

Catharine  Fine  had  10  ch.  :— 

[.    Mary,  m.  William  Tinsman,  of  Warren  and  Hunterdon  Cos.,  had  8  ch., 

a  son  J.  P.   Tinsman  lives  at  Phillipsburg,  N.  J.;  II.  Margaret, 

m.  John  Tinsman;  III.  Philip;  IV.  Barbara,  m.  Hughes,  and  had 

at  least  3  ch.;  V.  Elizabeth,  m.  Pursel;  VI.  Andrew  M.,  m.  Hart- 

pense;  VII.  Sarah,  m.  John  Thompson,  ot  Durham,  Pa.;    VIII. 

Harriet,  hk  Beatty  Hughes,  M.  D.;   IX.  Catherine,  m.  John 

Thompson  of  Holland,  Hunterdon  Co.;    X.  Hannah,  b.  17  Jan., 

1813,  d.  3  April,  1864,  m.  John  Derr.  b.  4  Sept.  1808,  d.  26  April  1864, 

of  Springfield  Township,  Bucks  Co.,  Pa.,  a  descendent  of  Johann 

Heinrich  Dorr,  who  emigrated  from  Germany  in  1742,  landing  from 

the  ship  Loyal  Judith  from  Rotterdam.    John  and  Hannah  Derr 

had  five  ch.  that  reached  adult  age;  Thompson,  Katherlnc,  Henry 

II.,  John  F.,  and  Anareio  F.;  the  last  son  is  now  in  active  business 

at  Wilkes-Barre,    Pa.,  being  a  director  ot  the  Anthracite  Bank, 

the  Miners'  Savings  Bank,  the  Osterhout  Free  Library  and  a  trustee 

of  the  Memorial  Presbyterian  church. 

17.  II.    REBECCA.    The  baptismal  record  of  St.  James  Lutheran  church,  Phillips- 

burg has  the  entry :—"  Parents,  Andreas  Molich  and  trau  Catharine, 
child  Rebecca,  b.  May  13,  1776,  bap.  July  20,  1776.   witness,  the  Parents." 

18.  III.    JOHANNES  (John).    The  baptismal  record  of  St.  James  Lutheran  church 

at  Phillipsburg  has  the  entry :—"  Parents,  Andreas  Molich  and  frau 
Catarina.  Johannes,  b.  June  29,  1778,  bap.  July  28,  1778.  witnesses,  the 
Parents."  He  d.  21  Nov.,  186.3,  m.  first  Anna  Sharps,  by  whom  3  dau's.; 
m.  second,  16  Feb.,  1800,  Sarah  Melick  (13  17),  b.  30  Jan.,  1787,  by  whom  1 
dau. ;  m.  third,  Esther,  dau.  of  George  Cyphess,  b.  4  Jan.,  1788,  d.  13 
Oct.,  1861,  by  whom  9  ch. ;  John  (18)  first  lived  near  Bloomsbury  in 
Hunterdon,  then  removed  to  Belvldere  in  Warren,  where  he  kept  a 
hotel.    (For  13  ch.  see  p.  641) 

19.  IV.    JACOB,  b.  14  Aug.,  1783,  d.  1  Apl.  1819. 

ao.  V.  HANNAH.  The  baptismal  record  of  St.  James'  Lutheran  church  at  Phil- 
lipsburg has  the  entry;— "Parents,  Andreas  Melek  Sr.  and  frau, 
Catarina,  Child  Hanna,  b.  Feb.  27,  17*!,  bap.  May  1,  1785.  Witnesses, 
The  Parents."  She  m.  28  May,  1806,  Matthias  Melick  (B  13),  b.  6  June, 
1778,  d.  5  Mar.,  1819;  had  2  ch.,  L  Catharine,  b.  7  Apl.,  1809,  II.  Marga- 
retta  S.,  b.  27  June.  1811. 

THIRD    GENERATION     (A). 

Philip  Melick   (8)  had  ch. 
21.    I.    CATHERINE,  d.  7  Mch..  1844,  m.  8  Jan..  1786,  James  Todd,  b.  about  1765,  d.  13 
Mch.,  1840;  he  was  the  son  of  John  Todd  a  Scotch-Irishman  who  about 
1749,  when  some  20   years  old,  emigrated  to  America  from  Longford, 


Ch.  of  Philip  Melick,  Jas.  Todd,  Jacob  Van  Dyke.    637 

Ireland,  with  David,  a  young-er  brother.    David  bougljt  a  farm  at  New 
Gerraaritown,   N.  J.,   and  m.   a  dau.  of  John  Kln^.    Catherine  and 
James  Todd  lived  between  Piucliamin  and  Martinsville.    He  was  a 
skilled  cultivator  of  fruit.    He  served  as  a  private  of  militia  during 
the  Revolution  and  probably  in  the  continental  line  as  after  his 
death  the  government  advenised  him  as  entitled  to  a  pension.    Had 
6ch. 
I.    Philip,  d.  1814,  from  disease  contracted  In  army  during  war  of  1812. 
II.    John  I.,  b.  5  Sep.,  1788.  d.  about  18T1;  his  ch.,  Joseph,  res.  Paterson,  N. 
J.;  JoJiiL  A.,  res.  Tarrytown,  N.  Y. ;  James  A.,  res.  Duuellen,  N.  J,; 
Augustus,  res.  Bergen  Point,  N.  J.:  Maria,  m.  John  Martin,  d.  at 
Martinsville,  N.  J.,  about  1875,  uoch.;  Catherine. 

III.  Martha,  b.  8  July,  1788,  d.  29  Sep.,  1858,  m.  Elijah  Pennington,  b.  5 

Dec,  178-1,  d.  4  June,  1851;  their  ch.  Daeia,  b.  1810,  d.  1844;  Mary,  b. 
1827.  d.  1849;  Catherine,  b.  1842,  d.  1884;  Philip,  b.  1815,  d.  1886;  Lot  S.. 
M.  D.,  res.  Sterling,  111.,  b.  1812;  James  T.,  res.  Bunker  Hill,  111.,  b. 
2t)  May,  1818. 

IV.  Maria,  m. ^rs(,  John  Martin,  m.  secona,  William  Pennington,  no  ch. 
V.    Ann  Casther,  b.  7  Dec,  1790,  d.  about  1830,  m.  David  Kirts,  dec,  no  ch. 

VI.    David,  res.  Martinsville,  N.  J. 

22.  II.    ELIZABETH,  b.  1766,  d.  1852,  m.  Jacob  Van  Dyke,  lived  between  Pluckamln 

and  Martinsville;  had  3  ch. 
I.  John,  b.  1  May,  1792,  d.  9  Apl.,  1840,  m.  15  Feb.,  1817,  Margaret  Cunning- 
ham, b.  30  Sept.,  1794,  d.  2  Mch,  1859;  their  8  ch.,  Jacob,  b.  im.';  James. 
b.  1819,  d.  in  infancy;  I'hilip,  b.  1821,  d.  in  infancy;  Hrnry.  b.  1823; 
John,  b.  1825,  d.  1847;  Jiachell  Ann,  res.  Bound  Brook,  N.  J.,  b.  1829, 
m.  a  Mr.  McBride;  Sarah  Elizabeth,  b.  1831,  d.  in  infancy;  Joseph, 
b,  1824. 
II.  Philip,  b.  15  Sept.,  17W,  d.  3  Oct.,  1832,  m.  Hester,  dau.  of  Ebenezer 
Tingley,  b.  28  May,  1798,  d.  11  Aug.,  1863;  their  5  ch.,  Jane  Eliza,  b. 
182-3,  d.  1877;  John,  b-  1824,  d.  1847,  unm. ;  Rebecca,  res.  Newmarket, 
N.  J.,  b.  20  Dec,  1826,  m.  first.  Archibald  Haas,  of  Bedminster,  N.  J., 
m.  second,  Maxson  Dunham,  of  Newmarket;  Catherine  Ann,  b.  1829, 
d.  1858,  unm.;  Christiana,  b.  1841,  d.  1863,  unm. 
HI.  Catherine,  b.  1  Jan.,  1798,  d.  5  Jan.,  1876,  m.  1825,  Folkert  Dow,  of  Bed- 
minster, N.  J.,  b.  14  Nov.,  1802,  d.  14  Sept.,  1879,  their  6  ch.,  James; 
Elizabeth;  Eli;  Jacob;  Martha:  and  Elizabeth  who  m.  John  Allen. 

23.  m.    DAVID,  said  to  have  settled  in  Virginia. 

24.  IV.    JOHN,  m.  16  Dec,  1781,  Mary  Todd,  of  Hunterdon  Co.,  N.  J.;  in  1785  he  was 

living  near  Pluckamin  in  Somerset  as  in  that  year  he  served  as  an 
administrator  of  the  estate  of  Matthias  Appleman  deceased;  later  he 
removed  to  Ohio  and  d.  near  Somerset,  Perry  Co. ;  for  his  13  ch.  see  p. 

25.  V.    FANNY,  m.  a  Herriot. 

26.  VI.    CHARLOTTE,  said  to  have  gone  to  Virginia  with  David  (23). 

27.  Vn.    MARGARET,  said  to  have  gone  to  Virginia  with  David  (23). 

28.  VIII.    MAGDALENA,  m.  2  Jan.,  1792,  Jeremy  Vosseler. 

THIRD     GENERATION     (A). 

Peter  Melick  (g)  had  ch. 

29.  I.    DAVID,  m.  Mary  Heuston. 

30.  n.    JOHN,  m.  Janet  Olyphant. 

31.  in.    CATHERINE,  b.  26  Apl.,  1771,  d.  4  Sep.,  1863,  m.  Enos  Mundy,  of  Somerset 

Co.,  b.  25  May,  1766,  d.  3  Feb.,  1841;  altho'  she  lived  to  be  over  90  her 
faculties  continued  unimpaired  enabling  her  to  recall  in  her  last  days 
many  Revolutionary  events  (See  p.  336)  Enos  and  Catherine  Mundy 
settled  near  Martinsville,  Somerset,  where  many  of  their  desc.  still 
live;  had8ch. 
I.    David,  b.  18  July,  1791,  d.  19  Nov.,  1872. 

II.  Lewis,  b.  .31  July,  1793.  d.  27  Feb.,  1889.  Throughout  his  long  life  he 
was  a  man  of  sturdy  character,  strong  in  his  convictions  of  right, 
and  he  always  commanded  the  utmost  respect  from  all  who  knew 
him.  He  filled  various  township  offices,  for  several  years  was  a 
justice  of  the  peace,  and  from  1840  to  1851  was  Judge  of  the  Somer- 


638      Ch.  of  Enos  Mundy,  John  Melick,  C.  Louoks. 

Bet  County  Court  of  Common  Pleas.  For  70  years  he  was  an  active 
member,  and  among-  the  chief  supporters  of  the  Mount  Bethel 
Baptist  Church.  When  94  years  old— in  1887— he  visited  the  writer 
at  Plainfield  after  driving  from  his  home  in  Washington  Valley, 
5  miles  away.  He  wallied  unsupported,  did  not  wear  spectacles, 
and  his  hair  was  but  slightly  gray,  it  being  thick  and  bushy  grow- 
ing low  on  the  forehead  and  about  the  ears.  His  son  Ira  lives  at 
WarrenvlUe,  Somerset  Co.,  and  Simeon  at  Newark;  his  daughters 
Mrs.  Thomas  Codington  at  Mount  Bethel,  N.  J.,  and  Mrs.  Sarah  t\ 
Haynes  at  Covington,  Ky. 

III.  Prances,  b.  37  Nov.,  1795.  still  living— in  1889— in  Washington  Valley. 

IV.  Peter,  b.  15  Sep.,  1798.  lived  and  d.  at  Metuehin,  N.  J. 
V.    Margaret,  b.  9  Jan.,  1801,  dec.  m.  Washington  Leson. 

VI.    Catherine,  b.    17  May,  1803,  was  still  living  in  1887  with  her  son  in 

Kansas. 
VII.    John,  b.  9  Oct.,  1805,  unm. 
VIII.    Isaac,  b.  3  Oct.,  1808,  removed  to  the  West. 

FOURTH     GENERATION     (h). 

John  Malick  (lo)  had  ch. 

32.  I.    SARAH,  b.  15  Mch.,   1784,   d.  11  Dec,  1836,  m.  1814,  Cornelius  Loucks,  b.  15 

Mch.,  1784,  d.  11  Dec,  1826.  Had  ch. 
I.  John  C,  b.  13  Sep.,  1.807,  d.  5  Oct.,  1855,  m.  18.14,  Desdemona  Marsh,  b. 
1815,  d.  1880;  their  3  ch.,  Jane  E.,  b.  1835,  d.  188.3,  m.  1871,  Jos.  W.  Hast- 
ings; Cornelius  h.  1837,  m.  1867,  Sarah  E.  Chown;  Leonard,  b.  1844, 
d.  1845. . 
II.  Jane  E.,  b.  13  Dec.  1812,  d.  7  Oct.,  1848,  m.  2  Jan.,  1834,  George  A.  Dock- 
stader,  of  New  York  City,  b.  15  Aug.,  1814;  their  2  ch.,  Sarah  D.,  b. 
1835,  m.  1860,  Washington  L.  Cooper;  Theodore  6.,  born  1837,  ra.  1866, 
Ella  E.  Bean,  address  78  Gold  St.,  N.  Y.  C. 

33.  n.    ELIAS,  b.  25  Aug.,  1787,  d.  in  Michigan  7  Mch.,  1865.  m.  18  Mch.,  1812,   Sarah 

dau.  of  Daniel  Graft,  b.  1793,  d.  24  Dec.  1854;  for  his  12  ch.  see  p.  042. 

34.  ni.    CHARI,OTTE,  b.  33  June,  1788,  d.  15  May,  1851,  m.  6  Dec,  1810,  Peter  Kilts,  b. 

8  Dec,  1789,  d.  6  Aug.,  1838,  had  ch., 
I.    Daniel,  res.  Sharon  Hill,  N.  Y.,  ra.  Maria  Ball,  their  10  ch.,  Peter; 
Lorenzo;  Daniel;  Mary;   Charles;  George;  Edward;  Ma;  Minnie; 
Anna. 
11.    Jane,  m.  John  Hyney,  their  10  ch.,  i»e«er;  John;  Daniel;  Mary;   Char- 
lotte; Charles;  Abzina;  Belle;  Levi;  Xetta. 

III.  Charlotte,  res.  St.  Joseph,  Mo.,  m.  Silas  Somers;  their  4 ch.,  LadasTca, 

Minerea;  Erwiii;  Alvina. 

IV.  Sarah,  res.  Cobleskill,  N.  Y.,  m.  first,  Horace  Foster;  m.  second,  Fred- 

erick Quack enbugh;  no  ch. 

V.  Lydia,  res.  Sioux  City,  Iowa,  b.  20  Sep.,  182.3,  m.  31  Dec,  1844,  Jacob  A. 

Kessegieu,  b.  2  Sep.,  1833,  had  7  ch.,  Harriet  X.,  b.  1845,  m.  Stephen 
C.  Hathaway;  Belle,  b.  1847,  m.  Linns  E.  Skinner;   Edwin  J.,  b.  1849; 
Wiiifleld  S.,  b.  1852;  .  b.  1854,  Horace F.  d.  1856;  Frank  D.,  res.  Beaver 
Creek,  Minn.,  b.  1857;  Fred.  H.,  twin,  b.  1867. 
VI.    Eliz.\,  dec. 

VII.    Elizabeth,  m.  George  Ball ;  their  3  ch.,  Frederick,  and  2  who  d.  in 
infancy. 

35.  IV.    ELIZABETH,  b.  26  Sep.,  1791.  d.  in  Canada;  m.  29  July,  1810.  Samuel  Haner; 

had  5  ch., 
I.    Cornelius;  II.  Jane;  m.  a  Buell;  III.  Sarah,  m.  a  Reese;  IV.  Lydia 
m.  a  Van  Dusen;  V.  John. 

36.  V.    AAEON,  b.  24  Mar.  1794,  d.  in  Schoharie  Co.,  N.  Y.,  18  July;  1850,  m.  9  July 

1818,  Anna  dau.  of  Peter  De  Remer,  b.  5  Dec.  1801.  d.  22  May,  1878  (for 
his.  3  ch.  see  p.  643. 

37.  VI.    FANNY^,  d.  in  Wisconsin,  m.  John  Scott,  had  9  ch.,  I.  Elias,  res.  Kaymond, 

Wis.,  b.  3  Apl.,  1817,  m.  Hannah  Kilmartin;  II.  Mary  Ann,  m.  John 
Neahr;  III.  Jane,  m.  Horton;  IV.  Eliza,  m.  Jones;  V.  Lydia,  m. 
Lorenzo  Deremer;  VI.  John,  res.  Raymond,  Wis.,  m.  Helen  Towers; 
VII.  Sarah,  m.  West;  VIII.  Cornelius;  IX.  Spencer. 


Ch.  of  J.  Salisbury,  Dan.  Mklkk,  Den.  Van  Dutn.    639 

38.    Vn.    PETER,  b.  10  Apl..  1801.  a.  4  May.  1865,  m.  13  May,  1833.  Caroline  Tymeson ; 

(for  2  eh.  see  p.  ChW.) 
.39.    VIII.    HANNAH,  b.  15  Aux..  1804,  d.  28  Mch.  1874,  ra.  5  Jan,  1825,  Jacob  Salisbury, 
b.  22  Dec,  1802;  d.  9  Dec.  18V9;  had  8  ch.. 
I.    John  H..  b.  29    Jan.,    1834.  dec,  m.  1860,  Catherine  dau.  of  Barney 
Ochampau»rh ;  their  4  ch.,  Cora  A.,  b.  1863:  Dora  B..  b.  1869;  Alva  J., 
b.  1876.  May.  b.  1879. 
n.    Nicholas  Patterson,  res.  MIddlefleld.  Otsego  Co.,  N.  Y.,  b.  29  June 
1826.  m.  Sarah  Jane  dau.  of  John  Oothout. 

III.  Charlotte  Jane,  b.  9  May.  1839,  d.  in  infancy. 

IV.  Sarah,  b.  19  Oct.,  18.31,  d.  in  infancy. 

V.    LonisA,  b.  33  May.  1837,  m.  William  H.  Darling. 
VI.    Aaron,   res.   Cherry  Valley,   Otsego  Co.,   N.  Y.,   b.   81  Mch.,   1840,    m. 

Joanna,  dau.  of  Edward  Grlffln. 
VII.    Peter,  b.  30  Nov.,  1841.  d.  unm. 
VIII.    Jacob,  b.  19  Apl..  1841,  d.  unm. 

40.  IX.    JANE.  b.  10  Apl..  1807.  d.  in  Iowa,  m.  Daniel  Webster;  their  sons  Daniel 

and  John  live  at  Ossian,  Minishic  Co.,  Iowa. 

FOURTH   GENERATION  (A.) 
Daniel    Melick    (12)   had  ch.  by  first  wife. 

41.  I.    AARON,  b.  1  Apl.,  1786,  d.  7  Dec,  1814,  unm..  served  in  war  of  1812.  d.  from 

fever  contracted  while  stationed  at  Sandy  Hooli. 

42.  n.    ELIZABETH,  b.  25  Mch..  1788.  d.  at  Albion.  Mich.,  31  July  ISjl.   m.  in   "Old 

Stone  House."  Bedminster.  N.  J.,  by  Rev.  Charles  Hardenbnrg.  3 
Jan.,  1816,  to  Dennis  Van  Duyn,  of  Peapack,  li.  31  Dec,  1791,  d.  18  Nov., 
1879.  He  was  a  desc  of  Garret  Coruelisq.  a  wheelwrijrht  who  emi- 
grated to  New  Utrecht.  L.  I.,  from  Zwolle.  Prov.  of  Overyssel,  in 
the  Netherlands.  This  immigrant's  grandsons  William  and  Denyse, 
who  founded  the  N.  J.  family,  were  living  on  the  liaritan  before 
1702.  Dennis  and  Elizabeth  (43)  Van  Duyn  removed  to  Romulus,  N. 
N.  Y.,  thence  to  Mich.;  their  3  oh. 
I.    Mary  M..  res.  Albion,  Mich.,  b.  26  Nov.,  1823,  m.  6  Mch.,  1842,  Newell 

Fleming,  b.  16  Sep..   1818.  d.  8  July  1880.    1\xe\v2 ch.,  Lleioellyn,  lea. 

Sault  Ste.  Marie,  Chippewa  Co..   Mich.,  b.  185.3,   m.   1883,  Nelly  D. 

Hopkins  and  has  3  ch. ;  Eliza  M.,  res.  Albion,  b.  1855,  m.  1884,  Irving 

C.  Foster,  M  D. 
II.    Anna  M..  b.  34  Mch..  1825,  m.  June,  1851,  David  M.  Crane,  b.  4  May,  1827, 

d.  26  June,  i875:   their  2  ch. ;  Biirt  £.,  res.  Allegan,  Mich.,  b.  1862,  m. 

1876,  D.  N.  Garrison; Horace  D.,  res.  Cheshire,  Allegan  Co.,  Mich.,  b. 

1857,  m.  1878,  Addle  J.  Hooker. 
III.    Delia  Coe,  b.  9  Dec,  1838,  d.  37  Oct.,  1880,  m.  11  May  1853.  Anson  Thomp- 
son, b.  1  Nov..  1816,  d.  31  Sep..  1884;  their!  ch.,  Fredericlc.  b.  1854,    m 

1879,   Etta  L.  Crawford;  H'lHiaia  B.,  b.  1855,  m.  1888,  Nelly  B.   Cran- 

sou;  Aniie;h.  1858;  George  A.,  b.  1860. 

43.  III.    CHARLOITE.  b.  7  Mch..  1790.  d.  9  Jan.,  1861  unm.;  lived  a  useful  and  busy 

life  with  her  3  brothers  in  the  •  Old  Stone  House,"  and  d.  of  paralysis 
seated  in  her  rocking-chair  in  the  living  room.  She  had  a  great  heart 
and  many  virtues  and  was  much  beloved  by  the  entire  community. 
The  name  of  "Aunt  Charlotte"  having  been  as  a  sweet  savor  in  the 
nostrils  of  Bedminster  people. 

44.  IV.    ROSANNAH,  b.  14  Apl..  1813,  d.  13  Jlch.,  1869,  m.  by  Rev.  Mr.  Galpin  at 

Lamington,  William  J-  Todd,  b.  1  Oct.,  1793,  d.  12  Aug..  1870.    They  set- 
tled and  always  lived  on  a  farm  near  Peapack  in  Bedminster  tp.,  on 
road  running  to  the  Larger  Cross  Roads;  had  4  ch. 
I.    John,  b.  1831,  d.  1839. 

II.  Nicholas  Paterson.  b.  21  Feb..  1824,  m.  17  Oct.,  1850.  Margaret,  dau.  of 
James  Honeyman,  of  Peapack,  b.  15  Mch.,  1826;  their  8  eh.,  Esther 
Ann,  res.  Asbury  Park,  N.  J.,  b.  1862;  William  J.,  b.  1863,  d.  in 
infancy;  James  H.,  res.  Lakewood.  N.  J.,  b.  1856,  m.  Eliza  Bagley, 
and  has  3  ch, ;  .Susan  H.,  res.  Paisley,  N.  J.,  b.  1858  m.  George 
Brooks;  Daria  E.,  res.  Lakewood.  b.  1860;  Rosanna,  b.  1863,  unm.; 
Margaret,  res.  Ocean  Beach.  N.  J.,  b.  1860,  unm.,  Herbert  0.,  b.  1871, 
unm. 


640    Ch.  of  Dan.  Melick,  AVm.  J.  Todd,  Petek  Soti-hen. 

in.  David  M.,  b.  28  Sep.,  1830,  m.  at  Peapaok  parsonages  Oct.,  1863,  Caroline 
Wolf;  he  succeeded  his  father  on  the  homestead  farm;  their  one 
ch.,  Jane  Space. 

TV.  William  HABVEr  b.  15  June,  1830,  d,  30  June,  1889,  at  Malaga,  Glouces- 
ter Co.,  N.  J.,  unra. 

45.  V.    JOHN,  b.  5  Apl.,  1794,  d.  3  Oct.,  1830,  m.  30  June.  1833,  Ann,  dau.  of  Joseph 

Nevius,  of  Bedminster  b.  28  Feb.,  1801,  d.  9  Oct.,  18T6;  (See  p.  351).  He 
succeeded  his  father  in  the  tannery  and  lived  in  the  Bedminster 
stone  house;  had  one  ch. 

I.  Elizabeth,  b.  10  Oct..  1834,  d.  31  May,  1880,  m.  by  Rev.  George  Schenck 

at  home  13  Nov.,  1830  to  John  Gordon  Van  Dyke,  b.  34  Feb.,  1823; 
their  ch.,  .lohn  M.,  b.  1851;  Henry  Xevius  b.  1833,  is  now  curator  of 
Princeton  college. 

46.  VI.    MARY,  b.  9  Apl.,  1796,  d.  26  Apl.,  18.33,  m.  26  Moh.,  1836.  in  "Old  Stone  House" 

by  Rev.  J.  M.  Fisher,  to  Peter  Sutphen  of  Bedminster,  b.  5  Dec,  1800,  d. 
1875;  they  lived  at  the  Lesser  Cross-Roads— now  Bedminster  village- 
he  about  the  time  of  his  marriaje  having  built  the  dwelling  and  store 
of  late  owned  and  occupied  by  Martin  Bunn;  had  3  ch. 
I.    Petek  Theodore,  b.  27  Feb.,  1837,  d.  2  Feb.,  1884,  m.  21  May,  1839,  Eliza- 
beth H.,  dau.  of  Jacob  Haas  of  Peapaok,  b.  31  Feb.,  1831 ;  he  gradu- 
ated in  1859  at  the  Mod.  Coll.  of  the  University  of  Pa.,  and  practised 
medicine  at  Peapack  and  Bedminster;  their  4  ch.,  Mm-y  Melick,  b. 
1860,  d.  1863;  Freclerick  Cornell,  b.  1863,  m.  1884,  Susie  Eugenia,  dau. 
of  James  R.  Spinning  of  N.  Y.,  and  has  2  ch„  he  graduated  at  the 
Med.  School  of  N.  Y.  University  and  is  now  practising  medicine  at 
Liberty  Corner,  N.  J.;    William  Boyd,  b.  1866,  d.  in  infancy;  Lizzie 
Hue,  res.  Liberty  Corner,  b,  1868,  is  studying  medicine  with  her 
brother, 

II.  Catherine,  b.  11  Aug.,  1829,  d,  Oct.,  1831. 

IIL  William  P.,  b.  8  Aug.,  1833,  m.  19  Dec,  1861,  by  Rev,  Henry  P,  Thomp- 
son, to  Jane,  dau.  of  Watson  C.  Allen  of  Peapaok;  on  the  death  of 
his  mother  he  was  taken  home  by  Charlotte  (43)  and  David  (47)  to 
the  "Old  Stone  House"  where  he  still  resides,  having  succeeded 
David  (47)  on  the  farm.  He  has  always  been  active  iu  public  attairs, 
has  been  a  member  of  the  state  legislature,  has  repeatedly  been 
elected  collector,  assessor,  town  clerk,  and  to  other  township 
offices.    (See  preface.) 

47.  VII.    DAVID,  b.  6  Apl.,  179S.  d.  num.,  12  July,  1870,  from  injuries  received  July 

9  by  being  gored  by  a  bull.  He  succeeded  his  father  on  "the  Old 
Farm,"  was  the  head  of  the  family  in  the  stone  house,  was  highly 
esteemed  for  his  probity  and  upright  character,  and  filled  many  posi- 
tions of  honor  and  trust  in  the  community. 

48.  VIII.    WILLIAM,  b.  31  Jan.,  1800,  d.  10  Dec  1861,  at  New  Liberty,  Indiana,  m.  3 

Dec,  1833,  at  residence  of  Nicholas  Arrosmith,  Bedminster,  by  Revd. 
Wm.  Galpin,  to  Mariah,  dau,  of  Abraham  Suydara,  b.  10  May,  1801,  d, 
24  Sept.,  1879.  William,  6  May,  1833,  purchased  from  Rozanna  (44),  John 
(45),  Mary  (46)  and  David  (47),  S3  acres  of  the  homestead  farm,  on  which 
he  erected  dwelling  and  farm  buildings  at  the  corner  ol  the  Peapack 
and  Holland  roads.  He  sold  this  land  in  1839  to  Joseph  Nevius,  who 
sold  in  1841  to  Nicholas  Arrosmith,  whose  estate  conveyed  in  1844  to 
D.  G.  Schomp,  and  by  him  it  was  sold  in  1858  to  Benjamin  Opie,  whose 
son  Frank  is  now  the  owner  and  occupant.  In  1837,  William  (48) 
moved  to  East  Enterprise,  Switzerland  Co.,  lud.,  where  he  purchased 
a  farm  and  permanently  settled.    (For  his  10  ch.  see  p.  614). 

49.  IX.    DANIEL,  b.  18  Jan.,  1803,  d.  unmarried,  30  March,  1870,  lived  in  the  "Old 

Stone  House,"  aided  John  (45),  in  the  tannery  and  David  (47),  on  the 
farm.    He  was  much  of  his  life  a  serai-invalid. 

50.  X.    CATHERINE,  b.  9  Nov.  1804,  d.  20  Apl.,  1861,  at  Grass  Lake,  Mich.,  m.  one 

Sunday  morning,  at  the  "Old  Stone  House"  by  the  Rev.  Isaac  M. 
Fisher,  to  John  Allen,  b.  22  Nov.,  1802;  had  V  ch.;  L  Andrew  M,  b.  36 
July,  1838,  II.  Theodore  S.,  b.  17  Oct.,  1830,  m,  8  Aug.,  1863,  Elizabeth 
Matthews,  III.  Stephen,  b.  19  Jan.,  1833,  IV,  Margaret  Gaston,  b.  7 
Feb..  18.33,  d.  1840.  V.  Deborah  Esther,  b.  20,  Nov.,  1837,  m.  and  living 
In  Maine,  VI,  Isaac  Sylvester,  b.  10,  Apl.,  1840,  VIL  Paul,  b.  21, 
June,  1843,  d.  1848. 


Ch.  of  Daniel  Melick  and  Abeam  D.  Huff.        641 
fourth    generation    (a). 

Daniel  Melick  (12)  had  ch.,  by  his  second  wife. 

51.  I.    MARGARET,  b.  2  Jan..  1809,  d.  13  Sept..  18SC,  buried  at  Bedminster,  m.  27 

Nov.,  1830.  at  Lesser  Cross  Roads,  by  Hevd.  I.  M.  Fisher,  to  Abram  D. 
Huff,  b.  ia  Deo.  1804,  d.  7  Apl..  188:5.  After  inarrla)»e  they  occupied  the 
Van  der  Veer,  now  the  Ludlow  farm,  below  Bedminster  Church. 
About  1832  they  purchased  from  the  heirs  of  Van  Tyne  the  farm  of 
ISO  acres  lying  north  of  and  adjoining  the  village  of  Lesser  Cross 
Roads,— Bedminster— where  they  lived  until  death;  had  ch. 
I.  Elizabeth,  res.  Somerville.  N.  J.,  b.  25  Sep.,  1832,  unm. 
II.    Catherine  A.,  res.  Roycefleld,  N.  J.,  b.  1  Mch.,  1835,  m.  23  Nov.,  1864, 

Albert  Ammerman  of  Bridgewater,  Tp.,  b.  20  Dec,    I8:j8;  their  one 

ch.,  Andrew  Melick,  res.  Bedminster.  b.  1886,  m.  1889,  Caroline,  dau. 

of  Clarke  Todd,  of  Bedminster;  Andrew  owns  and  occupies  the 

homestead  farm  of  his  grand-parents  (51). 

III.  David  La  Rue,  res.  Bedminster,  b.  16  Mar.,  1838,  m.  6  Jan.,  18&4,  Hen- 

rietta Van  Arsdale,  of  Pluckamin.  b.  15  Apl..  1843;  their  6  ch., 
Ida  L.  R.;  Charlotte  M.;  Elizabeth;  Margaret:  Charles  H.;  Marv 
T.   A.; 

IV.  Dennis  A.,  res.  Somerville,  N.  J.,  b.  8B  Sep.  1840. 
V.    Mary  M.,  b.  1  Apl.,  1843,  d.  in  infancy. 

VI.    Charlotte,  b.  27  Mch.,  1844,  d.  23  June,  1863,  unm. 

VII.    Mary  M..  res.  Bedminster,  b.  14  Feb.,  1848,  m.  13  Jan.,  1870,  William  C. 
PoulsQn,  b.  8  Oct.,  1847;  their  7  ch.,  Herbert  E.;  George  M.;  Louis 
v.;  Mabel  S.;  Augusta  S.;  Anna  A.;  Grace  W. 
VUI.  '  Ellen,  res.  Somerville,  b.  25  Deo..  1851. 

52.  n.    ANDREW  D.,  b.  7  Apl.,  1811,  m.  9  June,  1841,  by  Rev.  John  C.  Cruikshank  to 

Elizabeth  Dunn,  dau.  of  Simeon  Ayres,  of  New  Brunswick,  N.  J.,  b.  26 
Oct.,  1822.  In  his  youth  he  went  to  New  Brunswick  and  obtained 
employment  with  the  grocery  and  shipping  firm  of  James  Bishop  & 
Co.,  where  he  remained  until  he  became  a  partner  (See  p.  586) 
Andrew  D.  Mellick  (52)  as  he  spells  his  name  and  as  do  his  descendants, 
during  his  N.  B.  residence  was  a  member  of  the  common  council,  for 
many  years  was  a  director  of  the  State  bank  and  was  active  in  the  Are 
dept.  as  foreman  of  Engine  Co.  No.  1.  In  1841  he  removed  to  the  city 
of  New  York,  becoming  a  member  of  the  wholesale  grocery  firm  of 
Beale,  Mellick  &  DeWitt,  at  3  and  5  Bridge  street,  and  30  Pearl  street, 
this  house  held  a  leading  position  in  the  trade  until  overwhelmed  by 
the  panic  of  1857.  He  first  lived  in  New  York  in  Clinton  Place,  but  in 
1845purchased  the  brick  dwelling  No.  20  West  9th  street,  in  which  he 
lived  until  he  removed  to  Beigen  Point,  N.  J.,  in  the  spring  of  1855. 
While  living  in  New  York  he  was  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees, 
of  the  first  Presbyterian  church,  and  aided  in  completing  its  edifice  on 
the  corner  of  5th  avenue  and  nth  street.  He  was  a  director  of  the 
American  Exchange  Bank,  and  of  the  National  Fire  Insurance  Co..  and 
a  member  of  the  New  York  Historical  Society.  In  New  Jersey  he  was 
active  and  foremost  in  developing  that  portion  of  Hudson  Co.  in  the 
way  of  locating  and  laying  out  streets,  establishing  grades  and  other 
Important  improvements  preliminary  to  the  founding  of  the  city  of 
Bayonne.    For  his  8  ch.  see  p.  645. 

FOURTH     GENERATION     (A). 

John  Melick  (18)  had  ch.  hy  jir^t  wife. 
63.    I.    CATHERINE,  d.  in  infancy. 

54.  11.    ELIZABETH,  m.  William  Stewart. 

55.  III.    HANNAH,  m.  James  Depew. 

John  (18)   had  ch.   by  second  wife. 

56.  IV.    MARY  ANNA,  d.  in  infancy. 

41 


642     Ch.  of  John  Melick  of  Belvidere  N.  J.,  &  of  Ohio. 

John  {i8)  had  ch.  by  third  wife. 

57.  V.    ANDREW,  b.  14  Oct.,  1812,  d.  23  May,  1867,  m.  Anna  Maria  Albright  of  Belvi- 

dere, N.  J.,  b.  26  Apl.,  1814,  d.  16  Oct.,  1869;  had  6  ch. 
I.    Anne  Elizabeth,  b.  12  Oct.,  1837,  d.  21  Nov.,  ia39. 
n.    James  Irvin,  res.  Lapeer,  Mich.,  b.  1  Sep.,  1839,  ra.  Sep.,  1871,  Georgri- 
anna  C.  Brown, 
in.    Henry  Southard,  res.  Buffalo,  N.  T.,  b.  14  Aug.,  1842,  m.  3  June,  1874, 

Nelly  Catlin. 
IV.    George  King,  res.  Lambertvllle,  N.  J.,  b.  29  July,  1845,  m.  22  Jan.,  1873, 
Eliza  Applegate;  their  ch.,  Emily  A.,  b.  1880,  d.  in  Infancy;  Percy 
A.,  b.  1888. 
V.    Sharps,  res.  Belvidere,  N.  J.,  b.  26  Oct.,  1847,  m.  26  July,  1871,  Mary  C, 

Ross,  b.  11  Dec..  1852;  their  2  ch.,  Annie,  b.  1873,  Selly.  b.  1878. 
VI.    Phineas  Kennedy,  b.  5  June,  1850.  d.  in  infancy. 

58.  VI.    GEORGE,  m.  Louisa  Bradley  of  Belvidere;  had  4  ch., 

I.    William,  dec.;  11.  Emma,  dec;  III.  Paul,  dec.;  IV.  Percy. 

59.  VII.    ANNA  MARIA,  dec. 

60.  VIII.    PETER  SHARPS,  res.  Easton,  Pa.,  m.  Maria  Innis,  no  ch. 

61.  IX.    SARAH,  res.  Bloomsbury,  Columbia  Co.,  Pa.,  unm. 

62.  X.    MATILDA,  dec. 

63.  XL    JOHN,  dec. 

64.  XII.    CHARLOTTE  res.  West  Plttston,  m.  Lewis  C.  Gordon,  publisher. 

65.  Xlll.    MART,  d«c. 

FOURTH    GENERATION     (A). 

John  Melick   (24)  had  ch. 

66.  I.    MARV,  b.  1  Jan.,  1778,  m.  a  Dralje. 

67.  n.    WILLIAM,  b.  4  Nov.,  1779,  lived  and  d.  in  Perry  Co.,  Ohio,  a  son,  Alexan- 

der, now  lives  at  Somerset  in  that  Co. 

68.  III.    JANE,  b.  ■•il  May,  1781,  d.  21  Sep.,   1846,   m  first,   Joshua  Lobdell,  d  in  1812, 

second,  Bailey;  by  first  husband  had  3  ch. 

I.  Sarah,  res.  Lyons.  Iowa.  m.  John  Mathes. 
II.    Zenobia,  dec.  m.  Charles  Hummel,  dec. 

m.    John,  res.  La  Fontaine,  Ind.,  b.  1809. 

69.  rv.    JOHN,  b.  7  May,  17S3;  lived  and  d.  in  Perry  Co.,  O.;  no  ch. 

70.  V.    DAVID,  b.  2  Nov..  1784,  d.  in  Knox  Co.,  O.,  16  Sep.,  1867.  m.  Hannah,  dau.  of 

Timothy  Hanlilns,  b.  4  July,  1789,  d.  12  Mch.,  1853;  he  served  in  war  of 
1812;  lor  his  13  ch.  see  p.  647. 

71.  VI.    GEORGE,  twin,  b.  2  Nov.,  1784,  lived  and  d.  in  Knox  Co.,  O.,  his  son  Rob- 

ert lives  at  Toledo.  Iowa. 

72.  VTI.    REBECCA,  b.  21  Dec.,  1786,  d.  about  1849,  m.  Wilson. 

73.  Vin.    ELIZABETH. 

74.  IX.    JONAS,  b.  12  Mch.,  1790,  lived  and  d.  in  Knox  Co..  O.,  surviving  several 

wives;  his  sons  Aaron,  Noah,  Harrison,  and  Jefferson  live  at 
Sparta,  Morrow  Co.,  and  his  son  Greenbury  at  Bladensburg,  O. 

75.  X.    ELEANOR,  b.  20  Oct.,  1791. 

76.  XL    AARON,  b.  30  May,  1794,  disappeared  in  youth. 

77.  XII.    NATHAN,  b.  24  Apl.,  1796. 

78.  XIII.    ROBERT,  b.  29  Nov.,  1798. 

FIFTH    GENERATION     (A). 

Elias  Malick  (33)  had  ch. 

79.  I.    JOHN,  res.  Canajoharie.  N.  Y.,  b.  1  Mar.,  1813,  m.  20  Mar.,  1836,  Anna  Eliza, 

dau.  of  Lawrence  Moshel ;  for  his  7  ch.  see  p.  648. 

80.  II.    DANIEL,  res.  Cobleskill,  Schoharie  Co.,  N.  Y.,  b.  20  Aug.,   1814,  m.  15  Sep., 

1836,  Lena  Ann,  dau.  of  John  Young,  b.  29  June,  1817 ;  his  3  ch., 
I.    Sarah,  b.  2  Nov.,  1829,  m.  2  Oct.,  1861,  Harrison  Young;  their  one  ch. 
\riWxtrb.  20  Oct.,  1863. 

II.  Adgusta,  b.  17  July.  1843,  m.  9  Jan.,  1861,  James  Ottman,  their  2  ch., 

Elsworth,  b.  15  Jan.,  1862;  Milo,  b.  28  May,  1864. 
m.    Cassie.  b.  15  Oct.,  1851,  m.  14  Dec.,  1872,  George  Rockfellow;  their  2  ch., 
Matia,  b.  22  May,  1875;  Pearl,  b.  21  Nov.,  1881. 


Children  of  Elias,  Aaron  and  Peter  Malick.      643 

81.  III.    PHILIP,   res.  Schoharie.  N.  Y.,  b.  29  July,  1816,  m.  Nancy  Brown,  b.  1818; 

their  3  ch., 
I.    Charles,  b.  ia30. 
II.    Helen,  b.  184J,  m.  Elin  Barroes;  their  3  ch.,  George,  b.  1866;  Philip,  b. 
1876;  Zeia.  b.  1877. 
III.    Nancy,  b.   1844,  m.  Zlna  Spawn;  their  4  ch.,  Ula.  b.  1867;  Franklin,  b. 
1870;  Burton,  b.  1876;  Fay.  b.  1878. 

82.  IV.    AARON,  res.  Cobleskill.  N.  Y..  b.  18  Aug..  1818,  m.  10  Nov.,  1842.  Alice  A.. 

dau.  of  Solomon  Underbill,  b.  23  July,  1821;  had  1  ch., 
I.    Perry  G.,  b.  6  May.  1844,  d.  .30  June,  1883,  m.  9  Dec.,  1869,  Elizabeth,  dau, 
of  Conrad  Brandenstein;  their  4  ch..  Bertha,  b.   1872;   Everett,   b. 
1875;  Alpheda.  b.  1880;  Perry,  b.  1883. 
88.    V.    CHARLOTTE,  b.  19  Aug.,  1820,  d.  1  Aug.,  1854,  ra.  in  1840.  Alexander  Young,  b. 
1  June,  1817,  dec.,  had  2  ch.. 
I.    Calvin  G.,  res.  Battle  Creek,  Mich.,  b.  17  Oct.,  1845. 
n.    Henrietta,  res.  Cedar  Rapids,  Boone  Co.,  Neb.,  b.  7  Feb.,  1848,  m.  in 
1867,  Fredk.  Heiaer,  b.  1845. 
84.    VI.    JANE,  b.  10  July,  1822.  d.  25  Mch..  1877.  m.  1840,  Jacob  Moshell,  b.  1  June, 

1819,  dec;  no  ch. 
8B.    Vn.    PETER,  b.  3  Aug.,  1824,  m.  Jane  Graft,  b.  at  Decatur,  N.  Y.,  21  Sep..  1830, 
d.  22  Sep.,  186.3,  had  3  ch., 
I.    Ebwin,  b.  4  ApL.  1854;  II.  Lester,  b.  1856,  d.  in  infancy;  III.  Howard, 
b.  1857,  d.  1862. 

86.  Vin.    MARGARET,  res.  Battle  Creek,  Mich.,  b.  7  Aug.,  1826.  m.  27  ApL,  1871. 

John  J.  Almendlnger,  b.  18  May.  ia33. 

87.  IX.    ELIZABETH,  b.  3  Jan..  1828.  d.  21  Sep.,  1842. 

88.  X.    MARY  CATHERINE,  res.  Battle  Creek,  Mich.,  b.  14  July,  1831,  m,  23  Sep., 

1854.  Elijah  Jones,  b.  26  Dec.,  1826,  had  5  ch., 
I.    Howard,  b.  1858,  dec;  II.  Lily,  res.  Battle  Creek,  b.  2  July.  1860.  m.  28 
Dec,  1887,  Edward  Piper  Junr.;  III.  Newell  A.,  b.  12  Sep..  1863; 
IV.  Edwin  H.,  b.  22  Feb..  1865;  V.  Estella,  b.  31  Oct.,  1874. 

89.  XI.    ANDREW  J.,  rea.  West  Windsor,  Eaton  Co.,  Mich.,  b.  12  Apl..  1831,  m. 

Adeline  Baxter;  had  3ch.,  I.  Mary,  d.  In  infancy;  II.  Esther  A;  III. 
Emma  J. 

90.  XII.    ANNE  ELIZA,  b.  9  Sept.,  1837.  d.  in  infancy. 

FIFTH     GENERATION    (A). 
Aaron  Malick  (36)  had  ch. 

91.  1.    JANE  ANN.  res.  Argusville,  Schoharie  Co.,  N.  Y.,  b.  24  July.  1819,  ra.  14  Dec. 

18.30,  R.  V.  S.  Ramsey,  b.  3  Dec.  1818;  had  1  ch., 
1.    Seth,  b.  13  Sep.,  1837. 

92.  n.    SARAH,  of  Argusville,  N.  Y.,  b.  30  Dec,  1826,  d.  19  Apl.,  1887.  m.  22  Sep.,  1847. 

Henry  C.  Lycker,  b.  6  Sep.,  1821. 

93.  III.    MARIETTA,  res.  Cobleskill.  N.  Y.,  b.  6  Jan.,  1830,  m.  23  Jan.,  1850,  Orville 

Hodge,  b.  12  July,  1822,  merchant,  and  for  28  years  postmaster;  has  4 
ch., 
I.    Annette,  b.  24  Jan.,  1851,  m.  81  July,  1869.  Luther  S.  Taylor,  b.  24  May, 
1&48;  their  2  ch.,  Oiftlle,  b.  1871;  Crace.  b.  1873. 
n.    Carrie,  b.  17  Apl.,  1857,  d.  14  Jan.,  1871. 
ni.    Lester,  b.  8  Dec,  1859,  m.  14  July,  1886,  Minnie,  dau.  of  Morton  A.  Em- 
pie. 
IV.    Leland.  b.  26  July,  1864;  res.  of  all  the  ch.  CobleskiU.  N.  Y. 

FIFTH   GENERATION   (A). 
Peter  Malick  (38)  had  ch. 

94.  1.  JOHN.  res.  Galesburg,  111.,  b.  18  Sep..  1825,  m.  8  Feb.  1849,  Elraira  Anthony,  b. 

1825,  d.  16  Jan,  1876,  had  ch.,  1.  Charles,  b.  1850.  d.  1851;  II.  Edwin,  b. 
1853,  d.  1854;  111.  John,  res.  Galesburg.  b.  23  Apl..  1855;  IV.  Ida,  b.  31 
July.  1857;  V.  Emma,  b.  12  May.  1859;  VI.  Charles,  b.  31  Aug.,  1861; 
VII.  Norman,  b.  13  Apl.,  1863;  VIII.  Anthony,  b.  13  Mch.,  1865:  IX. 
Anna.  b.  5  Aug.  1867;  X.  Elizabeth,  b.  27  Apl.  1869. 


644        Ch.  of  Wm.  Spkono,  Wm.  Melick,  S.  Ricketts. 

95.  II.  JANE,  b.  26  Apl.,  1834,  d.  17  Dec,  1865,  m.  Wm.  E.  Sprong,  b.  17  Mch.,  1818,  d. 

28  Feb.,  1884,  at  Sharon  Springs,  N.  Y.,  had  6  ch., 
I.    Esther,  b.  14  Apl.,  1842,  d.  3  June,   1866,  ra.   1864,  Norman  E.  Curtisa, 

dec;  no  ch. 
II.    Mary,  res.  Sharon  Springs,  b.  10  Nov.,  1844,  m.  14  Mch.,  1868,  David  A. 
Mereness,  b.  20  June.  1844;  no  ch. 

III.  Irwin  W.,  b.  31  Dec,  1846,  d.  13  Apl.,   1849. 

IV.  Norman  A.,  res.  Grand  Rapids,  Mich.,  b.  28  Jan.,  1849,  m.  9  Dec,  1874, 

Huldah,  dau.  of  Major  Wm.  Bingham,  of  Le  Grange,  Ind. ;  2  ch., 
Willtam,  d.  1878;  Arthur  B.,  b.  1881. 
V.    Laura  E.,  res.  Central  Bridge,  N.  Y.,  b.  26  Sep.,  18S7,  m.  16  May,  1877, 
Henry  Austin,  of  Albany;  their  2  ch.,  Ethel  31.,  b.  1878;  Henry  S.,  b. 
1880. 

VI.  Adella,  J.,  b.  24  Jan.,  1861. 

FIFTH   GENERATION   (A). 

William   Melick     48^  had  ch. 

96.  I.    MAKGARETTA,  b.  8  Oct.  18i4,  m.  16  Oct.  1842,   Stephen  Ricketts,  b.  25  Jan., 

1831;  had  10  ch. 
I.    Francis  M.,  b.  22  July,  1843,  d.  23  July,  1883,  at  Freno,  Cal.,  m.  Cordelia 

Cole;  6  ch. 
II.    Mart  E.,  b.  13  June,  1845,  m.  25  Jan.,  1864,  John  Conner,  4  ch. 

III.  LnCRETiA,  J.,  b.  66  June.  1847,  m.  17  Apl.,  1872,  H.  J.  Cole,  5  ch. 

IV.  Andrew  M.,  res.  Cross  Plains,  Ripley  Co.,  Ind.,  b.  26  Dec,  1849,  m.  1 

Dec,  1878,  Molly  Pali. 
V.    Joseph  W.,  res.   East  Enterprise,  Ind.,  b.  4  Nov.,  1852,  m.  29  Oct.,  1880, 
Harriet  Lockwood;  6  ch. 
VI.    Phebe,  res.  Aberdeen,   Ind.,  b.  4  Oct.,   1854,   m.  3  July,    1873,  Elwood 
Bovard  ;  5  ch. 

VII.  Ollie  E.,  of  E.  Buterprise,  lud.,  b.  17  Mch.,  1857,  d.  14  Apl.,  1886,  m  Jas- 

per W.  Sadlier;  1  ch. 
VIII.    Emeline,  b.  1  Jan.,  1860,  d.  in  infancy. 
IX.    WILLIAM  C,  res.  E.  Enterprise,  lud.,  b.  13  Feb.,  1862,  m.  26,  Oct.,  1884, 
Mary  Seymour;  1  ch. 

X.  Inez  C,  b.  20  Sep.,  1869,  m.  36  Dec,  1886,  Oliver  P.  Lockwood. 

VI.    II.    DANIEL,  res.  E.  Enterprise,  Ind.,  b.  13  Aug.,  1826,  m.  9  Sep.,  1847,  Elizabeth 
Myers,  b.  in  Cincinnati,  O.,  18  Mch.,  1829;  had  12  ch. 
I.    Louisa,  d.  In  infancy. 
II.    William,  b.  2  Aug.,  1849,  d.  16  Jan.,  1865. 

III.  Burr,  b.  3  Oct.,  1851,  d.  in  iufaucy. 

IV.  George  B.,  res.  Tuerquis  Grove,  Switzerland  Co.,  Ind.,  b.  21  Mch.,  1853, 

m.  20  Dec,  1874,  Matilda  Byram,  b.  1  Sep.,  1856;  their  3  ch.,  Celia,  b. 
1876;  Stella,  b.  1879;  Ernest,  b.  1880. 
V.    Charles,  res.  Springfield,  Bonhomme  Co.,  Dak.,  b.  17  June,  1855,  m.  33 
Feb.,  1881,  Carrie,  dau.  of  Edward  J.  Monfore,  b.  1  July,   1859;  their 
onech.,  Alta  Belle,  b.  1888. 
VI.    Harriet,  res.  Aurora,  Ind.,  b.  26  Nov.,  1856,  m.  39  Oct.,  1876,  Griffith, 

Oak;  their  one  ch..  Flora,  b.  1877. 
VII.    Mary  D.,  res.  Patriot,  Ind.,  b.  31  May,  1859,  m.  James  Oak ;  their  1  ch., 

Dai' id. 
VIII.    LoRiNG,  res.  Milo,  Warren  Co.,  Iowa,  b.  10  Apl.,   1861,  m.  1  Mar.,  1883. 
Jane.  dau.  of  Lindley  Murray  Boles,  b.  1860;  their  1  oh.,  EiizaDeth, 
b.  1881. 
IX.    John,  res.  Milo,  Iowa,  b.  14  Apl.,  1863  m.  15  Mar.,  1886,  Martha,  dau.  of 
Fredk.  Lohse,  of  Knoxville,  Iowa,  b.  1864. 
X.    Gordon  V.,  b.  10  Sep.,  1866. 

XI.  Ida  J.,  b.  25  Mch.,  1867. 

XII.  Clarence  W.,  b.  10  Jan.,  1870. 
98.  III.  NICHOLAS  A.,  of  Madelia.  Watonwan  Co.,  Minn.,  b.  39  Apl.,  1838,  d.  23 
Sep.,  1889,  m.  1854,  Phebe  C.  Bradford,  b.  in  Switz.  Co.,  Ind.,  36  Jan., 
1836;  he  was  an  obliging  and  sympathetic  neighbor,  an  honorable  citi- 
zen and  consist  ent  Christian,  and  had  been  a  member  of  the  Baptist 
church  at  St.  James  since  its  organization ;  had  4  ch. 


Ch.  of  Joseph  Myers  and  Andrew  D.  Mellick.    645 

I.    William  B..  b.  2-2  Jan.,  1855.  d.  in  infancy. 
II.    Clarence  B.,  b.  1.3  Apl..  1856,  d.  in  infancy, 
m.    Mary  A.,  b.  6  Dec.,  1858,  d.  in  infancy. 
IV.    LOCELLA,  b.  15  Feb.,  1862, 
99.    rv.    CATHERINE  L.,  b.  20  July,  ia30,  d,  13  Oct.,  1831. 

100.  V.    JOSEPH  G..  res.  E.  Enterprise,  lud.,  b.  13  May,  ia32,   m.  29  Dec,   1853,   Betgy 

Abifrail  Bliss,  b.  in  Stratford,  Fulton  Co.,  N.  Y.,  5  Nov.,  1831,  no  ch, 

101.  VI.    EMELINE,  of  Hamilton,  Butler  Co.,  Ohio,  b.  5  June,  1834.  m.  17  Feb.,  1852 

Joseph  Myers,  b.  11  Aug.,  1824;  had  8  ch. 

I.  William  J.,  b,  16  Jan.,  1864.  d.  26  Feb..  1865. 

n,  Isaac,  res,  Omaha,  Neb.,  b.  1856,  m.  1879,  Susan  A.  Davis,  3  ch. 

in.  Charles,  res.  Hamilton,  O.,  b.  22  May,  1868,  m,  7  Sep.,  1887,  Rozetta 

•  Coleman,  2  ch. 

IV.  Albert,  b.  7  Dec,  1860. 

V.  Flora,  b.  20  Apl„  1864,  m, ;  2  ch. 

VI.  James  S.,  b.  6  Feb.,  1873. 

VII.  Joseph  A.,  b.  1875,  d.  1881. 

VIII.  Emma  E.,  b.  2  Oct.,  1880. 

FIFTH   GENERATION   (A.) 

Andrew  D.   Mellick  (52)  had  ch. 

102.  I.    SIMEON  AYRES,  b.  30  Nov.,  1842,  d.  at  Fortress  Monroe.  Virginia,   31  July, 

1862.  At  the  outset  of  the  War  of  the  Rebellion,  at  the  age  of  18,  he 
went  to  the  front  as  a  2nd  lieutenant  in  the  first  cavalry  eo.  that  vol- 
unteered for  the  war.  It  was  subsequently  embodied  with  the  First 
N.  Y.  Mounted  Rifles,  and  he  was  successively  promoted  to  be  a  first 
lieutenant  and  captain.  At  the  time  of  his  death— though  not  yet  20 
years  old— he  commanded  troop  B  and  ranked  as  senior  captain  of  his 
reg't.  His  command  was  for  the  first  6  months  stationed  at  Fortress 
Monroe  and  at  Hampton,  doing  scouting  and  vidette  service  while 
McClellan  was  investing  Yorlitown.  For  a  time  Captain  Mellicli's 
troop  was  detailed  as  a  body-guard  to  Major  General  Wool,  then  in 
command  of  Eastern  Virginia.  His  regt.  led  the  advance  at  the  cap- 
ture of  Norfolk  and  Suffolk  and  remained  in  the  vicinity  of  the  lat- 
ter place  till  the  end  of  the  year.  In  June  1862  while  scouting  between 
Suffolk  and  the  North  Carolina  line  he  was  seized  with  swamp  fever. 
Being  joined  by  a  younger  brother  (11)3)  he  was  taken  to  the  Atlan- 
tic Hotel,  at  Norfolk,  remaining  there  a  month,  nursed  by  his  brother, 
and  attended  by  Doctor  Wright  of  that  city— who  was  afterwards 
hung.— A  furlough  having  been  obtained  he  was  placed  on  board  the 
hospital  ship  St.  Maris,  then  lying  in  Hampton  Roads  and  shortly 
e.\pecting  to  sail  tor  the  north  with  sick  and  wounded  from  McClel- 
lan's  army,  which  had  then  just  reached  Harrison's  bar.  Before  the 
vessel  left  the  harbor,  exactly  one  year  from  the  day  of  his  arrival 
in  Virginia,  he  died  aged  19  years  and  8  months.  His  brother  brought 
his  body  home  and  it  was  buried  in  Greenwood.  Thus  briefly  lived 
and  honorably  died  one  who  in  many  respects  was  distinguished 
above  his  fellows.  He  was  an  able  and  brave  officer,  and  highly 
esteemed  as  a  citizen  and  a  soldier.  His  person  was  handsome,  his 
presence  winning,  and  he  readily  made  warm  attachments.  While 
possessing  great  vivacity  and  spirit  his  nature  was  reflective  and 
thoughtful,  and,  for  one  so  young,  his  maturity  in  mind  and  appear- 
ance was  most  extraordinary.  His  conversation  and  bearing  did  not 
appear  as  of  one  at  the  threshold  of  life,  but  impressed  all  with  whom 
he  came  in  contact  as  being  that  of  a  man  who  had  benefited  by  the 
experiences  of  many  years.  From  the  many  testimonials  as  to  his 
character  and  worth,  the  two  following  extracts  are  selected  :— 

Head  Quarters  8th  Army  Corps, 
Baltimore,  October  2nd,  1862. 

•  •  *  •  Major-General  Wool  directs  me  to  say  that  he  can  cheer- 
fully bear  testimony  to  the  fidelity,  promptness  and  intelligence  with 
which  the  late  Captain  S.  A.  Mellick  of  the  "  N.  Y,  Mounted  Rifles' 


646     Ch.  of  a.  D.  Mellick— Capt.  Simeon  A.  Melliok. 

performed  his  tiutles,  while  serving  under  the  command  of  the  Gen- 
eral at  Fortress  Monroe;  and  that  he  feels  deeply  for  the  aflaictlon  of 
the  family,  while  he,  at  the  same  time,  regrets  that  the  country,  in 
this  time  of  danger,  has  lost  the  services  of  a  true  man  and  a  gallant 
officer.  The  writer,  while  provost-marshal  at  Norfolk,  had  the  pleas- 
ure to  en.ioy  the  society  of  Captain  Mellick  almost  daily,  tor  the  last 
two  weeks  he  was  stationed  there;  and  he  found  in  the  captain  a  man 
of  a  warm,  genial  heart  and  a  patriot,  whose  enthusiasm  for  the  good 
cause  remained  undaunted,  even  amidst  the  affliction  of  sufferings 
from  a  mortal  disease. 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain. 

Your  obedient  serv't. 

C.  T.  Christensen. 
Captain  and  Aide-de-camp. 

Fort  Federal  Hill, 
Baltimore.  August  16th.  1862. 
•  •  •  •  It  is  with  feelings  of  the  deepest  regret  that  we  learn  of  the 
death  of  our  esteemed  companion  in  arras.  •  •  •  •  Unanimously 
elected  to  membership  in  the  eighth  company  (7th  Reg't.  N.  Y.  S. 
N.  G.)  in  I860,  he  faithfully  performed  the  duties  of  a  soldier  while 
with  us.  and  by  his  gentlemanly  bearing  and  genial  manners  won  the 
esteem  of  all  with  whom  he  came  in  contact.  •  •  •  •  We  consid- 
ered him  one  of  the  best  officers  sent  from  our  ranks  into  the  volun- 
teer service.  •  •  •  •  The  death  of  our  brother  awakens  with  us  a 
sterner  resolve  that  the  cause  to  which  he  Is  a  sacrifice  shall  ulti- 
mately triumph. 

On  behalf  of  the  Eighth  Co.. 

(7th  Keg't.  N.  Y.  S.  N.  G.) 

LiE0T.  G.  L.  Arrosmith. 

103  n.  ANDKEW  D.  JUN'R.,  res.  Plainfleld.  N.  J.,  b.  S3  Oct.,  1*44;  member  of  the 
N.  Y.  Bar;  served  as  captain  and  major  on  staff  of  Gen.  J.  M.  Varian. 
comdg.  3rd  Brig.,  Ist  Div..  N.  G.  S.  N.  Y.  from  1873  to  1880;  author  of 
"The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm."  and  the  compiler  of  this  genealogy. 

104.  III.    JAMES  BISHOP,  b.  9  Dec.  1846,  d.  at  Roselle.  N.  J.,  10  Sept..  1878.  after  suf- 

fering amputation  of  left  leg.  bur.  at  Greenwood,  m.  at  Roselle. 
N.  J..  3  Apl.,  1866,  Anna  Coles,  dau.  of  Henry  W.  Smith,  of  N. 
Y.  city,  b.  SI  Nov..  184.5;  her  res.  Orange,  N.  J.;  he  was  a  man  of  ster- 
ling integrity  and  of  a  most  elevated  character.  During  his  residence 
of  12  years  in  the  city  of  Elizabeth  and  at  Roselle  he  was  active  In 
church  duties  and  good  works,  being  an  officer  of  the  3rd  Presb. 
Church  of  Elizabeth,  and  of  the  Presb.  Ch.  at  Roselle,  and  from  the 
time  he  attained  his  majority  until  his  death  was  continuously  a  Sun- 
day school  superintendent;  had  4  ch..  I.  CAROLiiSE  Smith,  res.  Mont- 
clair,  N.  J.  b.  15  Jan..  1867,  m.  16  Oct..  1889.  Francis  William  Wilcox; 
II.  Elizabeth  Ayres,  b.  5  Jan.,  1870,  III.  Henry  Smith,  b.  31  Mch., 
1873;  IV.  Anna,  b.  3  Mch.,  1875. 

105.  IV.    KATHERINE  LA  RUE.  res.  N.  Y.  city.  b.  83  Sept..  1849,  m.  at  Bergen  Point, 

N.  J.,  38  May,  1873.  to  Lucius  Duncan  Bulkley.  M.D..  b.  12  Jan.,  1844; 
ha3  6ch.,  I.  Elizabeth  Ayres  Mellick.  b.  17  Mar..  1873;  II.  Julia,  b. 
3 Nov..  1874;  III.  Lucins  Constant,  b.  10  May.  1877;  IV.  Henry  Dun- 
can, b.  17  Sept..  1879;  V.  Katherine  La  Rue.  b.  18  Oct.,  1883;  VI.  Ken- 
neth, b.  30  Dec.  1885. 

106.  V.    ELIZABETH  AYRES,  res.    San  Angelo,  Tom  Green  Co..  Tex.,  b.  10  Apl., 

1852,  m.  N.  Y.  city,  by  Rev.  Dr.  John  Hall.  13  Oct.,  1881,  Joseph  Tweedy, 
of  Plaintteld,  N.  J.,  b.  71  Mch.,  1849;  has  3  ch..  I.  Lawrence  Leslie,  b. 
20  Aug.,  1883:  II.  Andrew  Mellick,  b.  3  Apl.,  1884;  III.  Joseph  Lord, 
b.  21  June.  1886, 

107.  VI.    HARRIET  AUGUSTA,  res.  Plainfleld.  N,  J.,  b.  15  May.  1854.  m.  at  Bergen 

Point.   N.    J.,  by    Rev.    Henry  W.  F.  Jones  4  Feb.,  1873;  Kutsen  Van 
Rensselaer  Schuyler,  b.  4  Feb.,  1553;  has  2  ch.. 
I.    Van  Rensselaer,  b.  16  Mch..  1878;  II.  Sarah  Edwards,  b.  23,  July, 
1879. 
1)8.    Vn.    MARY  ABIGAIL,   res.  N.  Y.  city,  b.  5  July,  1857. 


Ch.  of  David  Melick,  of  Knox  Co.,  Ohio.         647 

109.  VIII.    GEORGE  PHELPS,  res.  Plainfleld.  N.  J.,  b.  1-3  Sept.,  1862,  m.  at  Bergeu 

PoiQt.  29  Oct.,  1884,  Ella,  dau.  of  Justinian  Hartley,  of  B.  P.,  b.  3  June, 
1864;  liad2ch., 
I.    JosTiNiAN  Hartley,  b.  16  Feb..  1887; 
11.    Elizabeth,  b.  Feb.,  1889,  d.  July,  1839. 

FIFTH     GENERATION     (A). 

David    Melick   (70)  had  ch. 

110.  I.    WILLIAM,    b.  1  Dec.,  1806,  d.  in  Knox  Co.,  O..  in  1879,  m,  first  in  1828,  Mina 

Cooper,  of  Soraerset,  Perry  Co..  O.,  she  was  killed  by  lightning-,  5 
June,  1835;  by  whom  3ch.;  he  m.  .s«'onci  in  Oct.,  1845,  Sarah,  dau.  of 
Thomas  Beaty,  of  Knox  Co.,  O.,  b.  13  Oct.,  1808,  d.  14  Dec,  1888,  by 
whom  10  ch. ;  his  oh.  by  first  wife, 

I.  David  C,  res.  Bladensburg,  O.,  b.  22  Oct.,  1829,  m.  1853,  and  has  4  ch., 
William,  Gracf,  Walter  and  another. 

n.    Nancy,  b.  lasi,  d.  July,  1857. 

III.  Hannah,  b.  1833,  m.  1859,  a  Harrod,  and  lives  at  Martensburg-,  O. 
Of  the  10  ch.  by  second  wife  but  4  survive,  viz. : 

IV.  Abraham  D.,  res.  Bladerisburg,  O.,  b.  S3  May,   18S7,  m.   18  Nov.,   1858, 

Minerva  J.,  dau.  of  William  Schooler,  of  Kuox  Co.,  O.,  b.  29  Jan., 
18.38;  their"  ch.,  Sarah  Ami,  b.  1859,  m.  l&SO,  Albert T.  HaU,  of  Blad- 
ensburg,  b.  1857;  Alison,  b.  1861,  d.  18M;  Robert  E.,  b.  1863;  William 
T..  b.  1866,  m.  1886,  Ollie,  dau.  of  Geo.  W.  Porterfleld ;  Beck  E.,  b. 
186S,  Reuben  E.,  b.  1872;  Alvin  r.,  b.  1S7G. 
V.  Margaret,  res.  Bladensburg,  O.  m.  A.  J.  Hall; 
VI.    Jane.  m.^!'.s<,  David  Earlymine;  second,  Samuel  Harris. 

VII.      HOMEK   CCRTIS. 

111.  n.    JOHN  WESLEY,  b.  27  Sep.,  1808,  d.  13  Apl.,  1870,  m.  36  Sep.,  1833,  Harriet 

Watson,  had  9  ch., 
I.    Elizabeth,  b.  20  Aug.,  1834,  d.  18  June,  1857. 
II.    David  R.,  res.  La  Fontaine,  Ind.,  b.  S3  Nov.,  1836. 

m.    Thomas,  b.  22  Mch.,  1838,  d.  SO  July,  1863,  from  wounds  received  in  bat- 
tle; was  a  member  of  the  8th  Ind.  infty.  regt. 
TV.    Eleanor,  b.  18  Feb.,  1841,  uum. 
V.    Sarah,  res.  Fox.  Grant  Co.,  Ind.,  b.  18  Feb.,  1&43. 
VI.    Cyrus,  res,  Wabash,  Ind.,  b.  19  July,  1846. 
VII.    Eliza,  res.  Fox,  Grant  Co.,  Ind..  b.  21  Oct.,  1851,  unm. 
VIII.    William,  b.  29  Oct.,  1854,  d.  19  Jan.,  1861. 
XI.    Belinda,  b.  20  Jan.,  1856.  d.  20  Aug-.,  1862. 

112.  III.    TIMOTHV,  b.  26  Sep.,  1810,  dec. 

113.  IV.    DAVID,  b.  16  Sep.,  1812,  dec.,  his  son  David  lives  at  La  Fontaine,  Grant  Co.. 

Ind. 

114.  V.    GEORGE,  b.  12  Feb.,  1815,  d.  1860. 

115.  VI.    REBECCA,  b.  23  July.  1817;  dec. 

116.  Vn.    JOSEPH,  res.  Bladensburg,  O.,  b.  29  Feb.,  1820,  m.  23  Feb.,  1843,  Nancy  Young, 

b.  39  Oct.,  1835;  had  4  ch. 
I.    Louisa,  b.  17  Dec.  1843,  m.  William  Hall,  of  Bladensburg. 
II.    Naomi,  b.  28  Dec,  1844,  d.  16  Sep.,  1847. 

III.  Hannah,  b.  30  Jan.  1S47;  died  in  infancy. 

IV.  Harriet,  res.  Lincoln,  Neb.,  b.  14  Dec,  1848,  m.  25  Dec,  1875,  Zaehariah 

Hammel. 

117.  VrU.    ELIZA,  res.  Bladensburg,  O.,  b.  17  Feb.,  1823,  m.  6  Apl.,  1841,  William  Darl- 

ing; their  10  ch., 

I.  Lucy  A.,  b.  9  Aug.,  1841;  II.  James  K.,  b.  23  Sep.,  1843,  died  in  Union 
Army;  III.  David  M.,  b.  18  Sep.,  1847;  dec;  IV.  Louisa,  b.  6.  Aug., 
1850;  V.  Cyrus,  b.  July,  1853;  VI.  Nancy,  b.  11  Sep.,  1856;  VII,  Sarah 
Ellen,  b.  18  Sep.,  1860;  VIII.  Avilda  J;  IX.  Otto,  b.  U  July,  1863; 
X.  Lewis,  b.  18  Feb.,  1869. 

118.  IX.    MARGARET,  res.  Richland  Center,  Wis.,  b.  13  Aug.,   1834,   m.  a  Hankins, 

and  has  2  ch. 

119.  X.    HARRIET,  b.8  Mch..  1827.  dec.  m.  Harrison  Darling,  dec. 
180.    XI.    MARY  ANN.  b.  14  Oct.,  1829,  dec.  m.  Cyrus  Robinson. 

121.    XII.    MARIA,  ros.  Bladensburg,  O.,  b.  1  Jan.,  18,3.3,  m.   Frank  C.  Hess. 
12a.    XIII.    SAMUEL,  b.  19  Feb.,  1336. 


646     Ch.  of  a.  D.  Mellic'k— Capt.  Simeon  A.  Mellick. 

performed  his  duties,  while  serving  under  the  command  of  the  Gen- 
eral at  Fortress  Monroe;  and  that  he  feels  deeply  for  the  affliction  of 
the  family,  while  he,  at  the  same  time,  regrets  that  the  country,  in 
this  time  of  danger,  has  lost  the  services  of  a  true  man  and  a  gallant 
officer.  The  writer,  while  provost-marshal  at  Norfolk,  had  the  pleas- 
ure to  en.ioy  the  society  of  Captain  Mellick  almost  daily,  for  the  last 
two  weeks  he  was  stationed  there;  and  he  found  in  the  captain  a  man 
of  a  warm,  genial  heart  and  a  patriot,  whose  enthusiasm  for  the  good 
cause  remained  undaunted,  even  amidst  the  affliction  of  sufferings 
from  a  mortal  disease, 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain. 

Your  obedient  serv't, 

C.  T.  Christensen, 
Captain  and  Aide-de-camp, 

Fort  Federal  Hili^ 
Baltimore,  August  16th,  1862, 
"  "  •  •  It  is  with  feelings  of  the  deepest  regret  that  we  learn  of  the 
death  of  our  esteemed  companion  in  arms.  •  •  •  •  Unanimously 
elected  to  membership  in  the  eighth  company  (7th  Reg't.  N.  Y.  S. 
N.  G.)  in  1860.  he  faithfully  performed  the  duties  of  a  soldier  while 
with  us,  and  by  his  gentlemanly  bearing  and  genial  manners  won  the 
esteem  of  all  with  whom  he  came  in  contact.  •  •  •  •  We  consid- 
ered him  one  of  the  be.st  officers  sent  from  our  ranks  into  the  volun- 
teer service.  •  •  «  <•  The  death  of  our  brother  awakens  with  us  a 
sterner  resolve  that  the  cause  to  which  he  is  a  sacrifice  shall  ulti- 
mately triumph. 

On  behalf  of  the  Eighth  Co., 

(7th  Keg't,  N.  Y.  S.  N.  G.) 

Lieut.  G.  L.  Arrosmith. 

103  n.  ANDKEW  D.  JUiV'R.,  res.  Plainfleld,  N.  J.,  b,  3.3  Oct.,  1844;  member  of  the 
N.  Y.  Bar;  served  as  captain  and  major  on  staff  of  Gen.  J.  M.  Varian, 
comdg.  3rd  Brig.,  Ist  Div.,  N.  G.  S.  N.  Y.  from  1873  to  1880;  author  of 
"The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm,"  and  the  compiler  of  this  genealogy. 

104.  III.    JAMES  BISHOP,  b.  9  Dec,  1846,  d.  at  Roselle,  N.  J.,  10  Sept.,  1878,  after  suf- 

fering amputation  of  left  leg,  bur.  at  Greenwood,  m.  at  Roselle, 
N.  J.,  3  Apl.,  1866,  Anna  Coles,  dau.  of  Henry  W.  Smith,  of  N. 
Y.  city,  b.  SI  Nov.,  184.5;  her  res.  Orange,  N.  J.;  he  was  a  man  of  ster- 
ling integrity  and  of  a  most  elevated  character.  During  his  residence 
of  12  years  in  the  city  of  Elizabeth  and  at  Roselle  he  was  active  In 
church  duties  and  good  works,  being  an  officer  of  the  3rd  Presb, 
Church  of  Elizabeth,  and  of  the  Presb.  Ch.  at  Roselle,  and  from  the 
time  he  attained  his  majority  until  his  death  was  continuously  a  Sun- 
day school  superintendent;  had  4  ch.,  I.  Caroline  Smith,  res.  Mont- 
clair.  N.  J.  b.  15  Jan.,  1867,  m,  16  Oct.,  1889,  Francis  William  Wilcox; 
II.  Elizabeth  Ayres,  b,  5  Jan.,  1870,  III.  Henry  Smith,  b.  31  Mch., 
1873;  IV.  Anna.  b.  3  Mch.,  1875. 

105.  IV.    KATHEEINE  LA  RUE,  res.  N.  Y.  city,  b.  23  Sept.,  1849,  m.  at  Bergen  Point, 

N.  J.,  38  May,  1873,  to  Lucius  Duncan  Bulkley,  M.D.,  b.  12  Jan.,  1844; 
ha3  6ch.,  I.  Elizabeth  Ayres  Mellick,  b.  17  Mar.,  1873;  II.  Julia,  b, 
3  Nov.,  1874;  III.  Lucius  Constant,  b.  10  May.  1877;  IV.  Henry  Dun- 
can, b.  17  Sept.,  1879;  V.  Katherine  La  Rue,  b.  18  Oct.,  1883;  VI,  Ken- 
neth, b.  30  Dec,  1885. 

106.  V.    ELIZABETH  AYRES,  res,    San  Angelo.  Tom  Green  Co.,  Tex.,  b.  10  Apl., 

1863,  m.  N.  Y.  city,  by  Rev.  Dr.  John  Hall.  13  Oct.,  1881,  Joseph  Tweedy, 
of  Plaintield,  N.  J.,  b.  71  Mch.,  1849;  has  3  ch.,  I,  Lawrence  Leslie,  b. 
20  Aug.,  1883:  II.  Andrew  Mellick,  b.  3  Apl.,  1884;  III.  Joseph  Lord, 
b,  21  June,  188C, 

107.  VI.    HARRIET  AUGUSTA,  res.  Plainfleld,  N.  J.,  b.  15  May,  1854,  m.  at  Bergen 

Point,   N.    J.,  by    Rev.    Henry  W.  F.  Jones  4  Feb.,  1873;  Kutsen  Van 
Rensselaer  Schuyler,  b,  4  Feb,,  1553;  has  2  ch., 
I.    Van  Rensselaer,  b,  16  Mch,,  1878;  11.  Sarah  Edwards,  b,  23,  Julj-, 
1879. 
1 18.    VII.    MARY  ABIGAIL,   res.  N.  Y.  city,  b.  5  July,  1857. 


Ch.  of  David  Melick,  of  Knox  Co.,  Ohio.         647 

109.  VIII.    GEORGE  PHELPS,  res.  Plainfleld.  N.  J.,  b.  1.3  Sept..  18M,  m.  at  Bergen 

Point.  29  Oct.,  188i  Ella,  dau.  of  Justinian  Hartley,  of  B.  P.,  b.  3  June, 
1864;  had2ch., 
I.    Justinian  Hartley,  b.  16  Feb.,  1887; 
n.    Elizabeth,  b.  Feb.,  1889,  d.  July,  1839. 

FIFTH     GENERATION     (A). 

David    Melick   (70J  had  ch. 

110.  I.    WILLIAM,    b.  1  Dec,  1806,  d.  In  Knox  Co.,  O.,  in  1879,  m.  Jlrst  in  1828,  Mina 

Cooper,  of  Somerset,  Perry  Co..  O.,  she  was  Itilled  by  lightning,  5 
June,  1835;  by  whom  ,Sch.;  he  m.  second  in  Oct.,   18.33,   Sarah,   dau.  of 
Thomas  Beaty,  of  Knox  Co.,   O.,  b.  12  Oct.,  1808,  d.  14  Dec,  1888,  by 
whom  10  ch.;  his  ch.  by  first  wife, 
I.    David  C.  res.  Bladensburg,  O.,  b.  22  Oct..  1829,  m.  I8S8,  and  has  4  ch., 

William,  Grave,  tt'alter  and  another. 
n.    Nancy,  b.  1831,  d.  July.  1857. 

III.  Hannah,  b.  1833,  m.  1859,  a  Harrod.  and  lives  at  Martensburg,  O. 
Of  the  10  ch.  by  second  wife  but  4  survive,  viz. : 

IV.  Abraham  D..  res.  Bladensburg.  O..  b.  23  May,   1837,  m.  18  Nov.,   1858, 

Minerva  J.,  dau.  of  William  Schooler,  of  Knox  Co.,  O.,  b.  29  Jan., 
1838;  their  7  ch.,  Sarah  Ann,  b.  1859,  m.  laso,  Albert  T.  HaU,  of  Blad- 
ensburg, b.  1857;  Alison,  b.  1861,  d.  1364;  Robert  E.,  b.  1863;  William 
r.,  b.  1866,  m.  18.S6,  Ollle.  dau.  of  Geo.  W.   Porterflold;  BecU  E.,  b. 
1868,  Reuben  E.,  b.  1873;  Aloin  r.,  b.  1870. 
V.    Margaret,  res.  Bladensburg.  O.  m.  A.  J.  HaU; 
VI.    Jane,  m,Jlr.<!t,  David  Earlymlne;  second,  Samuel  Harris. 
VII.    Homer  Ccrtis. 

111.  n.    JOHN  WESLEY,  b.  27  Sep.,  1808,  d.  12  Apl.,  1870,  m.  26  Sep.,  1833,  Harriet 

Watson,  had  9  ch., 
I.    Elizabeth,  b.  20  Aug.,  1834,  d.  18  June,  1857. 
II.    David  H.,  res.  La  Fontaine,  Ind.,  b.  22  Nov.,  1836. 
m.    Thomas,  b.  22  Mch.,  1838,  d.  20  July.  1863,  from  wounds  received  In  bat- 
tle; was  a  member  of  the  8th  Ind.  infty.  regt. 
rv.    Eleanor,  b.  18  Feb.,  1841,  unm. 
V.    Sarah,  res.  Fox.  Grant  Co.,  Ind.,  b.  18  Feb.,  1843. 
VI.    Cyrhs,  res,  Wabash,  Ind.,  b.  19  July,  1846. 
VII.    Eliza,  res.  Fox,  Grant  Co.,  Ind.,  b.  21  Oct.,  1851,  unm. 
VIII.    William,  b.  29  Oct.,  1854,  d.  19  Jan.,  1861. 
XI.    Belinda,  b.  20  Jan.,  1856,  d.  20  Aug..  1862. 

112.  ni.    TIMOTHY,  b.  26  Sep.,  1810,  dec. 

113.  IV.    DAVID,  b.  16  Sep.,  1812,  dec,  his  son  David  lives  at  La  Fontaine,  Grant  Co., 

Ind. 

114.  V.    GEORGE,  b.  12  Feb.,  1815,  d.  1860. 

115.  VL    REBECCA,  b.  22  July,  1817;  dec 

116.  Vn.    JOSEPH,  res.  Bladensburg,  O.,  b.  29  Feb.,  1820,  m.  23  Feb.,  1842,  NancyYoung, 

b.  29  Oct.,  182?;  had  4  ch. 
I.    Louisa,  b.  17  Dec,  1842,  m.  William  Hall,  of  Bladensburg. 
11.    Naomi,  b.  28  Dec.  1844,  d.  16  Sep.,  1847. 
in.    Hannah,  b.  30  Jan,  1847;  died  in  infancy. 

rv.    Harriet,  res.  Lincoln,  Neb.,  b.  14  Dec,  1848,  m.  25  Dec,  1876,  Zachariah 
Hammel. 

117.  Vni.    ELIZA,  res.  Bladensburg,  O.,  b.  17  Feb.,  1822,  m.  6  Apl.,  1841,  William  Darl- 

ing; their  10  ch., 

I.  Lucy  A.,  b.  9  Aug.,  IMl;  II.  James  K.,  b.  33  Sep.,  1843,  died  in  Union 
Army;  III.  David  M.,  b.  18  Sep.,  1847; dec;  IV.  Louisa,  b.  6.  Aug., 
1850;  V.  Cyrus,  b.  July,  1852;  VI.  Nancy,  b.  11  Sep.,  1856;  VII.  Sarah 
Ellen,  b.  18  Sep..  1860;  VIII.  Avilda  J;  IX.  Otto,  b.  11  July,  1883; 
X.  Lewis,  b.  18  Feb..  1869. 

118.  IX.    MARGARET,  res.  Richland  Center,  Wis.,  b.  13  Aug.,   1821,   m.  a  Hanklns, 

and  has  2  ch. 

119.  X.    HARRIET.  I1.8  Mch..  1827,  dec.  ra.  Harrison  Darling,  dec 

120.  XL    MARY  ANN.  b.  14  Oct.,  1829,  dec,  m.  Cyrus  Robinson. 

121.  XII.    MARIA,  res.  Bladensburg,  O.,  b.  1  Jan.,  18a3,  m.   Frank  C.  Hess. 

122.  XIII.    SAMUEL,  b.  10  Feb.,  1330. 


133. 

I. 

134. 

II. 

125. 

III. 

126. 

IV. 

648    Ch.  of  Jacob  Kline,  John  Farley,  Jacob  Neff,  Jr. 
sixth  generation  (a.) 

John,  (79)  had  ch. 

JACOB,  b.  6  May,  1837,  unm.,  rea.  Canajoharie,  N.  Y. 
ELIAS.  b.  11  Oct.,  18,39,  rn.  Catharine,  dau.  of  Jacob  Graft,  no  ch. 
NICHOLAS,  b.  ;  April,  1841,  d.  in  infancy. 

LAWRENCE,  b.  14  April,  1&43,  m.  1  March,  18T4,  Susan,  dau.  of  Andrew 
Smith;  res.  Canajoharie,  N.  T.,  have  ch.,  I.  EuAY,  b.  5  Jan.,  1875;  II. 
Chas.,  b.  36  Aug.,  1876 ,  d.  1  Feb.,  1878;  III.  Anna  E.,  b.  19  Feb.,  1878,  d.  In 
infancy;  IV.  Ella  R.,b.  30  April  1879;  V.  Andrew,  b.  19  Feb.,  1882;  VI. 
Elias,  b.  14  Aug.,  1887, 

127.  V,    SARAH,  b.  11  June,  1845,  d.  36  Sept.,  1871,  m.  3  Jan.,   1866,  Chas.  Collins;  had 

ch.,  I.  Irving,  b,  12  April,  1867;  n.  Roszela,  b.  9  Nov.,  1868,  d.  28  Feb., 
1869;  III.  Almeda,  b.  29  May,  1870. 

128.  VI.    MARY  M.,  b.  19  Oct..  1849,  d.  7  Dec,  1853, 

129.  Vn.    CHARLES  W.,  b.  3  Jan.,  1856,  m.  3  July,  1881,  Eliza,  dau.  of  Andrew  Smith; 

have  ch.,  I.  Henry  b.  21  April  1883;  II.  Chas.  Jr.,  b.  19  Oct.,  1884;  in. 
Henrietta,  b.  28  Sept.,  1886. 


JOHAN    JACOB    KLEIN     (Jacob    Kline). 

Veronica    Gerdrutta  Moelich    his    wife,   (A  3.)   (Fanny    Melick)  and  their 

descendants. 

1.  I.    JACOB  KLINE,  of  Readington  township,  Hunterdon  Co.,  N.  J.,  b.  in  Ger- 

many, 6  Mch.,  1714,  d.  6  Jan.,  1789,  bur.  in  the  Lutheran  graveyard  at 
New  Germantown,  N.  J.,  m.  about  1748,  Veronica  Gerdrutta  (A  3)  dau. 
of  Johannes  Moelich  (A  1).  In  connection  with  his  father-in-law,  he 
established  and  carried  on  in  Readinglon  tp.  a  tannery  which  was 
continued  by  his  descendants  for  over  75  years.  He  was  a  justice  of 
the  peace  and  as  early  as  1749  a  trustee  of  Zion  Lutheran  Church  at 
New  Germantown,  N.  J.  For  a  description  of  his  residence  and  other 
incidents  of  his  life,  see  pp.  76,  82,  91,  95,  178,  23S,  554,  603  and  611. 

SECOND     GENERATION. 

Jacob  Kline  (i)  had    ch. 

2.  I.    JOHN  WILLIAM,  bap.  Joliann  WiUielm,  b.  5  Jan.,  1750,  d.  21  Feb.,  1818,  on  the 

Readington  homestead,  m.  24  Jan.,  1780,  Altje  (Alche),  dau.  of  Matthias 
Smock,  b.  19  Aug.,  1762,  d.  23  Dec,  1818;  he  was  a  tanner  and  farmer  and 
is  bur.  in  Zion  graveyard.    For  his  2  ch.  see  p.  649 

3.  II.    JACOB,  b.  in  1751,  d.  22  Oct.,  1823,  m.  7  July,   1782,  Phebe,  dau.  of  Peter 

Nevlus,  of  Amwell,  N.  J.,  b.  In  1766,  d.  18  Feb.,  1845.  Jacob  was  a 
farmer  and  tanner,  and  settled  at  New  Germantown  on  what  is  now 
the  Benjamin  Van  Doren  farm  and  established  a  tannery,  since  car- 
ried on  by  Jacob  Specht.  For  37  years  he  was  a  ruling  officer  in  Zion 
Lutheran  church,  for  18  years  county  freeholder,  for  many  years  a 
justice  of  the  peace,  from  1806  to  1817  town  clerk  and  one  of  the  judges 
of  Hunterdon  Court  of  Common  Pleas.    For  his  11  ch.  see  p.  649 

4.  III.    MARY,  m.  13  Feb.,  1776,  John  Farley;  had  at  least  4  ch. 

I.-  Jacob,  b.  30  Mch..  1777. 
II.    Barbara,  b.  13  Feb.,  1779, 

III.  Mynhabd,  b.  26  Mch.,  1781, 

IV.  Aaron,  b.  3  Sept.,  1789. 

5.  IV.    MAGDALENE,  b.  In  1757,  d.  16  Mch.,  1774. 

6.  V.    FANNY,  m.  20  Dec,  1781,  Jacob  Neff  Jun'r.,  who  d.  about  1838;  had  ch. 

I.    Jacob,  b.  11  Dec,  1782,  d.  about  1817,  m.  Jemima,  dau.  of  George  Anson, 
of  Readington,  N.  J. ;  their  4  ch. ; 

Ann,  b.  1  Feb.,  1806,  d.  14  Jan.,  1881,  m.  William  P.  Todd,  of  Potters- 
town,  and  had  4  ch. ; 
Fanny,  d.  in  infancy. 


Ch.  of  John  Wm.  and  Jacob  Kline,  H.  Van  der  Veer.  649 

Eliza,  b.  about  1811,  d.  about  1875.  m.  Abraham  Ditmara,  of  Head- 
ington,   N.  J.;  removed  to  Ohio,  afterwards  to  Dekalb  Co.,  Ind.; 
their  7  ch.,  Frances,  Helen,    Harriet,   Peter,    Isaac,    Mary  and 
Edward. 
Gertrude,  d.  in  infancy. 
n.    Fanny  G.,  b.  30  Dec.  1786,  d.  in  1879-80,  unm. 

III.    Anna  Mary  (Polly),  b.    17  Sept.,  1789,  d.  23  Aug.,  1818,  m.  Abram  A. 
Broliaw.  of  Keadin^ton.  b.  11  Jtloh..  1790,  d.  1.3  July.  1876;  no  ch. 

7.  VI.    AARON,  of  Drea  HoolJ,  N.  J.,  b.  29  Feb.,  1760,  d.   24  Dec.  1809,  m.  in  1784, 

Catherine  Brolsaw,  b.  2  Aug.,  1763,  d.  18 Dec,  1811;  he  was  atanner;  for 
his  8  ch.  see  p.  652. 

8.  VII.    PETER,  b.  17  Jan.,  1771,  a  tanner  and  farmer  who  lived  and  died  on  a  farm 

adjoining  the  Readington  homestead;  he  m.  Sally  Johnson,  of  Read- 
ington,  by  whom  one  oh.,  I.  Peter  P.,  who  d.  unm.  31  Mch.,  1872, 
aged  78. 

THIRD     GENERATION. 
John  William  Kline  (2)  had  ch. 

9.  I.    GERTRUDE,  b.  7  Nov..  1780,  d.  in  Apl.,  1864,  m.  12  May,  1799,  Henry  Van  der 

Veer,  of  Amwell,  N.  J. ;  had  6  ch. 
I.  JOHN  (Rev.  and  D.D.),  b.  5  May.  1800.  d.  28  Apl.,  1878,  m.  Maria  E.,  dan. 
of  Dr.  John  Cooper,  of  Eaaton,  Pa.,  d.  9  May.  1889.  Dr.  Van  der 
Veer  conducted  for  many  years  a  private  classical  school  at  Easton, 
Pa. ;  no  ch. 
II.  Jacob  K.,  of  Amwell.  N.  J.,  m.  first,  Sarah  Ten  Eyck,  second,  the 
widow  of  Leonard  Kuhl;  no.  ch. 

III.  Peter  N.,  res.  Raritan,  N.  J.,  m.  Jemima,  dau.  of  Jacob  Vroom;  their 

ch.  George,  Henry  who  m.  a  Kinyon  of  Karitan.  Gitly,  Annie  and 
Emma. 

IV.  Aletta.  m.  Christianus  Van  Doren.  of  Neshanic,  N.  J.;  no.  ch. 

V.    Mary,  ra.  John  C.  Van  Liew,  of  Neshanic;  their  3  ch.  Henry  V.  D.. 
John  J.,  and  Anna. 
VI.    Henry,  res.  North  Branch,  N.  J.,  m.  I<>ances  C.  Blackwell,  of  Amwell, 
who  d.  6  Aug..  1880. 

10.  II.    JOHN,  b.  8  Aug..  1784.  d.  20  Jan.,  1880,  on  the  homestead  farm  of  his  father  and 

grandfather,  where  he  spent  83  of  his  93  years  of  life.  It  is  recorded  of 
him  that  he  was  "  a  man  of  exemplary,  devoted  christian  life,  genial 
in  spirit  and  abundant  in  hospitality,  of  unostentations  manners, 
but  yet  of  positive  strength  of  character,  who  exerted  a  widespread 
influence  for  good."  It  is  further  recorded  that  he  was  regarded  in 
later  life  "the  patriarch  of  the  section  of  country  in  which  he  lived 
commanding  more  than  the  respect  of  all  who  knew  him."  John 
Kline  m.  Jlrst,  27  Oct.,  1804.  Catherine  Williamson,  d.  in  1837;  m.  second, 
27  Jan.,  1841,  Eleanor,  widow  of  Henry  Vroom,  of  Wayne  Co..  O.,  and 
dau.  of  Dennis  Wyckotf.  of  White  House,  N.  J. ;  her  present  res.  Som- 
erville,  N.  J.;  no  ch. 

THIRD  GENERATION. 

Jacob  Kline  (3)  had  ch. 

11.  I.    JACOB  (Colonel),  of  Kline's  Mills    and    Trenton,    N.    J.,  b.    8    Apl.,  1783, 

d.  15  Nov.,  1844,  ra.  Lydia,  dau.  of  Tunis  Quick,  of  Readin^on.  b.  in 
Mch.,  1786.  d.  1  Feb..  isM,  Jacob  Kline  was  a  colonel  of  militia,  a  mem- 
ber of  the  legislature,  president  of  a  Trenton  bank,  and  in  1836  was 
elected  state  treasurer;  he  also  owned  and  operated  Kline's  grist  and 
saw  mills  on  the  north  branch  of  the  Raritan  in  Somerset  Co. ;  for  his 
0  ch.  see  p.  653. 

12.  II.    PETER,  of  New  Germantown,  Kline's  Mills,   and  Lamlngton,  N.  J.,  b.  16 

Jan.,  178.'),  d.  18  Oct..  1860.  m.  Mary,  dau.  of  Ananias  Mulford.  of  New 
Germantown.  b.  6  Sep.,  1788,  d.  15  Nov..  1865;  for  his  8  ch.  see  p.  653. 

13.  III.    FANNY  GERTRUDE,  of  Liberty  Corner,  N.  J.,  b.  '28  Feb.,  1787,   d.  '28  Jan., 

1880,  m.  17  Oct.,  1307,  Isaac  Lewis,  of  Va.,  a  grandson  of  Rev.  Thomas 
Lewis,  who  was  pastor  of  the  Mendham  Presb.  church,  from  1769  until 


650  Ch.  of  Jacob  Kline  and  Isaac  Lewis. 

1778.  Isaac  Lewis,  b.  8  Feb.,  1787,  d.  1  June,  1855,  was  a  farmer  and  tan- 
ner; had  7  ch. 
I.  Samuel,  of  Liberty  Corner,  b.  7  Sep.,  1808,  d.  21  May,  1877,  m.  In  Oct., 
1835,  Eleanor  Layton;  their  ch.  Jacob  K.,  res.  Mechanicsville,  N. 
J.,  who  m.  Jirst,  Ann,  dau.  of  Samuel  Smith,  of  Stanton,  N.  J.,  m. 
secoiia,  Catherine,  dau.  of  Jacob  K.  Nefl,  of  Headington ;  Evelyn, 
who  m.  Anthony  Morris,  of  Liberty  Corner,  and  has  no  ch. ;  Samuel, 
res.  Newark,  N.  J.,  m.  Margaret  Irving-,  and  has  one  son;  and 
Isaac,  d.  14  Jan.,  1873,  m.  Margaret  Irving-,  no  ch. 
II.  Phebe,  of  Liberty  Corner,  b.  in  Aug.,  1810,  d.  10  Feb.,  1874,  m.  Samuel 
Irving;  their  ch.  Isaac,  res.  Liberty  Corner,  m.  Rachel  King  and 
has  one  dau.,  Minnie;  Sarah  Jane,  m.  Garret  Freeman,  and 
has  6  ch;  Mary  Lavinia,  m.  James  McCollum,  of  Basiling 
Ridge,  no  ch. ;  Abbte,  m.  Augustus  Tapman,  of  Newark,  and  has  no 
ch. ;  Eugene  J.,  of  New  Vernon,  N.  J.,  dec.  m.  Ann  Hill,  one  son, 
Charles; Pp^pr,  rea.  New  Vernon,  m.,  one  son;An7i,  m.  Swamoick  of 
Newark,  one  son ;  Phebe  and  Samuel  Irving  had  3  other  children 
wlio  d.  young. 

III.  Jacob  K.,  of  Washington,  N.  J.,  b.  in  1812,  dec,  m.  Eliza  Bellis,  of 

Millstone,  N.  J.,  their  ch.,  John,  res.  Plainfleld,  N.  J.,  m.  twice  and 
has  one  ch.:  Charles,  dec;  Alfred  A.,  M.  D.,  res.  Morristown,  N.  J., 
m.  Anna  B.,  dau.  of  Ferdinand  Van  Doren,  of  Basking  Ridge,  and 
has  one  dau. ;  .l?o/(2o,  res.  Washington,  N.  J.,  m.  a  Miss  Hampton 
of  that  place,  and  has  one  dau. 

IV.  Sarah,  b.  in  1814,  m.  Jtrst,  Samuel  Cross  of  Liberty  Corner,  who  d.  10 

Jan.,  1867,  by  whom  a  dau.  Sarah  Ann,  who  m.  Daniel  Allen  of 
Plainfleld,  N.   J..   Sarah  Lewis  Cross,   m.  second,   David  King  of 
Liberty  Corner,  and  m.  third,  Francis  Runyon  of  Liberty  Corner. 
V.    Jane,  res.  Liberty  Corner,  b.  in  1816,  m.  Peter  A.  Layton  of  Bernards, 
b.  5Mch.,  1811,  d.  15  Feb.,  1873;  their  ch.,  Fanny  E lizabelh,b.2iMch., 
1*40,  d.  18  Jan.,  1864,  m.  Ayers  Codington,  of  Bound  Brook,  N.  J.; 
Aletta  il.,  b.  8  June,  1846,  d.  11  May,  1866,  m.  George  E.  Salter,  of 
Falrmount,  N.  J.;  .lohn,  res,  Bernard  tp.,  m.  Harriet  Hill,  and  has 
one  dau. ;  Isaa.c,  of  Long  Branch,  N.  J.,  dec,  m.  Esther  Drake,  and 
had  one  son,  Peter;  Phebe,  dec,  m.  Ayers  Codington,  no  ch. 
VI.    Maby,  of  Plainfleld,  N.  J.,  b.  in  1818,  dec,  ra.  Ayers  Leason,  dec. ;  their 
ch.,  Ann,  of  Bound  Brook,  N.  J.,  dec,  m.  a  McNabb,  and  had  3  sons; 
Mary,  dec;  David,  dec;  FloreUa. 
VII.    Isaac  V.  D..  b.  in  1820.  d.  in  1825. 
VIII.    Elizabe-th,  res.  Liberty  Corner,  N.  J.,  b.  in  1822,  d.  5  Aug.  1889,  m. 
John  Compton;  their  ch.,   Nathaniel,  res.  Newark,   m.  Josephine 
Clark,   and  has  two  ch. :  Isaac  L.,  M.  D.,  res.  Bound  Brook,   m. 
Caroline  Arrowsmith,  no  ch. ;  Elizabeth  Lewis  Compton  had  3  other 
ch.  who  d.  young. 
IX.    Charles,  b.  in  1824,  d.  in  1828. 

X.    Catherine  A.,  of  Liberty  Corner,  b.  5  Sep.,  1828. 
XI.    Anna  Frances,  b.  in  1831,  d  in  18.33. 

14.  IV.    JOHN  WILLIAM,  of  New  Germantown,  Flemington,  etc.  b.  28  Dec,  1788, 

d.  17  Sep.,  1847,  m.  Sarah,  dau.  of  Thomas  Williams,  of  New  German- 
town,  b.  15  Mch.,  179.5,  d.  7  Oct.,  1817,  had  6  ch., 
I.    William  Barnet,  of  Jersey  City,  b.  in  1818,  d.  13  Aug..  1881,  unm. 
II.    John  F.  M.,  b.  14  Aug.,  1821,  drowned  in  the  South  Branch,  27  Aug., 
1827. 

III.  Lewis  A.,  of  Jersey  City,  b.  in  1824,  d.  30  May,  1888. 

IV.  Mary  E.,  res.  New  Germantown. 

V.    Harriet  A.  H.,  res.  New  Germantown. 

VI.    Sarah,  res.  New  Germantown,  m.  James  H.  Sayre,  of  Elizabeth,  N.  J., 
no  ch. 

15.  V.    MARIA  (POLLY),   b.   17  Apl.,  1791,  d.  15  Jan.,  1869,  m.  Richard  I.  Field,  of 

Bound  Brook,  N.  J.,  b.  12  Sep.,  1785,  d.  6  May,  1871,  had  11  ch., 
1  Jeremiah  R.,  b.  16 Dec,  1809,  d.  2  Feb.,  185C,  m.  15  Mch.,  1838,  Margaret  W. 
dau.  of  John  Telfair,  of  New  York.  b.  26  Dec,  1817;  her  res.  Chicago. 
111. ;  their  3  ch.,  Jolm  Tel/air,  b.  8  Dec.  1838,  m.  in  1863  Mary  A.,  dau. 
of  Nathanthiel  Childs,  of  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  res.  2045  Blendon  place,  St. 
Louis;  Richard  I.,  b.  25  Nov.,  1841,  m.  in  1865.  Mary  E.,  dau.  of  Ben], 
Carpenter  of  Chicago,  111.,  res.  250  Dearborn  avenue,  Chicago; 


•Ch.  of  Jacob  Kline  and  Richahd  I.  Fieu).    651 

Margaret   W.,  b.  27  May,  1849,  m.  in  1S73,  Isaac  Newton  Maynard,  b. 
6  May,  1849,  res.  284  Genessee  St.,  Utiea,  N.  Y. 

II.  Phebe  Maria,  b.  is  Nov.,  1811,  d.  8  Mch.,  1S89,  m.  13  June,  1833,  Henry 

Cornell  Brokaw,  of  Bound  Brook,  N.  J.,  b.  2  Oct.,  1809,  d.  29  Nov., 
1872;  their  6  ch..  Mart/  Jane,  b.  9  Apl.,  1834,  m.  in  1853,  Abraham 
Smalley,  who  d.  in  1881;  res.  Bound  Brook,  N.  J.;  Elizabeth  Smock. 
b.  27  Oct.,  1835,  ra.  in  1854  George  Macdonald;  res.  New  Brunswick, 
N.  J. ;  Catherine  Van  Xest.  b.  13  Mch.,  1839,  m.  in  1873  Alexander 
Manning;  res.  New  Market,  N.  J.;  Itachael  D..  b.  13  Oct.,  1841,  m.  In 
1879'  Hevd.  A.  E.  Baldwin,  who  d.  in  18HU;  res.  New  Brunswick,  N. 
J. ;  Richard  H.,  b.  5  Feb.,  1848,  m.  in  1880  Estelle  P.,  dau.  of  Jacob 
Shui-ts;  res.  Bound  Brook;  Isaac  Sewtun,  b.  2  Jan.,  1850,  unm.;  res. 
Bound  Brook. 
Ill  Jacob  K.,  res.  Bound  Brook,  b.  31  Jan.,  1814,  m.  5  Sep..  1843,  Rebecca 
G.,  dau.  of  Henry  Stewart,  of  Carlisle,  Ind„  b.  9  Feb..  1816;  their  4 
ch. 

Richard  I.,  b.  in  1844.  d.  in  1847;  Mary  ElizaDeth,  b.  25  July,  1846. 
llmri/  S.,  b.  in  1856,  d.  in  1857.     William  B..  b.  In  157,  d.  in  1859. 
IV.    JANE,  b.  16  Mch.,  1816,  d.  16  Dec.,  1857,  ra.  22  Nov..  1838,  Henry  H.  Garret- 
son,  b.  20  May,  1810. 
V.    Richard  R.,  res.  Plainfleld,  N.  J.,  b.  8  Mch.,  1818,  m.  27  Feb.,  1845,  his 
cousin  Margaretta  (18)  dau.  of  Jacob  B.  Miller,  of  Morris  Co.,  N.  J., 
b.  21  July,  1823.  d.  25  Nov.,  1877;  had  5  ch.,  Albert  Miller,  b.  8  Jan., 
1846;  /iicftard  Spencer,  b.  8  Jan.,  1848;  Chaunfey  Mitchell.  b.2-i  Mch., 
1850,  a  prominent  physician  and  surgeon  at  Plainfleld,  N.  J. ;  Jacob 
Ogden.  b.  28  Nov.,  1851;  Mary  Florence,  b.  8  June,  1856,  dec. 
VI     Benjamin  M.,  res.  Bound  Brook,  b.  1  May,  1820,  m.  22  July,  1851,  Helen 
M.,  dau.  of  John  D.  Field,  of  Bound  Brook,  b,  13  Jan.,  1831;  their  4 
ch. 

Anna  Eliza,  b.  2  July,  1852,  m.  22  Nov.,  1882,  William  F.  Metlar,  res. 

Boss  Hall,  Karitan  Landing  (New  Brunswick),  N.  J.,  John  D..\>An 

18.^,4,  d.  in  infancy.  Amy  K..  b.  20  Sep.,  185S,  m.  iu  1880  Dennis  Field 

Veimeule,  of    New    Brunswick.    Ada  A.,  b.  13  Feb.,  1863,  m.  in 

18S8,  Walter  WoUsev,  D.  D.  S.,  res.  Bound  Brook. 

VII.    Rachel  D.,  b.  5  Juno,  1823,  d.  12  May,  1871,  m.  in  1847  James  Polhemus 

VIII.    John  K.,  res.  Bound  Brook,  b.  27  Dec,   1823,  m.  6  May,  1850,  Lucinda, 

dau.  of  John  Whltehill,  of  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  b.  14  June,  1828;  their 

dau.  Laura  H'.,  b.  7  July,  1755,  m.  in  1875  Charles  W.  Auten.  of  New 

Brunswick,  who  is  dec. 

IX.    Isaac  N..  res.  N.  Y.  city,  b.  4  May.  1828,  m.  15,  June.  1870.  Mary.  dau.  of 

Rev.  Jacob  C.  Dutcher.  b.  23  Feb..  1848.  no  ch. 
X.    Peter,  res.  Plainfleld,  N.  J.,  b.  17  Nov.,  1830,  m.  3  June.  1863,  Helen  C. 
dau.  of  Chauncey  N.  Shipman,  b.  3  July.  1839,  their  2  ch.  Helen  S., 
b.  in  1868,  d.  in  1874.    Edward  HerrlcK  b.  3  July,  1871. 
XI.    William  B.,  res.  415  N.  7th  St.,  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  b.  16  Sep.,  1834,  m.  17 
,  June,  1874,  Harriet  E.,  dau.  of  George  M.  Boyd,  of  Atglen,  Chester 

Co..  Pa.,  b.  23  Jan.,  1848;  their  2  ch.,  Helen  Mary.h.  8  May.  1875,  Park 
Boyd.  b.  in  1876,  d.  in  1888. 

16.  VI.    ANN,  b.  19  Mch.,  1793,  d.  20  Feb.,  1795. 

17.  VII.    PHEBE,  b.  19  Dec,  1796,  d.  10  Mch.,  1874.  ra.  Joseph  Bartles  of  New  German- 

town,  b.  '25  Dec.  1784,  d.  10  Mch.,  1865;  had  2  ch. 
I.    George   Harvev,  res.  Flemington,  N.  J.,  ra.  Lois,  dau.  of  Austin 
Clark,  of  Lebanon,  N.  J.;  their  3  ch.,  Joseph.  Austin  and  Ella. 
II.    Jacob  K.,  res.  New  Germantown. 
18,    VIII,    ELIZABETH,  b.  1  Aug.,  1799.  d,  25  Mch..  18S0.  ra.  Jacob  B.  Miller,  of  New 
Gerraantown,  had  9  ch. 

I.  Marqabetta,  b.  21  July,  1823,  d.  23  Nov..  1877,  m.  27  Feb.,  1845,  her 

cousin  Richard  R.  Field  (15),  b.  8  Mch.,  1818. 

II.  Henry,  who  ra.  a  Beardslee. 

III.  Jacob,  res.  Scranton,  Pa.,  m.  a  DeBentlye. 

IV.  Elizabeth,  d.  in  infancy. 

V.    William,  res.  Flanders,  N.  J. 
IV.    Elizabeth,   res.  Newark,  N.  J.,  m.  George  Roe,  of  Haokettstown, 

who  d.'in  1888,  and  has  5  ch. 
VII.  and  VIII.    Clark  and  Wesley,  twins,  d.  in  infancy. 


652     Ch.  of  a.  Dunham,  B.  Van  Doren,  Aaron  Kline. 

19.  IX.    NELLY  STOOTOFP,  b.  4  July,  1801,  d.  23  Apl.,  1803. 

20.  X.    CATHARINE,  b.  20  July.   1804,   d.   18  Jan.,  1857,  m.  in  1824,   Aaron  Dun- 

ham, of  Clinton,  N.  J.,  who  d.  14  Aug.,  1883;  had  8  ch.,  viz: 
I.    Mary  C,  d.  in  Aug-.,  1863,  m.  James  Strylier,  d.  in  July,  1851;  tlieir  2  ch 
Catherine  T..  res.  Mt.  Pleasant,   N.  J.,  who  m.  George  Pickel,  and 
has  5  ch.;  Eliza,  res.  Clinton,  who  m.  Isaac  Creveling,   and  has  one 

dau.  - — ^ 

rr.  Phebe  Elizabeth,  b.  12.  Jan.,  1829,  m.  8  Oct.,  1856  Edwin  Melicli  (C.  30), 
res.  Clinton,  N.  J.,  b.  20  Sep.,  1624;  has  one  son,  Aaron  Duntiam,  b. 
81  Aug.,  1851,  m.  5  June,  1889,  Estelle,  dau.  of  Revd.  T.  A.  JacobuB, 
of  the  N.  J.  M.  E.  Conference. 

III.  Whitfield,  res.  Clinton,  N.  J.,  m.  Christiana  Carhart;  has  4  ch.,  viz: 

Mary  Elizabeth,   Charles  C,   Katherine  K.,  and  Ann  who   m.    B. 
Dunham. 

IV.  Jacob,  b.  in  Feb.  1857. 

V.    Frances  Aletta,  m.  James  R.  Cline.  res.  Clinton;  no  ch. 
VI.    Maroaretta  M. 

VII.    James,  of  Salisbury,  N.  C,  d.  14  Apl.,  1889,  m.  Christiana,  dau.  of  Wil 

liam  Hoffman,  of  Annandale,  N.  J.;  had  9  ch.,  viz;  Sally  E.,  Mary 

Louise,    Phebe    Estelle,  Aaron,    William  II.,   Florence,    Edwin   M., 

Lorena,  and  an  infant,  dec. 

VIII.    Nehemiah,  res.  Salisbury,  N.  C,  m.  Fanny  F.  Conner,  of  that  place. 

21.  XI.    ALETTA,  of  New  Germantown,  b,  17  Feb.,  1808,  d.  9  Jan.,  1879,  m.  Benjamin 

Van  Doren,  of  Middlebush,  N.  J.,  b.  17  June,  1798,  d.  13  Apl.,  1872;  had  5 

eh.,  viz. : 

I.    Dinah  H.,  res.  New  Germantown,  m.  Jacob  B.  Fisher,  of  Bedminster; 

their  3  ch.  Anna  F.,  m.  Simon  Hageman,  of  Bedminster,  and  has  2 

sons;    iriiiirem  P.,  res.  New  Germantown,   m.   Frances  D.,   dau.  of 

John  P.  S.  Miller;  Benjamin  V.  D.,  res.  Jersey  City. 

II.    Phebe,  b.  s  Apl.,  1873,  m.  William  Demun,  of  Bedminster,  and  left  one 

dau.  Aletta. 
III.  Ann  Eliza  Miller,  b.  17  Dec,  1830,  m.  13  Nov.,  18.56,  Smith  English 
Hedges,  M.  D.,  of  Chester,  N.  J.,  b.  20  Nov.,  ISiO;  their  3  oh.;  Ellis 
Walton,  a  well-known  physician,  of  Plainfleld,  N.  J.,  Benjamin 
Van  Doren,  of  Chester,  and  ,/ane  Enr/lish. 
TV.  Benjamin,  res.  New  Germantown,  m.  Emma  L.,  dau.  of  John  P.  S. 
Miller,  and  has  2  ch,  Benjamin  anfl  John. 

V.  Catherine  D.,  of  Jersey  City,  b.  1  Apl.,  1836,  d.  14  Apl.,  1875,  m.  Max- 

well Abernethy,  of  Warren  Co.,  N.  J.,  and  left  one  dau.  Aletta. 

22.  XII.    DAVID  (Revd),  b.  14  Nov.,  1812,  d.  5.  Nov.,  1877,  while  pastor  of  the  Luth- 

eran Church,  at  Spruce  Hun,  Hunterdon  Co.,  N.  J.,  m.  18  Apl.,  1833, 
Jane,  dau.  of  John  Kirkpatrick,  of  Liberty  Corner,  N.  J.,  b.  19  June, 
1814.    For  his  12  ch.    See  p.  654. 

THIRD   GENERATION. 

Aaron    Kline    (7)    had    ch. 

23.  I.    FANNY  G.,  bap.  "  Fronica  Gertraut "  b.  29  Oct.,  1783.  d.  in  infancy. 

M.    II.    JANE,  bap.  "  Jannetze"  b.  16  Apl.,  1787,  dec.  m.  Henry  Wyckoff,  of  Heading- 
ton,  and  removed  to  Dayton.  Ohio;  had  7  ch.,  viz; 
I.    Mary  Ann. 
II.    Catharine. 

III.  Jane. 

IV.  Nicholas,  of  California. 

V.    Henry,  who  was  killed  by  the  Indians  in  one  of  the  territoi-ies. 

VI.  Henrietta. 

VII.    Jacob,  of  California. 

25.  in.    PETER  A.,  was  a  tanner  and  farmer  who  lived  at  the  "  Head  of  Brookye," 

near  Stanton,  Hunterdon  Co.,  and  at  the  close  of  his  life,  at  White 
House,  same  co.,  b.  27  Sept.,  1789,  d.  in  Sept.,  1838,  m.  first,  Mary,  dau.  of 
Cornelius  Bowman,  b.  15  Nov.,  1795,  d.  8  Feb.,  1824,  by  whom  6  ch. ;  m. 
second,  Rebecca,  dau.  of  John  Smith,  of  Stanton,  by  whom  9  ch.;  for 
hisl5  ch.  see  p.  655. 

26.  IV.    JOHN  JACOB,  a  tanner  at  Drea  Hook,  in  Hunterdon  Co.,  b.  17  Aug.,  1791, 

d.  23  Aug.,  1849,  m.  27  Nov.,  1814,  first,  Eva,  dau.  of  Andrew  Kinney,  b. 


Ch.  of  D.  Gerhardt,  p.  G.  Schomp,  Col,  Jacob  Kline.  653 

24  Nov.,  1797,  d.  6  Mar.,  1824,  by  whom  5  cb. ;  m.  second.  Mary  Brewer, 
widow  of  Elias  Stout,  b.  18  Mar.,  1805,  d.  31  Dec.,  1871,  by  whom  2  ch.; 
for  his  8  ch.  see  p.  055. 

27.  V.    AARON,  of  N.  Y.  City,  b.  4  Aug.,  1794,  d.  in  July,  1852,  unm. 

28.  VI.    ELIZABETH,  b.  11  Mar.,  1797,  d.  in  1836  in  Carroll  Co..  Ohio,  to  which  place 

she  had  just  removed  with  her  husband  and  family;  m.  David  Ger- 
hardt, of  Round  Valley,  N.  J. ;  had  ch. 
I.    Cathehine  Ann,  res.  Frenchtown,  N.  J.,  m.  Henry  Demott,  of  Stan- 
ton, and  has  ch. 
II.    Jacob,  res.  Washington  Co.,  Ohio,  ra.  Mary  Moreland,  and  has  ch. 

III.  Ellen,  res.  Indianapolis,  Ind.,  m.  Abraham  Ball,  of  Ohio,  and  has  ch. 

IV.  George,  res.  New  Germantown,  m.  Catherine  Ann,  dau.  of  Harmon 

Reg-er,  of  N.  G.,  b.  11  Feb.,  1818,  d.  26  Oct.,  18;^'),  no  ch. 
V.    Aaron,  res.  Indiana,  m.  a  Hardesty,  of  Malvern,  O.,  and  has  ch. 
VI.    Nathan,  of  Wilmington,  Del.,  dec,  m.  twice,  his  first  wife,  a  dau.  of 

Rev.  Richard  Collier,  of  Spruce  Hun,  N.  J.,  and  has  ch. 
VII.    Godfrey,  who  d.  uum.  in  Indiana. 

VIII.    .Sarah,  of  Indiana,  dec.  m.  Charles  Whittaker,  and  had  2  ch. 
IX.    Rebecca,  res.  Canton,  O.,  m.  James  R.  Steen,  and  has  ch. 
X.    David  H.,  res.  Nebraska,  m.  a  Reeder,  and  has  ch. 

29.  VII.    MARY,  b.  8  Jan..  ISOi).  d.  24  Mar.,  1824,  unm. 

30.  VIII.    CATHERINE,  of  Branchburg,  N.  J.,  b.  6  Sept.,  1S03,  d.  12  Mar.,  1864,  m.  in 

1821,  Peter  G.  Schomp.  of  Readington.  b.  28  Aug..  1801.  d.  8  May.  1886; 
had  6  ch. 
I.    George,  res.  North  Branch,  N.  J.,  m.  Amy  Ann  Swift,  of  Wllliamburg. 

L.  I. ;  their  4  eh.,  Geonje  C,  Peter  A.,  Catherine  B..  and  Amii  A. 
II.    Catherine  Ann,  b.  29  ApL,   1824,  d.   14  Jan..   ISSO,   m.   John  Sutphen, 
b.  in  Aug..  1819.  d.  25  Sep.,  1884;  their  ch.   Oeorge,  b.  in  1847,  d.  in 
1866;  John  and  Peter  dec. 

III.  Elizabeth,  b.  5  Nov.,  1827,  d.  3  May,  1803,   m.  William  B.  Wyckoff,  of 

Branchburg;  their  one  ch.,  Dennis,  b.  in  is.^3,  d.  in  1806. 

IV.  Caroline,  m.  Abraham  H.  Lane,  of  Branchburg,  their  one  ch.  John, 

m.  Mary,  dau.  of  John  Van  Pelt,  of  North  Branch,  and  has  one  ch. 
V.    John,  b.  in  1841,  d.  in  1846. 

FOURTH  GENERATION. 

Colonel  Jacob  Kline  (ii)  had  ch. 

31.  I.    ALETTA.  of  Bedmiuster,  d.  10  Mch..  1875,  m.  Gabriel  Van  Dervoort,  of  Burnt 

Mills,  Somerset  Co.,  N.  J.,  d.  in  Aug..  1877;  had  ch.. 
I.    Jacob,  res.  Bedminster,  m.  Gertrude  Davis,  of  Bound  Brook,  and  has 
4ch. 
II.    John,  res.  White  House,  m.  Mary  Elizabeth  Peeter,  of  W.  H..  and  has 

2ch. 
III.    Lydia  K.,  m.  in  1888,  John  H.  Kenyon,  of  Plalnfleld. 

32.  II.    PETER  NEVIUS,  b.  21  Nov.  1817,  d.  19  Feb.,  1837. 

33.  III.    ELLEN  v.,  b.  17  Nov.,  1819,  d.  in  Infancy. 

34.  IV.    TUNIS  Q.,  res.  Klines  Mills  (Pluckamin),  b.  29  Feb.,  1822,  unm. 

35.  V.    JACOB,  res.  Kline's  Mills,  m.  Mary  Burr,  of  Philadelphia,  had  ch. 

.1    Jacob,  res.  Somerville,  N.  J.,  m.  Bessie,  dau.  of  Abraham  Van  Arsdale, 
Pluckamin.  and  has  ch. 
II.    Bessie. 

III.  Orion,  res.  Owego.  N.  Y.,  m. 

IV.  Ekic. 

V.    Theodore,  res.  N.  Y.  city.  m. 

36.  VI.    PHEBE.  of  Kline's  Mills,  d.  6  Mch.,  1889. 

FOURTH     GENERATION 

Peter  Kline   (12)   had  ch. 

37.  I.    JACOB  P.,  of  Jersey  City,  N.  J.,  b.  3  Oct.,  1812,  d.  in  1864,  m.  Catherine,  dau.  of 

Jeremiah  Couover,  of  Pluckamin;  had  6  ch. 
I.    Maria  O.,  II.  Peter  N..  III.  Elizabeth  W..  IV.  Marqaretta  M..  V. 
Lewis  A.,  VI,  Kate  F. 


654     Ch.  of  Peter  &  Rev.  David  Kline,  J.  F.  Dumont. 

38.  II.    A.  MULFOKD,  dec.,  m.  Jlrst  a  dau.  ot  Frazer  Baldwin,  of  Bernards,  Somerset 

Co.,  by  whom  2  ch.  Eugene  and  MABY;m.  second  in  Illinois,  and  had 
onedau.  who  ism.  and  lives  at  Alton,  Ill.;m.  a  third  time,  no  ch.  tiy 
last  wife. 

39.  III.    J.  W.   HARRISON,  removed  to  California,  and  has  not  been  heard  from 

since  1868. 

40.  IV.    MARY  LAVINIA,  b.  in  1821,  d.  16  June,  1849,  m.  Peter  J.  Lane,  of  Bedmins- 

ter;  had  3ch. 
I.    ScsAN.  res.  Bound  Brook,  N.  J.,  m.  H.  Kline  Ramsey,  and  has  one 
son. 

II.  Job,  res.  Morristown,  N.  J.,  who  m.  a  Keats,  and  has  ch. 

III.    Mary,  res.  Califon,  N.  J.,  m.  John  B.  Clark,  of  New  Germantown, 
has  2  ch.,  Fanny  and  Florence. 

41.  V.    PHEBEELIZABTH,  unm. 

42.  VI.    MARTIN  NEVIUS,  res.  N.  Y.  city,  m.  Elizabeth  Howell,  of  Walton,  N.  Y., 

and  has  2  ch.,  I.  Mary.    II.  Nellie. 

43.  VII.    PRANCES  L.,  b.  4  Jan.,  1828,  d.  8  Apl.,  1860,  m.  Peter  J.  Lane,  of  Bedminster, 

no  ch. 

44.  VIII.    PETER  L.,  res.  North  Branch.  N.  J.,  m.  in  1872,  Jane  E.  dau.  of  Samuel  B. 

Little,  of  North  Branch,  and  has  7  ch..  I.  Mary  L.,  II.  Lizzie  W.,  III. 
S.  Walter,  IV.  Robert  B.,  V.  James  E.,  VI.  Frederick,  M.,  VII. 
Eloise. 

FOURTH   GENERATION. 

Rev.  David  Kline   {22)  had  ch. 

46.  I.    ANNE  ELIZA,  res.  Phillipsburg,  N.  J.,  b.  23  May,  1835,  ra.  26  Oct.,  1853,  John 

F.  Duraont,  b.  11  Nov.,  1824,  d.  8  May,  1889;  had  13  ch., 

I.  Ira,  res.  Ringwood,  N.  J.,  b.  27  Sep.,  185.5,  m.  10  May,  1882,  Katherine  B. 

Skellinger,  of  Flanders,  N.  J.,  b.  3  Aug.,  1855;  their  2  ch.,  Myra 
George,  b.  1884;  Edward  George,  b.  1886.  II.  William  L..  b.  6  Apl., 
1857.  III.  Charles,  b.  20  Dec,  1858,  d.  3  Apl.,  1859.  IV.  Laura,  b.  3 
May,  1860.  V.  Grace,  b.  8  July,  1862.  d.  27  Jan.,  1882.  VI.  Jenny,  b. 
5  Sep.,  1864.  VII.  Anne  Eliza,  b.  9  Apl.,  1867.  VIII.  Frederick 
T.  F.,  b.  7  Mch.,  1869.  IX.  Wayne,  b.  14  Apl.,  1871.  X.  Infant,  b. 
and  d.  1873.  XI.  Madge  T.  ;  b.  30  July,  1875,  d.  21  July,  1876.  XII. 
Victor  St.  Claire,  b.  12  Sep.,  1877.  XIII.  Ethel,  b.  6  May,  1879. 
*6.    II.    PHEBE,  b.  3  Dec,  1836,  d.  '28  May,  1857. 

47.  III.    PETER,  res.  South  Orange,  N.  J.,  b.  9  Feb.,  1838,  unm. 

48.  IV.    JOHN  CASSADAY,  res.  Glen  Gardner,  N.  J.,  b.  23  Nov.,  18.39,  unm. 

49.  V.    JACOB,  res.  Eatontown,  N.  J.,  b.  27  ,\pl.,  1842,  m.  30  May,  1875,  Anna  E.,  dau. 

of  George  D.  Cook,  of  E.,  b.  33  Jan.,  1853;  has  5  ch., 
I.    Violet,  b.  39  May,  1876,  d.  in  infancy. 

II.  David  B.,  b.  15  Aug..  1877. 

III.  Herbert  W.,  b.  10  June,  1879. 

IV.  Jessie  A.,  b.  6  Sep.,  1883. 
V.    William  N.,  b.  8  Feb.,  1885. 

60.  VI.    FRANCES  MILLER,  res.  Bergen  Point,  N.  J.,  b.  12  Dec,  1843. 

61.  VII.    ELLEN  TAYLOR<  res.  South  Orange,  N.  J.,  b.  29  Mch.,  1845,  m.  5  Dec,  1867, 

Andrew  D.  Hutchinson;  has  1  ch. 

62.  VIII.    MARY  M.  P.,  res.  Glen  Gardner,  b.  5  Dec.  1846,  m.  6  Dec,  1867,  Maurice 

M.  Fritz,  b.  6  June,  1834,  d.  8  June.  1876;  has  2  ch., 
I.    Louise  Pohlman,  b.  11  Aug.,  1869,  II.  Leslie  Dumont,  b.  23  Mch.,  1874. 

63.  IX.    WILLIAM  HARRISON,  res.  34  E.  14th  St.,  N.  Y.  city,  b.  36  Feb.,  1849,  m.  11 

Sept.,  1888,  Lillian  D.  S.  Davis;  no  ch. 
54.    X.    ALFRED  BEAUMONT,  res.  N.  Y.  city,  b.  1  Apl.,  1851,  unm. 

65.  XI.    JANE  MUSIEB,  res.  10  Lowell  St..  Lawrence,  Mass.,  b.  16  Mch.,  1853,   m.  34 

Jan.,  1880,  George  H.  Adams,  b.  24  Oct.,  1850;  has  one  ch., 
I.    Mary  K.,  b.  8  Jan.,  1885. 

66.  XII.    ALICE,  res.  Glen  Gardner,  b.  27  Mch.,  l&M. 


Ch.  of  Petek  a.,  John  S.,  J.  J.  Kline,  David  Davis.  655 

FOURTH     GENERATION. 
Peter  A.  Kline  (25),  had  ch.  by  first  wife. 

57.  I.  CATHEKINE,  of  Keadln^on  tp.,  Hunt.  Co.,  N.  J.,  b.  12  Feb.,  1813,  d.  10  Jan.. 
1879,  ra.  Peter  S.  Swackhamer,  b.  July,  181.3,  d.  10  Au^,,  1876;  had  5  ch. 
I.  John  R.,  m.  Margaret,  dau.  ot  Thomas  J.  Stires,  of  III. ;  has  2  ch.  Peter 
L.  and  Dariil.  TI.  Petek  K.,  m.  Mary  Ann,  dau.  of  Mahlon  Cark- 
hutr,  of  Readington;  has  3  ch.  Jenny,  Mnry  and  Ella.  III.  Mary 
Jane,  res.  White  House,  N.  J.  IV.  David,  b.  22  Oct,,  1845,  d,  26  Feb,, 
1877.    V.  Anna  C,  res.  White  House,  N.  J. 

68.  II.    MARY,  res.  Somerville,  N.  J.,  in.  John  J.  Voorhees;  no  ch. 

69.  III.    AARON  P.,  m.  Susan  Church,  of  Conn. ;  one  ch.  Mary. 

60.  IV.    PETER,  ot  the  "Head  ot  Brookye,"  near  Stanton,  N.  J.,  b.  in  Oct.,  1817,  d. 

12  May,  1889,  ra,  Eaney,  dau.  ot  David  D.  Scbomp,  of  Readington;  had 
one  ch.  Mary  Elizabeth,  who  ra.  Gabriel  L.  Gulick,  and  has  7  ch. 

61.  V.    ELIZABETH,  of  CenterviUe,  N.  J.,  b.  3 Sept.,  182(1,  d.  14  Aug.,  1886,  m.  Lewis 

F.  R.  Ball,  b.  8  Mch.,  1821,  d.  25  Aug.,  1886;  had  i  ch. 
I.    Harriet,  II.  Catherine  L.,  III.  Rebecca,  IV.  Stephen. 

62.  VI.    CORNELIUS  B.,  res.  Mechanicsville,  N.  J.,  m.  Catherine  AUeger,  of  Read- 

ington; has  one  ch.  Lambert. 

Peter  A.  Kline  (25)  had  ch.  by  second  wife. 

63.  VII.    FANNY,  dec.,  ra.  Joslah  Cole,  of  Pleasant  Run,  N.  J. ;  no  ch. 

64.  VIII.    JOHN  S.,  res.  Flemington,  N.  J.,  m.flrst,  Sarah,  dau,  of  Jacob  Q.  Cark- 

huff,  of  Pleasant  Run,  d.  in  1865,  by  whora  7  ch. 
I.    John  W.,  res.  Flemington,   ra,  Laney,   dau.  of  Aaron  Thorapson,  of 

Pleasant  Run,  has  2  ch,  Aaron  T.  and  Sophia  Maria. 
II.    Jacob  Q.,  res,  Fleraington,  b.  in  1853,  m.  Annie  E.,  dau.  of  David  D. 

Scliomp,  of  Pleasant  Run, 
III.    William  S.,  res.  Fleraington,  m.  Bell,  dau.  of  James  Housel, 
rV.    Peter  S.,  res.  Kansas. 
V.    Amanda,  res.  Fleraington,  m.  John  Ott. 

VI.    Levi  C,  res.  Plainfleld,  N.  J.,  ra.  Laura,  dau.  of  John  K.  Dalley. 
VII.    Ezekiel,  res.  Pleasant  Bun.  b.  in  1865,  m.  Laura  Smith. 
John  S.  Kline,  m.  .<iecoua,  Sarah  Tunisori,  by  whom  9  ch. 
VIII.    Annie,  IX.  Jenny,  X.  Louisa,  XL  Henry,  XIL,  XIII.,  XIV.  tri- 
plets who  d.  soon  after  birth,  XV,  Qeorge,  XVT.  Isabel. 
66.    IX.    ANN,  res.  Elizabeth,  N.  J.,  unra. 

66.  X.    DAVID,  m.  Mary  C.  Smith,  dec,  by  whom  one  living  dau.  Mary,  who  m. 

A.  Brown. 

67.  XI.    ANDREW,  served  in  the  Union  army,  War  of  Rebellion,  and  raoved  west. 

68.  XII,    ABBIE,  b.  2  Feb.,  1839.  d.  9  Mch.,  18S4,  m,  first,   Frank  Cornell,   of  White 

House,  N.  J.,  by  whora  one  son  William,  m.  sevond.  WilUiara  B.  Vliet, 
of  Lamington,  N.  J,,  by  whom  3  ch,  Alvah  C,  and  Joseph  H„  twins, 
and  George  P. 

69.  Xin.    MARTIN  S.,  res.  White  House,  served  in  Union  array.  War  of  Rebellion, 

m.  26  Oct.,  1872,  Alraira  Haver,  of  Round  Valley;  has  one  living  child, 
Maggie, 

70.  XIV.    WTLLIAM  S,.  res.  Oregon,  m.  and  has  3  dau. 

71.  XV.    SUSAN,  res.  St.  Paul,  Minn.,  m.  John  Kitchen,  of  Raritan,  N.  J.;  has  2 

ch.  Robert  and  Minnie. 

FOURTH  GENERATION. 

John  Jacob  Kline   (26)  had  ch. 

72.  I.    CATHERINE  ANN,  of  Drea  Hook.  N.  J.,  b,  17  Aug.,  1815,  d.  12  Nov.,  1871,   m. 

David  Davis,  b.  in  Oct.,  1814,  d.  23  Feb.,  1887;  had  ch, 
I.  John,  res.  Drea  Hook,  m.  Catherine  M.,  dau.  of  Daniel  Dilts,  of  Read- 
ington, and  has  6  ch.  George,  Rev.,  Pastor  of  Ref.  Chuch  of  Pea- 
pack,  N.  J.,  who  ra,  Fanny  Johnston,  of  Washington,  N.  J.,  and 
has  one  ch.  Frances;  JaooO,  res.  Annandale,  N.  J. ;  Daiw'd,  M.  D., 
res.  New  Brunswick,  N,  J,;  John  Milton,  res.  Newark,  N.  J.; 
Bergen,  and  Charles  Howard. 


656  Ch.  of  John  Jacob  Kline — Simon  Himrod. 

n.    Sarah  Elizabeth,  b.  14  Mch.,  1841,  d.  27  Apl.,  1861. 
m.    Eveline,  res.  Trenton,  N.  J.,  m.  John  Van  Fleet,  of  Readin^on, N.  J., 
has  3  ch. ;  Mary,  Laura,  and  Oscar. 

73.  II.    ELIZA,  b.  14  Feb.,  1817,  d.  1  June,  1867,  m.  Isaac  Dalley,  of  Branchburg, 

Somerset  Co.,  and  removed  to  the  West;  had  ch.  I.  Jacob,  res.  Scran- 
ton,  Pa.  II.  Peter,  res.  Belvidere,  N.  J.  III.  David.  IV.  Maby.  V. 
Jane. 

74.  III.    JOHN  J.,  of  Belvidere,  N.  J.,  b.  7  Mch.,  1819,  d.  15  July,  1887,  m.  31  May,  1845, 

Eliza  A.,  dau.  of  William  Cramer,  of  White  House.  N.  J.,  b.  7  May, 
ISai,  d.  11  Apl.,  1885;  had  3  ch., 
I.    John  J.,  b.  19  Aujf.,  1850,  d.  27  July,  1877,  m.  a  Mafflt,  of  Bristol,  Ind.; 
had  one  son,  Kenneth, 
n.    Lauka,  m.  Edward  Prall,  of  New  Hampton,  N.  J.,  and  has  2  ch. 
m.    Ella,  res.  Kahway,  N.  J.,  m.  John  Flomerfelt,  of  Bedmiuster,  N.  J.. 
and  has  one  ch. 

75.  IV.    ANDREW  K.,  res.  Bristol.  Elkhart  Co.,  Ind.,  b.  5  Feb.,  1821,  m.  first,  5  June, 

1851,  Sarah  Ann  Knapp,  b.  in  18.30,  d.  in  1874,  by  whom  no  ch.;  m.  second, 
30  May,  1877,  Harriet  Sullivan,  of  Bristol,  b.  6  Jan.,  1838.  by  whom  3  ch. 

I.  Mary  Alice,  b.  5  Apl.,  1878. 

II.  Charles  A.,  b.  27  Dec.,  1881.. 
ni.    Bertha  J.,  b.  16  Nov.,  1884. 

76.  V.    PETER  K..  of  Branchburg,  N.  J.,  b.  22  Dec.,  1822,  d.  11  Apl.,  1886,  m.  Mary, 

dau.  of  William  Cramer,  of  White  House;  had  ch. 
I.    Kate  C,  of  Somerville,  dec,  m.  J.  W.  Garhart,  of  White  House;  their 
4  ch.,  Cora,  Albert,  Mary  and  anotlier. 
II.    John  J.,  res.  Somerville,  m.  Truth  A.,  dau.  of  Peter  I.  Voorhees,  of 

Reading-ton,  N.  J. ;  has  one  ch.  Voorhees. 
m.    Mary  Eva. 

IV.    Andrew  K.,  M.  D.,  Princeton,  N.  J. 
V.    Ella,  b.  18  May,  1862,  d.  13  Feb.,  1883. 
VI.    Lilly. 
VU.    Hattie. 

77.  VI.    AARON  K.,  of  Bloomington,  N.  J.,  b.  34  Aug.,  1810,  m.  27  Nov.,  1862,  Har- 

riet, dau.  of  David  O.  Cole,  of  Readington,  N.  J.,  b.  7  Mch.,  1840,  d.  23 
Aug-.,  1874;  has2ch. 
I.    George  W.,  b.  5  Jan.,  1864;  a  graduate  of  the  U.  S.  Naval  Academy, 
and  is  an  ensign  in  tlie  TJ.  S.  N. 

78.  VII.    DAVID  D.,  res.   Stanton,  N.  J.,  b.  1  Apl,,  1842,  m.  11  Sep.,  1862,   Sarah 

Catherine,  dau.  of  Jacob  Sheets,  of  Stanton,  b.  9  Dec,  1845;  had  one 
ch.,  Ida,  b.  17  Oct.,  1863,  d.  in  infancy. 


SIMON      LUDEWIG     HIMROTH,     (Simon     Himrod). 

Marie    Catherine    Moelich    his    wife,    (A    7.)    (Maria    Melick)    and     their 

descendants. 
1.  I.  SIMON  HIMROD,  b.  in  1731  at  Bendort,  Germany,  bap.  at  the  Evangelical 
Head-Church  by  Pastor  Joh.  Georg  Schmidt,  the  certificate  reading: — 
'-  The  16th  of  December,  1731,  to  Master  Wilhelm  Himroth  a  miller  of 
this  place,  Bendorf,  a  son  has  been  baptized;  witnesses  were  Simon 
Ludewig  Riickart,  a  citizen  and  fruit-dealer  of  this  place,  Veronica 
Gerdrutta,  wife  of  Master  Georg  Peter  Otto,  a  citizen  of  this  place, 
and  has  been  given  to  the  child  the  name  Simon  Ludewig,  God  bless 
the  baptized  for  Jesus*  sake.  Amen."  His  father  was  a  seigneurial 
miller,  and  the  family  evidently  was  in  close  relation  to  the  Moelichs 
as  we  see  that  Veronica  Gerdrutta  Otto,  Mariah  Katrina's  sister, 
stood  godmother  to  the  son.  The  name  is  not  uncommon  in  Rhenish, 
Prussia,  there  being  an  Abbey  Himrod,  in  ruins,  sixty  miles  from  Ben- 
dorf and  thirty  from  Treves  in  the  county  of  Witlich.  Simon  on 
attaining  majority  emigrated  to  America,  landing  at  Philadelphia,  15 
Sept.,  1752,  from  the  "Ship  Two  Brothers,  commanded  by  Thomas 
Arnott.  from  Rotterdam,  last  from  Cowes."    On  registering  with  the 


Children  of  Simox  Himrod.  657 

secretary  of  the  province  he  signed  his  full  name,  hut  later  abandoned 
the  use  of  Ludewig.  He  joined  the  family  of  Johannes  Moelich  (A)  at 
Bedmiuster,  N.  J.,  and  under  him  and  his  son  Aaron  learned  the  trade 
at  tanner  and  currier.  Simon  ra.  Johannes'  dau.  Marie  Cathrine 
(A  T).  and  continued  living-  at  Bedminster  until  1772  when  he  removed 
to  Milton.  Northumberland  Co.,  Pa.  He  suffered  much  from  incur- 
sions of  Indians  and  tories  in  1779.  and  it  is  said  that  at  the  capitula- 
tion of  Fort  Freeland  on  Warriors'  Run  he  and  his  two  eldest  sona 
were  made  prisoners,  taken  to  Canada  and  there  detained  for  some 
time.  His  wife  and  younger  children  probably  returned  to  New  Jer- 
sey, remaining  for  a  few  years.  Simon  was  a  member  of  the  Pa.  legis- 
lature from  1781  to  1786.  (See  pp.  '277,  '278,  279). 

SECOND     GENERATION. 

Simon  Himrod  ii)   had  y  ch. 

2.  I.    AARON,  b.  18  Aug.,  1757,  at  Bedminster.  N.  J.,  d.  4  Dec,  1820,   at  Waterford, 

Erie  Co..  Pa.;  m.  14  Apl.,  1789,  Isabella,  dau.  of  Moses  Kirk,  of  North- 
umberland Co..  Pa.,  b.  i?  Sept.,  1766,  d.  8-2  Apl.,  1841.  After  marriage 
Aaron  settled  on  the  shore  of  CajTiga  Lake  but  was  driven  otf  by  the 
Indians  His  name  is  said  to  be  preserved  in  that  vicinity  by  Himrod's 
Point,  opposite  Trumansburg.  For  a  time  he  owned  and  occupied  a 
farm  in  Turbut  tp.,  Northumberland  Co..  Pa.,  now  the  property  of 
Mrs.  Sylvia  Cronrath.  About  1796  he  removed  to  Waterford  tp.,  Erie 
Co.,  Pa.,  settling  permanently  on  a  farm  now  owned  and  occupied  by 
his  granddaughter.  Mrs.  Adeline  Boyd.    For  his  l.S  ch.  see  p.  658. 

3.  II.    CATHERINE,  b.  at  Bedminster,  N.  J.,  -2  Oct.,  1760.  d.  in  Crawford  Co.,  Pa.,  31 

June,  1839,  bur.  in  Long  Stand  graveyard  near  Meadville.  m.  John 
Ryan,  of  Northumberland  Co.,  Pa.,  who  d,  10  Feb.,  1830.  He  removed 
to  Crawford  Co.,  Pa.,  in  1798,  having  two  years  before  taken  up  300 
acres  of  land  about  7  miles  from  Meadville,  the  house  he  then  erected 
being  now  occupied  by  his  grandson.  Major  George  P.  Kyau.  For  his  9 
ch.  see  p.  059. 

4.  III.    ANDREW,  b.  1763,  at  Bedminster,  N.  J.,  d.  Del.  Co.,   O.,  m.  Catherine,  dau. 

of  Moses  Kirk,  of  Turbut  tp..  Northumberland  Co..  Pa.,  who  d.  1833. 
Andrew  moved  from  Pa.  to  Ohio  about  1830.    For  his  7  ch.  see  p.  661. 

5.  IV.    MARTHA,   b.   at  Bedminster,  N.  J.,  13  Oct.,  1764,  d.  10  Aug..  1806,  at  Milton, 

Northurab.  Co.,  Pa.,  m.  1  Jan.,  1788,  Bethuel  Vincent,  of  Milton,  b.  3 
June,  1763,  d.  1  May,  16:}7,  the  great  grandson  of  Levi  Vincent,  a  Hug- 
uenot who  emigrated  from  France  to  N.  J.  Bethuel  Vincent  was  dis- 
tinguished in  his  vicinity  tor  the  force  and  integrity  of  his  character, 
his  retentive  memory  and  clear  intellect,  together  with  a  robust  and 
vigorous  frame.  He  was  postmaster  at  Milton  for  many  years.  When 
a  boy,  in  July,  1779,  at  the  capitulation  of  Freeland's  Fort  to  the  Brit- 
ish Colonel  McDonald,  he,  together  with  his  father  Cornelius  Vincent, 
his  brother  Daniel  and  a  number  of  neighbors,  including  the  Him- 
rods,  was  captured.  The  prisoners  were  taken  to  Canada  and  there 
detained  until  the  end  of  the  war.    For  her  9  ch.  see  p. 663. 

6.  V.    WILLIAM,  b.  at  Bedminster,  N.  J.,  1766,  d.  8  Feb..  1813,  at   Ovid.  N.  Y.,   m 

Elizabeth  Sutphen,  dau.  of  Peter  Sutphen,  of  Somerset  Co.,  N.  J.,  b. 
1766,  d.  19  Nov.,  1849,  at  Trumansburg,  N.  Y.  He  learned  the  trade  of 
tanner  and  currier  from  his  Uncle  Aaron  Malick  (A  '2),  and  in  1796  set- 
tled on  a  farm  at  Lodi,  Seneca  Co.,  N.  Y.,  where  he  established  a 
tannery.  Ten  years  later  he  exchanged  this  property  for  330  acres  at 
Hector,  Schuyler  Co.,  N.  Y.,  to  which  he  removed  with  his  family  and 
the  large  families  of  his  two  slaves  Tom  and  SiU  that  had  been  his 
wife's  dowry.  He  was  captain  of  militia  1797,  was  app'd  major  in 
1801,  lieut.  colonel  1804.  and  major  general  during  the  war  of  1813,  died 
from  fever  contracted  in  the  service  and  was  buried  with  military 
honors  in  the  Presb.  Churchyard  at  Ovid,  his  body  being  subsequently 
removed  to  Trumansburg.    For  his  10  ch.  see  p.  663. 

7.  VI.    ELIZABETH,  b.  prob.  Feb.,  1773,  dec;  was  living  in  1839  with  Edward  Ryan 

in  Crawford  Co.,  Pa. 

8.  VII.    DAVID,  b.  177.3,  m.  Anna  Harris. 

(There  may  have  been  other  ch.) 
42 


658   Ch.  of  Aaron  Himrod,  Sam.  Phoenix  &  J.  C.  Smith. 

THIRD     GENERATION. 
Aaron  Himrod  (2)  had  13  ch. 

9.  I.    MOSES,  b.  at  Northumb.  Co.,  Pa.,  9  Jan.,  1790,  d.  at  Waterford,   Pa.,  26  Sep., 

1868,  m.  15  Jan.,  1810,  Nancy  King.  dau.  of  James  Latimer  of  W.,  adesc. 
of  Jolin  Latimer,  of  "  Tlie  Irish  Settlements"  in  the  "  Forlis  of  the 
Delaware,"  she  b.  Jan.,  1790,  d.  at  Erie,  Pa.,  4  Oct.,  1860;  he  served  4 
years  from  1811,  as  lieut.  and  capt.,  7  Co.,  136  Heg.  Pa.  Militia.  For  his 
10  ch.  see  p.  uce. 

10.  n.    WILLIAM,  b.  in  Northumb.  Co.,  Pa.,  19  May,  1791,  d.  at  Erie,  21  June,  1873, 

m.  Jtrst  31  May,  1825,  Aurelia  H.,  dau.  of  George  W.  Heed,  b.  10  Mch., 
1804.  d.  6.  Dec,  1844;  m.  smmd,  9  July,  1815.  Phoebe,  wid.  of  Dr.  Moore 
Bird  Bradley  and  dau.  of  Bethuel  Vincent  (5).  He  was  identilied  with 
the  growth  and  prosperity  of  Erie  being  extensively  engaged  in  the 
business  of  real  estate,  lumbering  and  building.  He  erected  several 
hotels,  in  1834  completed  the  new  court  house  and  in  1841  as  one  of  the 
firm  of  Vincent,  Himrod  &  Co.  founded  the  large  iron  and  stove  works 
on  nth  and  State  Sts.  which  have  since  been  a  source  of  much  wealth 
to  the  city.  He  was  active  in  the  Presb.  communion,  untiring  in 
worlis  of  usefulness  and  charity,  and  a  firm  friend  to  the  abolition 
movement.  In  Dec,  18.30  he  established  in  his  own  house  Erie's  first 
negro  Sunday  school,  still  well-lcnown  as  the  "'  Himrod-Mission."  For 
his  5  ch.  see  p.  666. 

11.  III.    ANDREW,  b.  9  Sep.,  1792,  d.  19  Aug.,  1819,  at  Terre  Haulje,  Ind.,  m.  Sarah 

Crawford. 

12.  IV.    MARY  FOSTER,  b.  13  Aug..  1704,  d.  at  the  res.  of  her  dau.  Mrs.  Jaclis, 

Milwaukee,  Wis.,  m.  1  Sep.,  1817,  Amos  P.  Woodford;  had  2  ch. 
I.    Marinda,  of  Milwaukee.  Wis.,  dec,  m.  Craig  Jacks,  of  Harbor  Creek, 
Pa.,  dec,  has  had  one  ch.,  Mary,  dec,  who  m.  H.  Armour  who  lives 
in  N.  Y.  C.  and  left  3  ch. 
II.    Mary,  dec.  ra.  Munsen  Guest,  of  Waterford,  Pa.,  no  ch. 

13.  V.    ELEANOR  McGUIRE,  res.  near  Waterford,  Pa.,  b.  12  Mch.,  1796,  in  North- 

umb Co.,  m.  20  Mch.,  1822,  to  Samuel  Phoenix,  has  6  ch., 
I.  Aaron,  res.  near  Waterford. 
II.  Sarah  Charilla.  res  Watertown  tp.,  b.  25  Dec,  1829,  m.  Joseph  O. 
Baldwin,  of  Cleveland,  O.;  their  3  ch.,  Jfaro/a /,.,  b.  1854,  m.  1876, 
Charles  O.  Skinner,  of  Waterford;  Xeny  M.,  b.  1859,  m.  1887,  a  far- 
mer named  Lain,  of  Wilmot,  Cowley  Co.,  Kan.;  and  .4 /ina  Jf..  b. 
1862. 

III.  Isbella,  m.  a  Hunt. 

IV.  Mary  Elizabeth,  res.  Cowley  Co.,  Kan.,  b.  4  Jan.,  I8:ffl,  m,  21  Sep., 

1865,  by  Rev.  Thomas  T.  Bradford,  John  K.  Thompson,  b.  in  Erie 
Co.,  Pa..  17  Jan.,  18.39;  have  3  ch.  living,  one  dec 
V.    John.  d.  at  Libby  Prison,  Richmond,  Va. 
VI.    Samuel. 

14.  VI.    JOHN,  b.  in  Northumb  Co.,  Pa.,  18  July,  1797,  d.  at  Waterford  20  Mch.,  1880, 

m.  Jlrst,  by  Rev.  Robert  Reed,  28  June,  1827,  Rebecca  Leetch,  b.  1  May, 
1797,  d.  15  June,  1861;  m.  second,  by  Rev.  T.  T.  Bradford,  35  Nov..  1868, 
Nancy  Boyd,  of  Waterford,  b.  22  Aug.,  1798.    For  his  6  ch.  see  p.  667. 
16.    VII.    CATHERINE,  b.  in  Waterford  tp.,  6  Jan.,  1799,  m.  Saml.  Gill,  both  dec; 
left  one  ch..  Mary,  wid.  of  Cookson  Green,  who  lives  6  miles  from 
Waterford,  and  lias  2  sons  and  5  daus. 
16.    VIII.    SAB.\H,  b.  2  July.  1800,  d.  at  Waterford  30  Jan.,  1873,  m.  by  Bev.  Bobt. 
Reed.  4  Api.,  1826,  to  John  C.  Smith,  b.  1801,  d.  30  July,  1881;  had  4  ch., 
I.    James,  b.  7  Jan.,  1827,  d.  24  Jan.,  1877,  at  Vineland,  N.  J.,  m.  12  May, 
18U8,  Carrie  W.  Ells.  b.  8  Aug.,  1844;  their  2  ch.,  Mary  Belle,  b.  1869; 
and  Flora  Dell,  d.  1871. 
II.    Martha,  res.  Waterford,  Pa.,  b.  32  Jan.,  1830,  m.  18  Feb.,  1867,  Frank  C. 
Baxter;  their  6  ch.,  Elsie  S.,  b.  1857;  William  K.,  b.  1860,  m.  188.3,  Ida 
M.  Olmstead,  has  one  ch.  Lotty  Ida,  b.  1884;  Joltu  C.  ,S.,  and  Joseph 
M.,  twins,  b.  1864;  Mary  F..  b.  1867;  MatCie  C,  b.  1872. 
III.    Josiah  H.,  of  Pueblo,  Col.,  b.  23  Feb.,  1832,  d.  18  May,  1870,  m.  8  Mch., 
186.5,  Margaret  Leeper,  of  Canada,  b.  11  Feb.,  18.38;  their  one  ch., 
Agnes  Maud,  b,  1866. 


Ch.  of  Aaron  Himrod,  Thomas  Moore  &  John  Ryan.  659 

IV.  Caroline,  b.  4  Sep..  1838.  d.  12  Mch..  I8fl«.  m.  0  June.  1865,  Alpheus 

Peek;  their  1  ch..  Sarah  E.,  b.  1867.  d.  In  Infancy. 

17.  IX.    SIMON,  b.  8  Jan..  1802,  at  Waterford.  Pa.,  d.  there  13  May.  1874.  in.  by  Kev. 

Robt.  Heed  13  Feb..  1828,  Jane  Moore,  who  d.  about  1K79.  For  8  ch.  see 
p.  667. 

18.  X.    ISABELLA,  b.  In  Waterford  tp.,  27  Mch..  1804,  d.  there  27  Mch.,  1880. 

19.  XI.    DAVID,  b.  In  Waterford  tp..  2(i  May.  1806,  d.  there.  23  Nov..  1877.  m.  by 

Wra.  Vincent.  4  July,  1833.  Abig^ail  Patten,  b.  in  Maine.  18  Oct..  1812. 
her  res.  637  Beldou  Ave..  Chieasro.  111.  David  Himrod's  great  Integrity 
and  remarkable  business  capacity  made  him  a  conspicuous  flifure  in 
the  vicinity  of  Erie  where  much  of  his  life  was  ])a88ed,  and  his  proral- 
nent  Identity  with  the  iron  interest  of  the  state  tojjrether  with  his  dis- 
coveries and  inventions  relating-  to  that  industry  will  render  his  repu- 
tation lon(?  enduring.  With  hisbrother  William  and  Bethuel  B.  Vincent 
he  was  early  engaged  in  smelting  iron,  and  in  1844  his  firm  of  Vincent, 
Himrod  &  Co.  commenced  building  furnaces  in  the  Chenango  Valley. 
He  was  instrumental  In  the  Arm's  experimenting  with  the  use  of 
stone  coal  instead  of  charcoal;  he  soon  discovered  that  it  made  iron  of 
the  very  best  quality,  and  to  him  belongs  the  honor  of  supplying  the 
first  iron  in  the  United  States  produced  from  bituminous  coal.  He 
was  the  first  to  investigate  the  Lake  Superior  ore  region,  and  in  1854 
he  produced  iron  of  the  finest  quality  from  the  raw  material  trans- 
ported from  the  northwest,  thus  opening  up  the  immense  ore  fields  of 
that  country  to  the  world.  In  1859  he  organized  the  Himrod  Furnace 
Co.,  and  continued  to  be  its  active  manager  until  he  retired  from 
business  in  1871,  Altogether  he  was  a  remarkable  man,  and  during 
his  business  career  made  an  impression  upon  his  time  and  generation, 
the  effects  of  which  will  be  felt  as  long  as  Pa.'siron  industries  Uourisb. 
For  his  10  ch.  see  p.  667. 

20.  XII.    MARTHA,  b.  in  Waterford,  Erie  Co.,  Pa..  4  Jan.,  1808.  d.  there,  25  Feb.. 

1801.  ra.  by  John  Boyd  2  Dec.  1834,  Thomas  Moore,  b.  3  Apl..  1813,  d.  4 

Nov..  1880,  had  5  ch. 

I.    Sakah.  res.  Waterford.  Pa.,  b.  22  June.  1835,  m.  22  Nov.,  1854.  Matthew 

Campbell,   who  d.  1887;  their  5  cb.,  Martha  E..  born   1866,  m.  1886, 

Buman  Gilkersou;  Bertha  J.,  b.  1859,  m.  1882  Marshall  B.  Hood,  and 

has  1  ch..  Ruth;  nontax  K.,  b.  1800,  d.  1861;  James  M..  h.  1803,  d.  1887; 

George  H'..  b.  1805.  m.   1886.   Jenny  McLean,  has  1  ch..  Sadie  Esther. 

n.    James,  b.  18  May.  1839.  d.  at  Waterford.  23  July.  1865.  unin. 

III.  Ralph,  res.  near  Waterford.  Pa.,  b.   24  Mch..   1842.    m.  by  Rev.   H.  P. 

Jackson.  4  Mch..  1868.  Sophia  Avery;  has  1  ch  Sophia  Arery,  b.  1843. 

IV.  Thomas  Pressly,  b.  26  Oct.,  1845,  d.  1.5  June,  1882,  m.  4  Jan..  1871.  Maggie 

J.  Powell,   b.  23  Jlay,  1853,  her  res.  Cochranton,   Pa. ;  their  2  oh., 
Hugh  H.,  and  Fred  H.,  twins,  b.  1871. 

V.  Kirk  Canning,  b.  3  Jan.,  1854,  d.  11  Dec,  1886. 

21.  XIIL    AARON  MELIC'K.  b.  28  June,  1809,  d.  of  consumption  in  1834.  while  study- 

ing for  the  ministry  at  Lane  Seminary,  Cincinnati,  O. 

THSRD    GENERATION. 
John    and    Catherine    (Himrod)   Ryan   (3)    had    9    ch. 

22.  I.    MARTHA,  ra.  Archibald  McNeill,  of  Crawford  Co..  Pa.,  who  d.  at  Meadville. 

She  removed  to  Oshkosh,  Wis.;  their  5  ch..  I.  John.  b.  about  1808,  d, 
1887;  II.  Elizabeth,   m.  flrxt.  Lewis  Campbell,  m.  second  and  had  ch. ; 
III.  Catherine,  dec.  m.  Asa  Hull,  of  Meadville;  IV.  Clinton,   m.  a 
Sherwood  and  lived  at  Hudson,  Wis.;  V.  Edgar,  m.  and  lived  at  Fond- 
du-Iac.  Wis. 
28.    II.    MARV,  b.  13  Dec,  1789,  d.  at  Memphis,  Miss..  15  June,   1866,   m.   19  Oct..   1809, 
Armand  Mflrtin,  b.  26  Oct.,  1785,  d.  is  June.  1861,  at  West  Point,  Iowa,  to 
which  place  he  moved  in  1845  from  Erie  Co.,  Pa. ;  had  9  ch. 
I.    Angeline.  b.  1811,  d.  1848,  m.  1829,  Chas.  Dillon  McGill,  of  Saegertown,  b. 
1802,   d.  1876.  had  9  ch. ;  Mary  Ann.  who  ra.  J.  L.  Hltes,  res.  Hayfleld. 
Pa..  Oscar  P.,   dec. ;  Ariiiancl  M.,  m.   Matilda  Briggs,   res.   Saeger- 
town; John  E.,  ra.  Amelia  A.  Boyd,  res.  Saegertown;  Emily  Ellen, 
m.  William  S.    Affantranger,    res.    Meadville.    Pa,;    Andrew    R.\ 


660  Ch.  of  Akmand  Martin,  John  Wm.  &  Andrew  Himrod. 

ex-Go  v.,  of  Minnesota,  m.  first,  Lida  Bryant,  m.  second,  Mary  E. 
Wilson,  res.  St.  Anthony  Park,  Minn.;  Sarah  Augusta,  m. 
Edward  Powell,  res.  Greenville,  Pa.;  Frances  Catherine,  m.  Henry 
C.  Twitchell,  res.  Edinboro,  Pa.;  Angeline  Helen,  m.  Leon  Koup. 

II.  Emily  C,  b.  1813,  d.  1880,  m.  1830,  Joseph  Grier  Wilson,  who  d.  1888,  at 

West  Point,  Iowa:  had  7  ch.,  Mary,  dec;  Sarah  Jane,  m.  McKary; 

Andrew    Porter,   dec;    Josephine,   m.    Homer   Hall;    Charles   E.; 

Henry  D.,  m.  Matilda  C.  Forley ;  Samuel  M.,  m.  Lizzie  Thou. 
m.    Charlotte,  b.  1815,  d.  1S5S,  m.  William  D.  Burnes,  had  1  eh.,  Mina,  m. 

Charles  S.  Kidgeway,  res.  Canton,  Mo. 
IV.    Chakles  S.,  b.  1817,  moved  to  Mo.  in  1840,  m.  same  year,  Emily,  dau.  of 

Charles  Martin;  had  5  ch.,  Mary  A.,  ni.  Samuel  A.   Allen;  Anna 

Arista,  m.  William  H.   Barnes,   res.   Zanesville.  O. ;  Helen  Maria; 

Henry  Enoene,  m.  Mary  Thompson;  Alice  Irene,  va.  first,  Robert  N. 

Martin,  second,  Fehin  Landoy. 
v.    John  Eudolphos,  b.  1830,  d.  18.30,  m.  Elizabeth  H.  Nicholla,  had  4  ch., 

Charles  I'.,  killed  in  Union  Army,  Little  Rock,  Ark.,  18G3;  Robert 

X,  m.  Alice  I.  Martin ;  Adelaide,  dec. ;  Sabina,  m.  Horace  McDowell. 
VI.    Samuel,  b.  1827,  m.  1874,  Mary  A.  Snyder,  and  has  one  ch.  Alma. 
VII.    Cordelia  N.,  res.  Canton.  Mo.,  b.  1830,  m.  1874,  H.  M.  Wheeler. 
VIII.    Mart  S.,  res.  Arbela,  Mo.,  b.  1832,  m.  1855,  E.  H.  Wheeler;  had  9  ch., 

Ralph,   dec;  Jessie,  dec;   EJJie,    dec,  who  m.    William    Veutress; 

Orrie,  dec;  Carl,  dec;  Lottie,  dec,  m.  George  Thomas;  Edith,  m. 

Levi  Redout ;  Eric;  Paul,  dec. 
IX.    William  M.-k-NNiNO.  b.  18.34,  entered  Union  Army,  1861,  d.   returning 

home,  1864. 

24.  m.    SARAH,  d.  in  Crawford  Co.,  Pa.,  about  1823,  m.  a  Douglas,  and  had  one 

dau.  Emeline,  dec. 

25.  IV.    WILLIAM,  b.  7  Nov.,  1793,  d,  4  Dec,  1871,  m.  1818,  Catherine,  dau.  of  William 

Jones,  of  Meadville,  Pa.,  b.  2  May,  1793,  d.  16  Apl.,  1856;  their  11  ch., 
I.    Margaret,  b.  1819.  d.  1844,  unm. 
II.    Emellne,  res.  Elk  Creek,  Cal.,  b.  1821,  m.  1864,  William  S.  Carver. 

III.  Sarah,  res.  Pacific  Grove,  Cal.,  b.  1822,  m.  1850,  Charles  B.  Donnelly, 

who  d.  1854,  their  2  ch.,  James  C,  who  m.  Ellen  A.  Hhoads,  and 
Effie  C,  dec,  m.  E.  S.  Campbell. 

IV.  Amanda,  res.  Red  Bluff,  Tehama  Co.,  Cal.,  b.  1824.  unm. 
V.    Simeon,  res.  The  Homestead,  Meadville,  Pa.,  b.  1826,  unm. 

VI.    CoRYDON,  b.  1828,  murdered  by  thieves  in  Cal.  1879,  m.  Mary  D.  Haas. 
VII.    Martha,  b.  1830,  m.  1855,  James  A.  Buckingham,  and  had  10  ch.,  of 

whom    are  living- — Annie,   who  m.  Joseph  Smith;    Clara   Adela, 

William  Oscar,  .John  Albert,  Regina  Belle  and  James  Harper. 
Vin.    Andrew,  res.  Red  Bluff.  Cal.,  b.  1832,  unm. 
IX.    Catherine,  res.  Meadville,  Pa.,  b.  1835,  unm. 
X.    Isabella,  b.  183.5,  m.  18.38,  Ale.xr.   C.  Hill;  hadSch..  Charles  trm.,  m. 

Delia  May  HoUenbeak;    Winnie  Catherine,    m.   Linnaeus   Polley; 

Jesse  H.,  m.  Ida  Schofleld;  Alfaretta;  Atirelia  R. 
XL    Aurelia  Himrod,  res.  White  Sulphur  Springs,  Montana,  b.  1837.  m. 

1861,  John  C.  Tipton;  she  owns  theGerman  Bible  that  belonged  to 

Simon  Himrod,  the  immigrant. 

26.  V.    ANDREW,  b.  7  Sep.,  1795.  d.  Crawford  Co.,  Pa.,  about  1874,  m.  26  Oct.,  1820, 

dau.  of  William  Jones,  of  Meadville,  d.  July,  1887;  had  9  ch.. 
I.    John  A,,  b.  1821,  d.  in  Cal.,  1876,  m.  1848,  Isabel,  dau.  of  Truman  Mal- 

lory. 
II.  Adella,  res.  Brooklyn,  N.  T.,  b.  1823,  m.  first,  1848,  William  M.  Bar- 
rows, of  Greenburgh,  Pa.,  who  d.  1862;  m.  second,  1864,  James  Dens- 
more,  lawyer,  editor,  and  publisher,  b.  near  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  1820, 
d.  16  Sep.,  1889,  in  Brooklyn;  by  first  marriage  had  3  ch.,  viz.  :— 
Ernest  R.,  res.  Brooklyn,  m.  Rachaei  Wyman;  Walter  John,  res. 
Brooklyn,  m.  Frances  Evelyn  Carlin;  fd^ac,  d,  unm.  By  second 
marriage  had  one  ch.,  Darsa. 

III.  Edward,  res.  Dakota,  b.  1825,  m.  1847,  Margaret  Collum;  their  2  ch., 

Helen,  who  ra.  Henry  Barber:  and  Jessie. 

IV.  Eliza,  b.  1827,  m.  1849,  Henry  Womersley,  b.  1881,  d.  1875;  their  6  ch., 

Henry  R.;  Adella   Antoinette,  res.  Brooklyn,  m.  Edward  Rauft! 


Ch.  of  John  Ryan,  John  McGill  &  Andrew  Himeod.  661 

*  John   W.,  dec.;  Joym  Andrew,  dec.;  Annie  P.,  m.  William  Craston, 

of  England;  John,  m.  Emma  Morris 
V.    Sarah  J.,  res.  Center  Co..  Pa.,  b.  18.30,  m.  1846.  Michael  Cole  ;  their  » 
ch.,  WilliaTn;  Andrew,  m.  Eliza  Warner;  John  A.,  dec;  Isabel,  dec.; 
Frank  ;  Ernest  ;  Aleianaer  :  Ida  and  Elmer. 
VI.    William  Swazey,   res.  Nebraska,  b.  18.3S,  m.  1855,   Harriet,  dau.  of 
David  Barrows,  of  Greensburg,  Pa. ;  their  "  ch.,  Charles,  m.  Alice 
Clarke;  Henry;  Ma,  m.GeorgeBeneon;  George;  Edgar;  TiTia,  dec.; 
Tinnie. 
VII.    Mary  Isabel,  res.  Carbondale,  Col.,  b.  1834,  m.  first,  1856,  George  H. 
Colloni.  m.  .wc'OHrt.   188.3,  Thomas  Graham;  had  2  ch.,  both  by  Ist 
marriage,  Fratwelia  R..  who  m.  George  Johnson,  and  Harry,  who 
m.  Phoebe  Metzenbaucher,  and  lives  in  Chicago. 
Vm.    Andrew  W.,  b.  1836,  d.  at  St,  Paul,  Minn.,  1887,  m.  1870  Celia  Green; 
their  3  eh.,  George  William;  Celia  Agnes;  and  Eliza  Generefa. 
IX.    George   Plu.«mer,  res.  Longstand,  Crawford  Co.,  Pa.,    b.   1843.    m. 
1866,  Sarah,  dau.  of  Asa  Gehr,  of  Woodcock,  Pa.;  served  through- 
out  the  civil  war  with  much  credit  in    150th    Pa.    Regt.  (Buck- 
tails),    captured  at    Gettysburg,    confined    in    Libby    and   other 
prisons  until  exchanged  when  he  rejoined  his  regt. ;  was  sheriff  of 
Crawford  Co.,  Pa.,  1875  to  1878;  served  as  ordnance  officer  and  asst. 
adj.  genl.  6th  brig.  Pa.  N.  G.  1878  to  1881;  had  9  ch.,  Almont;  Duff  P.; 
who  m.  a  Miss  Sherrick;  Minnie  S.,  Andrew  A.;  Ernest  B.;  George; 
James;  Xonnan  and  Adella. 

27.  VI.    EDWARD,  b.  2  Oct.,  1797,  d.  16  July,  1878,  m.  first.  7  June,  1834,  Elizabeth 

Clarke,  of  Crawford  Co..  Pa.,  b.  1800,  d.  1840,  m.  second.  Harriet  — ;  no  oh, 

28.  VII,    ISABELLA,  b.  28  Oct.,  1800,  d.  33  Mar.,  1876,  at  Saegertown,  Pa.,  m.  12  July. 

1823,  John  McGlU,  of  Saegertown,  b.  19  Oct.,  1795,  d.  27  Oct.,  1878;  had  6 
ch. 
I.    Catherine,  b.  1823,  d.  1825. 
II.    Anna  Maria,  res.  Saegertown,  b.  1834. 
III.    Sarah  C,  b.  1826,  d.  1875.  m.  1851  Robert  Hunter. 

IV.  Augustus,  Ed.  of  the  Weekly  Press,  Saegertown,  Pa.,  b.  1828,  m.  1855. 
Sarah  Peifler.  of  Venango.  Pa.,  b.  1826;  their  4  ch.,  William  R.; 
Isabella,  in.  W.  B.  Hough;  Lilian,  m.  M.  O.  Campbell,  of  Smethport, 
Pa. ;  and  Rebecca,  dec. 
V.  Eliza  R.  res.  Hydetown,  Pa.,  b.  1830,  m.  1861,  James  R.  Fleming,  and 
has  several  ch. 
VI.  William  R..  res.  Harmonsburg,  Pa.,  b.  18.3.3,  m.  1861,  Caroline  A. 
Harkin,  b.  18.39;  has  9  ch. 

29.  VIII.    CATHERINE,  twin.  b.  28  Oct.,  1800,  dec,  m.  John  Scott  dec;  had  1  ch. 

I.    William  R.,  who  is  an  attorney-at-law.  Meadville,  Pa. 

THIRD    GENERATION. 
Andrew  Himrod  (4)  had  7  ch. 

30.  I.    SARAH,  b.  in  Nortbumb.  Co.,  Pa.,  33  Jan..  1795,  d.  at  Berkshire    Del.  Co.,  O., 

21   Dec,   1866,   m,   10  Jan.,   1822,  Zelotes  Jones,  of  Berkshire,  b.  30  Apl., 
1797,  d.  in  Otoe  Co..  Neb.,  37  Jan.,  1874,  had  5  ch.,  I.  Martha,  b.  17  Nov.. 
1823.    II.    Solomon,  b.  8  Aug.,  1836.    III.    Andrew  K,  b.  25  Mch..  ia31; 
David,  b.  14  Dec,  18-35.  d.  29  Aug..  18(M;  V.  Sarah,  b.  3  Sep.,  1837. 
81.    II.    MARTHA,  was  blind,  and  unm.  in  1839. 

83.    ni.    ISABELLA,  b.  in  Northumb.  Co.,  Pa.,  14  Aug.,  IROl.  d.  Canaan  tp..  Morrow 
Co.,  O.,  37  Mch.,  186;!,  m.  26  June.  1833.  John  Rice,  b.  1794,  d.  1868,  their  8 
ch.,I.  Rachel,  b.8  May,  18J4;II.  C-4.thahine, b.  i  Sep., 1825;  III.  Jacob, 
b.  23  Aug.,  1827;  IV.  Lydi A,  b.  30  July,   1839;  V.  Maria,  b.  18  Mch..  1832; 
VI.  Isabel,  b.  6  Dec.  ISJG;  VII.  Simon  Himrod,  b.  24  Apl.,  1840;  VIII. 
Paul  Kester,  b.  29  June,  1842. 
33.    IV.    CATHERINE,  b.  at  Milton,  Pa.,  14  Nov.,  1803.  d.  Delaware  O.,  23  June,  1884, 
m.  6  May,  1829,  Alexander  Anderson,  b.  15  July.  1796,   d.  30  Mar.,  I860, 
held  the  office  of  constable  and  coroner,  had  5  ch., 
I.    William,  b.  15  Apl.,  1883.  d.  1875,  has  1  son,  rhas..  S..  res.  Delaware,  O. 
II.    Isabella,  res.  Wescott.  Cust*r  Co..  Neb.,  b.  5  June.  1835. 
m.    John  Alexander,  b.  19  Feb.,  IS39,  d.  1884,  had  one  son,  Louis,  res.  Del- 
aware, O. 


6(i2     Ch.  of  Andrew  Himrod  and  Bethuel  Vincent. 

IV.    Andrew  Matthew,  b.  21  Apl.,  1S41,  ia  adjutant  of  the  Ohio  Soldiers' 

and  Sailors'  Home  at  Sandusky. 
V.    James  Gillis,  b.  24Mch.,  1843.  d.  1807. 
34.    "V.    MAKIA.  m.  George  Welch,  of  Oxford,  Del.  Co.,  O. 

3.5.  VI.  SIMON,  b.  4  Oct.,  1809,  at  Milton,  Pa.,  d.  July,  133T,  in  Del.  Co.,  O.,  m.  1837, 
Charlotte,  (probably)  Caulkins.  Charlotte  (Caulkins)  Himrod  ni. 
Daniel  M.  Janes,  and  d.  10  Mch.,  1856. 

36.  VII.    MARGARET,  b.  at  Milton,  Pa.,  16  Feb.,  1814,  d.  in  Del.   Co.,   O.,   14  Dec., 

1885,  m.  12  Sept.  18.38.  Joseph  Raleson,  of  Berkshire,  O.,  who  d.  24  July, 
1877,  had  6  ch.,  I.  Simon,  b.  1  Jan.,  1840,  killed  in  battle  of  Gettysburg,  2 
July,  1863;  II.  Henrietta,  res.  Berlin,  Del.  Co.,  O.,  b,  10  Dec,  1840,  m. 
a  Smith;  III.  Lemuel,  b.  22  Feb.,  1842,  d.  23  Aug,,  1863;  IV.  Louisa,  b. 
22  June,  1846;  V.  Fidelia,  b.  5  Nov.,  1849. 

THIRD  GENERATION. 

Bethuel  and  Martha  (Himrod)   Vincent  (5)  had  8  ch. 

37.  I.    SARAH,  b.  13  Dec,  1788,  d.  30  Oct.,  1839,  on  her  husband's  plantation  near 

Mobile,  Ala,,  of  yellow  fever;  m.  Col.  John  B.  Hogan,  of  U.  S.  army; 
had  5  ch. 

I.  Anne  M.,  d.  1842,  m.  G.  H.  Byard,  Cash.  Bank,  of  Mobile,   had  2  dauB,, 

1  dec, 

II.  Amelia,  res.  Mobile,  Ala.,  wid.  of  Oliver  S.  Beers. 

III.  Sarah,  res.  Canada,  ra.  Rev.  William  Meikl. 

IV.  LuCT,  dec.  m.  Thomas  Hamilton,  lawyer  of  Mobile. 

V.  John  B.,  d.  leaving  a  wid.  and  2  ch. 

38.  II.    WILLIAM,  b.  4  July,  1790,  d.  19  Mch..  1872,  at  Waterford,  Pa.,  m.  20  Feb.,  1817, 

Elsie  J.  dau.  of  Thomas  Nicholas,  of  Pine  Creek,  Pa.,  dec. ;  had  9  ch. 
I.    John  Pericles,  res.  Erie,  Pa.,  lawyer  and  judge,  b.  1817,  m.  1845,  Har- 
riet S.,  dau.  of  John  Shadduok,  of  Wesleyville,   Pa.,   who  d.  1888; 
has  2  ch.  Harriet  Frances;  and  Catherine  Elsie. 

II.  Margaret  Martha,  b.  1819,  d.  1841,  unm. 

III.  George  Calhoun,  b.  1821,  d.  1847,  m.  wife  dee. ;  left  2  ch.,  George  T..  of 

San  Francisco,  Cal. ;  and  Frank  of  Mobile,  Ala. 

IV.  Anka  Bella,  res.  Waterford,  Pa.,  ra.  F.  B.  Strong  and  has  7  ch. 
t               V.    Thomas  N.,  b.  1825,  dec,  m.  and  left  1  son. 

VI.  Phebe  Maria,  b.  1827,  m.  Samuel  Hae,  who  is  dec. 

VII.    Oscar  Bethuel,  b.  Oct.,  1829,  dec,  leaving  wid.  and  2  sons  at  Webster 

City,  Iowa. 
VIII.    William  H.,  b.  18.32,  d.  1852,  unm. 
IX.    Sarah  Hog  an,  now  P.  M.  at  Waterford,  Pa.,  b.  11  Feb.,  1838. 

39.  III.    DANIEL,  b.  17  Jan.,  1792,  d.  6  Oct..  1858,  at  Waterford,  Pa.,  m.  2.5  July,  1815, 

Rachel,  dau.  of  Thos.  Brown,  of  Bucks  Co.,  Pa.;  d.  28  May,  1868;  Daniel 
moved  from  Milton  to  Waterford  in  1826  where  he  was  a  farmer  and 
tanner,  a  trustee  of  the  Waterford  Academy,  and  for  many  years  elder 
of  the  Presb.  Church;  his  10  ch. : 
L    Richard  M.,  b,  1816,  dec 

II.    Thomas  Brown,  res.  Erie,  Pa.,  b.  26  Mar.,  1818,   m.  19  Oct.,  1842,  Lydia 
W.  Strong. 

III.  William,  b.  1820,  m.  1842,  Ellen  Van  Nest,  of  Quincy,  111. 

IV.  Moses  S.,  b.  1821. 

V.  Sarah  Ann,  b.  1823,  m.  1845,  Wm.  R.  Lockwood. 

VI.  Martha  Margaret,  b.  1825,  m.  1853,  George  W.  R.  Himrod. 

VII.  Mary  Elizabeth,  twin,  b.  1825,  dec. 

VIII.  John  H..  b.  1828,  dec. 

IX.  Mary  E.,  twin,  b.  1823,  dec 

X.  Elizabeth,  res.  Erie,  Pa.,  b.  1830,  m.  6  Sept.,  1866,  Dr.  Wm.  Faulkner. 

40.  IV.    MARY,  b.  14  Mar.,  1794,  d.  15  Nov.,  1830,  at  Mobile,  Ala.,  m.  Wm.  T.   Brown; 

has  one  ch.  living,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  K.  Raser,  who  resides  with  a 
dau.  Mrs.  James  Belknap,  at  Erie,  Pa. ;  graudchildren  named  Schroder, 
ch.  of  a  dec.  dau.  now  living  in  N.  Y.  city. 

41.  V.     BENJAMIN  (Capt.)b.  6  June,  1790.  d.:M  Oct.,  1839,  of  yellow  fever  at   Mobile, 

Ala.,  left  ch.,  who  are  dec. ;  has  probably  grandch.,  ch.  of  his  dec.  sons, 
Benjamin  and  Charles  living  at  Mobile. 


Ch.  of  Bethuel  Vincent  and  William  Himrod.     663 

42.  VI.    JOHN  HIMKOD,  b.  20  Apl.,  1798,  d.  13  Ausf.,  1873.  at  Erie.  Pa.,  m.  Jlrst,  at 

Demopolis.  Ala..  6  Sep..  1821,  Marj'  Baser,  b.  30  July,  1803,  d.  16  Feb., 
18.52,  by  whom    4   ch.;   he  m.  xecona  at  Erie,   Pa..  2  June.   1852,   Ann 
Richards,  b.  22  Feb.,  1825.  by  whom  4  ch. ;  he  lived  at  Tuscaloosa.  Ala., 
until  ia38.  when  he  removed  to  ChiUlsquaqua.   Northum.   Co..   Pa., 
thence  in  1852  to  Erie,  Pa.,  thence  a  few  years  later  to  Chicago,  III.; 
his  i  ch.  by  first  wife  were 
I.    John  Heyl.  D.  D..  LL.  D..  res.  Buffalo.  N.  Y.,  b.  Ala.  2.3  Feb..  18K,  m. 
at  Portvllle,  N.  Y.,  10  Nov.,  185S,  to  Elizabeth,  dau.  of  Henry  Dusen- 
bury,  of  Deposit,   N.  Y.    Dr.  John  H.  Vincent  was  educated  at 
Lewisburg  Academy,  in  Pa.,  and  the  Wesleyan  Inst..  Newark.  N- 
J.,  licensed  to  preach  in  1850  and  was  admitted  to  the  N.  J.  Annual 
Conference   (Methodist)  In  185.3,  transferred    In  1857  to  the  Kock 
River  Conference.  111.,   he  ofiiciated  as  pastor  at  Joliet.    Mount 
Morris.  Galena,  Rockford,  and  Chicago,  until  1«65.    In  that  year  he 
established  the  Xorthwestern  Sunaay-Sctinol   Quarterly,  and    The 
Sundaji-School  Teacher  in  1866;  in  this  year  he  was  appointed  Gen. 
Agt.  of  Meth.  Epis.  Sunday-School  Union  and  in  1868  was  elected 
Cor.  Secy,  of  same.    In  1888  he  was  elected,  at  the  quadrennial  ses- 
sion of  the  General  Conference,  Bishop  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.     Few  public  men,  it  is  believed,  have  exercised  greater 
influence  on  popular  education  than  he.    His  greatest  achieve- 
ment is  the  Chatauqua  Literary  and  Scientific  Circle,  which  now. 
in  its  12th  year,  has  spread  over  Christendom,  and  numbers  nearly 
100,000  members.    As  a  still  higher  means  of  educating  the  masses 
he  has  succeeded  by  his  tireless  activity  and  administrative  genius  in 
establishing  the  Chatauqua  University,  of  which  he  is  the  Chancel- 
lor.   He  has  one  sou,  George  Edgar,  b.  in  1864. 
II.    Bethuel  Thomas,  res.  Greeley,  Col.,  b.  IH.'M,  at  Tuscaloosa,  Ala.;  was 
pastor  of  Fortieth  St.  M.  E.  church.  Phila.,  in  1887. 

III.  Frank  Lyon,  M.  D.,  b.  1839.  d.  1889  at  Clifton  Springs,  N.  Y.,  m. /rst, 

Maggie  Jordon,  of  Jamestown,  N.  Y.,  d.  1866;  m.  secmid,  1868,  Anna 
dau.  of  Martin  Curtis;  b.  1836;  Dr.  Frank  L.  Vincent  graduated 
from  Hahnemann  Med.  Col.  of  Chicago,  rec'd  deg.  of  A.  M.  from 
Hamilton  Col.  1878.  practiced  medicine  In  Illinois  and  New  York, 
'  and  at  time  of  death  was  on  medical  staff  of  Clifton  Springs  Sani- 
tarium; had  two  ch.,  Robert  H.  and  Frank  It.,  of  Troy,  N.  Y. 

IV.  Maky  Elizabeth,   m.  James  O.  Farovid,  and  lives  at  Hyde  Park, 
Chicago,  111. 

Johu  Himrod  Vincent  had  4  ch.  by  second  wife.  viz.. 
V.    Charles  Richard,  res.  N.  Y.  C,  b.  4  Oct.,  18.?4. 
VL    Henry,  b.  26  Dec,  18r>.5. 
VII.    William,  b.  8  Mar..  18iB. 
VIII.    Anna.  res.  4ji  Janis  St..  Toronto.  Can.,  m.  G.  D.  Massey. 

43.  VII.    PHOEBE,  b.  1800.  d.  in  infancy. 

44.  VIII.    PHOEBE,  b.  23  Mar.,  1803,  m.  first  1839,  Moore  B.  Bradley,  M.  D.,  of  Water- 

ford,  Pa..  b..l700.  d.  1811;  m.  second,  1845,  her  cousin  William  Himrod 
(10)  of  Erie,  Pa.,  b.  1791,  d.  1873,  had  1  ch.,  Moore  Bird,  b.  1840,  d.  1842. 

THIRD     GENERATION.  • 

William    Himrod    (6)    had  lo    ch. 

45.  I.    MARIA,  b.  at  Somerville,  N.  J.,  22  Apl.,  1792.  d.  at  Trumansburg,  N.  Y.,  13 

Aug..  1870,  m.  15  June.  1811.  as  a  .second  wife.  John  McLallen,  b.  at  West 
Stockbridge,  Mass.,  2.5  Dec,  1773.  d.  at  Trumansburg.  16  Dec.  1844.  He 
removed  to  N.  Y.  state  In  1792,  and  obtained  from  his  bro.-ln-law, 
Abner  Treman,  a  piece  of  land  at  the  present  site  of  Trumansburg 
upon  which  he  built  the  first  tavern  In  the  village.  Treman  had  been 
a  Revolutionary  soldier  and  reed,  for  his  military  services  a  strip  of 
land  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile  wide  and  two  miles  long  embody- 
ing the  site  of  Trumansburg,  the  village  dejiving  its  name  from  this 
ex-soldier.  Had  9  ch. 
I.  William  Himrod.  b.  18  May.  1812,  d.  m  Nov..  1887,  at  Aurora, 
111  ,     to     which      place    he    removed    about     1857,    m.    5    Oct., 


664  Ch.  of  Wm.  Himrod,  J.  McLallen  &  Alvah  Bement. 

1843,  Matilda,  dau.  of  Michael  Biggs,  of  Lodi,  N.  Y.,  b.  13  Aug.. 
1822,  d.  27  Aug.,  1868;  their  3  ch.,  John  James,  city  clerli  of  Aurora, 
111.,  b.  1844.  in.  18T4,  Ella  J.,  dau.  of  Daniel  J.  Emerson,  of  Rockford, 
111.,  b.  1  May.  1848.  has  3  ch. ;  Mary,  b.  1848,  d.  1884,  m.  1872,  Lauren 
Ford  Otis,  of  Aurora,  111.,  b.  1842,  left  2  ch.;  Emay,  b.  1858,  d.  in 
Infancy. 
II.  Edward  Ely  (Col.),  b.  1  Jan.,  1814,  d.  27  May,i88(i,  at  Trumansburg, 
nnm. ;  he  was  a  man  of  high  standing  in  business  and  social  com- 
munities and  was  greatly  respected;  entered  the  state  national 
guard  and  rose  from  the  ranks  to  the  command  of  aregt.;  for 
many  years  he  was  an  authority  upon  matters  pertaining  to  civil 
engineering. 

III.  John,  b.  19  July,  1815,  d.  at  Steamburg,  Schuyler  Co.,  N.  Y.,  21  Jan., 

1854,  m.  19  Feb..  1846,  Ann  E.,  dau.  of  Joshua  McKeel,  her  res. 
Mount  Vernon.  Iowa,  their  2  ch.,  De  Witt,  b.  1860,  and  Bertha,  b. 
1851.  m.  1875,  Thomas  Bower,  and.  res.  Waterburg,  Tompkins  Co., 
N.  Y. 

IV.  Maby  King,  b.  26  Jan.,  1817,  d.  17  Jan.,  1847,  m.  26  Aug.,  1839,  Lemuel 

Dorranoe  Branch,  b.  21  Sep.,  1815,  d.  16  Mch.,  1860;  their  2  ch.,  d.  in 
infancy. 
V.    Dewitt  Clinton,  b.  3  May  1818,  d.  3  Sep.,  1845,  unm. 
VL    Philemon  Ferdinand,  b.  20  Aug.,  1823,  d.  at  St.  Louis.   Mo.,  4  June, 
1853,  unm.,  grad.  at  Yale  College  with  honors   in  1847,  studied  law 
and  located  at  St.  Louis,  where  he  d.  when  apparently  just  cross- 
ing the  threshold  of  a  brilliant  professional  and  public  career.  He 
early  won  the  esteem  of  the  citizens  of  his  adopted  state  and  had 
already  become  identified  with  the  interests  of  the  city  and  com- 
monwealth.   Almost  a   giant    in    stature    his   dignified,  though 
affable  manners,   and  his  winning  personality  attracted  all  with 
whom  he  came  in  contact,  while  his  undoubted  talents  and  high 
character  commanded  respect  and  admiration. 
VII.    Calvin,  b.  20  Apl.,  1825,  d.  in  infancy. 

VIIL    Margaret,  b.  26  Apl.,  1336,  at  Trumansburg,  N.  Y.;  "  after  31  years  of 
helpless  suffering,"  inttamraatory  rheumatism  confined  her  to  a 
chair,  but  she  bore  her  affliction  with  cheerfulness,  and  took  plea- 
sure in  the  society  of  her  friends  and  of  her  brother  Edward  from 
whom  she  reed,  the  tenderest  care;  no  services  were  too  onerous 
for  him  to  perform  that  would  contribute  to  her  comfort  or 
alleviate  her  sulferings. 
IX.    Elias  King,  b.  1  May.  1828,  d.  29  July,  1845. 
46     II     PETER,  b.  25  Feb..  1794,  d.  30  Aug.,  186.S,  at  Cayuga.  N.  Y.;  m.  first,  8  Aug., 
1813,   Mabel,  dau.  of  John  McMath,  of  Ovid,  N.  Y..  b.  15  July,  1797,   d.  7 
Feb.,  1836;  ra.  second,   6  July.  1836,    Mary,  wid.  of  Charles  Towar,  of 
Lyons,  N.  Y.,  and  dau.  of  John  Leonard,  of  Ovid.  N.  Y.,  b.  28  Apl.,  1800, 
a.  12  Oct.,  1859;  m.  third,  30  Oct.,  1861,  Sophronia,  dau.  of  Charles  Bailey, 
of  Ithaca,  N.  Y.,  b.  27  Feb.,  1821.    Peter  Himrod  lived   for  many  years 
at  Ovid  and  Lodi,  was  an  active  business  man  and  farmer  of  high 
character,  and  rose  through    successive   ranks  to  be  major-general 
of  the  state  militia.    He  possessed  a  commanding  and  well-propor- 
tioned figure,  surmounted  by  a  noble  and  winning  countenance.    He 
was  eminently  conscientious  and  strong  in  his  religious  principles.  For 
his  8  ch.  see  p.  668. 
47.    III.    CATHERINE  SUTPHEN,  b.  8  July,  1796.  d.  13  Apl..  1876,  at  Burnett,  Wis., 
m.  8  Apl.,  1815,  as  second  wife  Alvah  Bement,  b.  23  Nov.,  1791,  d.  27 
Mch.,  1842,  had9ch.. 
I.    Abigail  Mabiah,  b.   20  Apl.,  1816,  d.  2  Oct.,  1842,  m.  1834,  William 

Thayer. 
II.    Maboaret  Himrod,  b.  9  Feb..  1818,  d.  5  June,  1839. 
ni.    William,  res.  Evansville,  Wis.,  b.  4  Mch.,  1820,  m.  15  June,  1842,  Sarah 

Hosekrause. 
IV.  David  Himbod,  b.  11  Mch.,  1822,  m.  12  Mch.,  1845,  Mary  Ann  Dickerson, 
b.  10  Mch.,  1827;  their  3  ch.,  Alvin,  b.  1847,  m.  1869,  Jane  Leath, 
William,  b.  1849,  d.  1877,  m.  1874,  Mary  Leath;  Maggie,  b.  1857,  d.  1800, 
V.  Erastds  B.,  res.  Oregon,  Dane  Co.,  Wis.,  b.  2  Apl.,  1824,  m.  20  July, 
1849,  Catherine  Kirtz. 


Ch.  of  Wm.  Himrod,  E.  Bement  &  Milo  Van  Dusen.  665 

VI.    Alvah.  b.  4  July,  1827,  d.  21  Mch.,  1829. 
VII.    Harriet  Elizabeth,  b.  18  Dec.,  1829.  d.  2  Sep.,  1836. 
VIII.    Catherine,  res.  Burnett  Station.  Dodife  Co.,  Wis.,  b.  9  Aug.,  1832,  m.  8 
Dec.,   1850,  Nathan  F.  Ttiomae;  their  4  ch.,  Theresa,  b.  1851,  d.  1852; 
H';/i.  Edward,  b.  1864;  Mary  Etta.  b.  1858;  Maria  HUa.  twin,  b.  1858. 
IX.    Louisa,  b.  in  Oct.,  l»39,  d.  ic  Jan.,  1840. 

48.  IV.    MAKGARET,  d.  in  youth. 

49.  V.    ELLEN,  b.  about  18uo,  d.  at  Cuba,  N.  Y.,  Oct.,  1877,  m.  Erastus  Bement,  bro. 

of  her  sister's  husband,  b.  about  1793,  d.  187«;  had  5  ch., 
I.    William  H.,  d.  about  18.H  at  Buffalo,  N.  Y. 
II.    Lewis  H..  res.  Ithaca,  N.  Y.,  b.  lu  Mch..  1821,  m.  15  Aug-.,  1844,  Phebe, 
dau.  of  Lemon  Morehouse,  of  Armenia,  N.  Y.;  their  5  ch., /"ronfe, 
res.  Wilson,  O.,  b.  1846.  m.  and  has  1  ch.;  Frederick,  b.  1848,  d.  1865; 
Bart,  b.  1852,  d.  1844;  Edward,  res.  Ithaca,   N.  Y.,  b.  1867,  m.  Etta 
Pereg-o;  Lewis,  b.  1865. 
III.    Ellen,  d.  in  youth  IV.  Nelson,  V.  Wilbur,  res.,  Cuba.,  N.  Y. 
CO.    VI.    LEWIS,  b.  at  Lodi,  N.  Y.,  18i)2,  d,  at  Aurora.  N.  Y.,  m.  Harriet  Brownell;  he 
was  associated  with  Captain  Wilcox  and  the  Moiffans  ol  Aurora  In  the 
ownership  ci  steamboats  on  Cayuga  Lake;  has  one  ch.,   Carrie,   res. 
Aurora,  who  m.  Charles  R.  Bush  and  has  2  ch..  Charles  and  Lizzie. 

61.  VIL    JUDITH,  b.  1804.  d.  at  Trumansburg,  N.  Y.,    13  Oct.,    1881,   m.   about  1830, 

Milo  Van  Dusen,  b.  17  May,  1800.  d.  28  Mch.,  1874.  During  the  last  45  years 

of  her  life  she  was  totally  blind  but  it  did  not  prevent  her  performing 

household  duties  and  In  needlework  she  was  especially  expert.    She 

was  possessed  of  active,  energetic  and  intelligent  qualities;  had  2  ch. 

I.    William  Himbod,  res.  Hornellsville.  N.  Y.,  b.  26  May,  1831,  m.  11  Nov., 

1862,  Cornelia,  dau.  of  Walker   Glazier,  b.    28  Oct.,  1830.    He  was 

chief  clerk  of  Motive  Power  Dept.,  Western  Div.  N.  Y.,  Lake  Erie, 

and  W.  K.  K.  Co.,  but  has  now  retired  from  active  business;  their  2 

ch.,  James  M..  b.  1869,  and  Minnie  Cornetia.  b.  1871. 

II.    Belinda  Loraine,  res.  Truraansburg,  N.  Y.,  b.  14  Nov.,  1332,  m.  13 

Oct.,   18,57,    Waldron  B.  Dumont;  their  3  ch.,  ifred  5„  b.  1858,  d.  1881; 

Isabetta  J.,  b.  1860,  d.  1888,  m.  1885,  Harper  J.  Goodyear,  left  one  ch. 

Charles  Bush.  b.  1868. 

62.  VIII.    WILHEMUS  MYNDERSE,  b.  1807,  d.  10  .May,  1858,  at  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  m. 

first,   16  Oct.,   1830,  Christina  Seltredge,  who  d. :»  Oct.,  1840;  m.  second, 
1841,  Elizabeth,  dau.  of  Henry  Winters,  of  Broadway,  N.  J.,  b.   10  May, 
1812,  d.  30  Nov.,  1883;  had  4  ch. 
I.    John  De  Mott,  res.  453  Lafayette  Ave.,  Brooklyn,   b.   29  Oct.,  1840,  m. 
27  Sept.,  1870.  by  Rev.   Dr.  J.  Halsted  Carroll,  Mary  Ellen  Smith; 
served  in  Civil  war  in  Co.  A,  10  Reg.  N.  Y.  Volunteers  and  Battery 
L.  4th  Artillery;  has  for  many  years  been  connected  with  the  N. 
Y.  and  Havanna  S,  S.  line;  their  i  ch.,  William  and  Edward. 
II.    Mary  Ann,  b.  Mch.,  1843,  dec. 

III.  Catherine  W.,  res.  146  South  Portland  Ave.,  Brooklyn,  b.  7  Oct..  1846, 

m.  Benjamin  H.  Lawton,  Jun'r.  of  Newport,  B.  I.,  b.  3  Oct.,  1840;  their 
2  ch.,  Frederick  B.,  b.  28  June.  1870,  and  Benjamin  H..  b.  1871,  d.  1872. 

IV.  Elizabeth  H..   res.  142  South  Portland  Ave..   Brooklyn,  b.  17  Ap]., 

1849.  ra.  22  Sept..  1869.  William  T.  Whitmore,  of  Middle  Haddam, 
Conn.,  b.  20  Sept..  1841;  he  entered  U.  S.  Navy  as  paymaster  Aug., 
1862,  resigned,  186,5;  their  4  eh..  Bessie  L..  b.  29  Aug.,  1870;  William 
T.,  b.  1  Jan..  1872;  Arthur  E.,  b.  28,  Nov.,  1874;  RaymoiiA  D.,  b.  Oct.. 
1885. 

63.  IX.    DAVID  W.,   res.  Truraansburg,  N.  Y.,  b.  16  July,  1809.  m.  22  Aug..  1833. 

Christiana,  dau.  of  William  Gibson,  of  Kircudbright,  Scotland,  and 
a  desc.  of  Sir  Alexander  Gibson,  of  Durle,  Co.  Fife.  Scotland,  b.  6  May, 
1811;  her  father  was  a  merchant  in  N.  Y.  until  1812  when  he  removed 
to  Springfield  Otsego  Co..  N.  Y.  For  many  years  David  Himrod  was 
an  elder  In  the  Presb.  Church  at  Truraansburg,  N.  Y.,  and  at  Dun- 
more,  Pa. ;  was  postmaster  of  latter  place,  1880-5,  and  at  one  time  was 
major  (staff)  N.  Y.  Militia.  For  his  8  ch.  see  p  669. 
54.  X.  JOHN  SUTPHEN,  (Rev.)  b.  14  Dec.,  1812,  d.  at  Greenport,  Col.  Co.,  N.  Y., 
20  Nov.,  1883,  m.  30  Apl.,  1845,  Catherine  Neilson,  dau.  of  Dr.  Augustus 
R.  Taylor,   of  New  Brunswick,  N.  J.,  d.  27  Jan.,  1684;  he  grad.  at  Rut- 


666  Ch.  of  Moses  and  William   Himrod. 

gersCoUggeln  1839,  and  at  Theo.  Sera,  at  New  Brunswick  in  1843.  In 
the  ministry  of  the  Ketormed  Church  he  was  exceptionally  successful 
his  labors  in  all  the  congregations  he  served  being  attended  with  rich 
results.  His  several  charges  were  at  Hillsdale,  N.  Y.,  3  years,  Claver- 
ack,  N.  Y.,  6  years.  South  Bushwick  Ref.  Church,  Brooklyn,  8  years, 
and  Greenport,  N.  Y.,  where  was  "spent  20  years  of  unremitting  toil 
and  successful  achievement."  His  name  is  perpetuated  by  Himrod 
Street  in  Brooklyn,  which  was  named  in  his  honor  during  his  pastor- 
ate in  that  city. 

FOURTH     GENERATION. 

Moses  Himrod  (g)  had  lo  ch. 

55.  I.    ADALINE,  b.  2  Dec,  1816,  m.  2  Sep.,  1845,  Flavel  Boyd,  b.  6  July,  1812,  d.  29 

July,  1889;  had  one  dau.,  b.  and  d.  Oct.,  1856;  she  occupies  the  farm  of 
her  grandfather,  Aaron  (2). 

56.  II.    JOHN  LATTIMOEE,  res.  Humboldt,  Iowa,  b.  23  Aug.,  1818,  m.  20  May.  1851, 

Mary  Elizabeth  Brown,  b.  9  June,  1826,  d.  8  Mch.,  1867,  at  Kingsville,  O. ; 
hadS  ch., 
I.    BONITA,  res.  Dryden,  N.  Y.,  b.  6  Mch.,  1852,  m.  5  Feb.,  18T3,  Rev.  Edward 
Augustus  Mirick,  b.  16  Mch.,  1840;  their  2  ch.,  Lillian,  b.  12  Nov., 
1873,  and  EUwara  Himroa,  b.  23  Sep.,  187S. 
II.    TovEY  Brown,  res.  Weaver,  Iowa,  b.  19  Aug.,  1853,  m.  at  Redwing, 
Minn.,  13  Nov.,  1877,  Dorcas  Williams;  their  2  ch.,  James  L.,  b.  20 
Nov.,  1879,  and  William  B..  b.  2  Feb.,  1883. 

III.  Adaline  Bovd,  res.  Neosho  Falls,  Kan.,  b.  9  Jan.,  1856. 

IV.  Ruth  Amanda,  res.  Humboldt,  Iowa,  b.  23  Sep.,  1857. 

V.    Margaret  Cordelia,  b.  1  July,  1859,  grad.  Womens'  Med.  Coll.,  N.  Y. 

Infirmary,  28  May,  1888, 
VI.    Ella.  res.  Humboldt,  Iowa,  b.  25  July.  1861. 
VII.    Grace  Hammond,  res.  Omaha,  Neb.,  b.  23  July,  1S63. 
VIII.    Joseph  Boyd.  res.  Waterford,  Pa.,  b.  25  Feb.,  1867, 

57.  III.    MARY  ANN,  res.  Waterford,  Fa.,  b.  9  Feb.,  1820. 

58.  IV.    ISABELLA,  twin,  b.  9  Feb.,  1820,  d.  14  Feb.,  1830. 

59.  V.    AARON  MELLICK,  res.  Waterford,  Fa.,  b.  23  Jan.,  1822,  m.  14,  May,  1833 

Mary  Jane  Cook,  b.  4  Dec,  1826,  d.  6  Mch.,  1886;  had  7  ch. 
I.  Moses  L..  b.  12  Sep.,  18.54,  dec.  m.  29  June,  1882,  Mary  L.  Mitchell,  b. 
12  Apl.,  1861,  their  1  ch.,  Cassie  May,  b.  18  May,  1883.  II.  Eva  Anna, 
b.  1.5  June,  1856.  III.  Lee,  b.  10  Sep.,  1858.  IV.  Alfred  C,  b.  2  Dec, 
1860.  V.  Frank  H.,  b.  7  June,  1862.  VI.  Belle,  b.  4  Mch.,  1865. 
VII.  Carl  H.,  b.  1  Aug.,  1808. 

60.  VI.    DAUGHTER,  b.  and  d.  Oct.,  1826. 

61.  VII.    MARGARET  CORDELIA,  twin,  b.  8  Oct.,  1826,  drowned  24  Oct.,  1853. 

62.  Vni.    JAMES  WALKER,  res.  Waterford,  Pa.,  b.  13  Sep.,  1828,  m.  16  Jan.,  1861, 

Isabellas.  Riddle,  b.  25  Dec,  1828,  d.  28  Aug..  1877;  had  1  ch.,  Jensy 
Cook,  b.  27  Apl.,  1869. 

63.  IX.    SARAH  ANN,  res.  Waterford,  Pa.,  b.  30  Dec,  1829,  m.  29  Apl,  1856,  Harvey 

Boyd,  bro.  of  her  sister  Adaline's  (38)  husband,  b.  21  Feb.,  1815;  have  3 
ch.,  I.  John  F.,  b.  .30  Mch.,  1858;  II.  Elizabeth  L.,  b.  11  Oct.,  1860;  III. 
Sarah  Anna,  b.  3  Feb.,  1862. 

64.  X.    WILLIAM  D.,  res.,  Waterford,  Pa.,  b.  21  Feb.,  1832,  m.  18  Dec,  1856,  Frances 

Sarah,  dau.  of  S.  J.  Trask,  of  W. ;  had  6  ch.,  I.  Henry  R.,  b.  18  ApL, 
1858;  II.  RALPH  B.,  res.  Onona,  Iowa,  b.  8  Sep.,  1859,  III.  Nancy  L.,  b. 
1861,  d.  1638;  IV.  Paul  M.  O.,  res.  Wichita.  Kan.,  b.  28  Oct.,  1863;  V. 
Harvey  Boyd,  b.  15  Oct.,  1809;  VI.  William  C,  b.  11  Feb.,  1878. 

FOURTH     GENERATION. 

William  Himrod  (10)  had  5  ch. 

65.  I.    PHILEWA  H.  B.,  b.  17  Apl.,  1826,  d.  11  Feb.,  1835. 

66.  n.    AARON,  b.  and  d.  17  Apl.,  1831. 

67.  IIL    GEORGE  W.  R.,  twin.  res.  Lockport.  III.,  b.  17  Apl.  1831,  m.  28  June,  1853, 

Martha  Margaret,  dau.  of  Daniel  Vincent,  of  Waterford,  Pa.,  b.  5  Oct., 
1835;  their  3  ch.,  I.  Fred,  b.  28  Aug.,  1834,  II.  Mary.  ta.  4  May,  1856,  III. 
M.4RTHA,  b   1  Nov..  1857. 


Ch.  of  John,  Simon  and  David  Himkod.  667 

68.  IV.    SAMUEL  H.,  b.  17  Mch.,  1S34,  m.  and  has  3  Ch..  Mellick  and  Frank. 

69.  V.    WILLIAM  H.  J.  K.,  res.  Erie,  Pa.,  b.  13  May.  1841,  m.  11  Dec.  1863,   Julia  A., 

dau.  of  Pre'sley  Arbuclile.  of  Erie.  b.  Si  Feb..  ISW;  had  7  cb., 
I.    Presley    A.,  b.  33  Oct..  1863;  II.  William  DeWitt.    b.  31  Oct.,  1865; 
III.  Henry  Reed,  b.  31  Oct..  1868,  d.  in  infancy;  IV.  Ray,  b.  16  June, 
1872;  V.  Julia  Allison,  b.  2  Mch.,  187(1;  VI.  Harwood  B..  b.  11  Moh., 
1878,  VII.  Helen  Louise,  b.  23  Oct..  1883. 

FOURTH     GENERATION. 

John  Himrod   (14)  had   6  ch. 

70.  I.    JOHN  A.,  b.  20  June.  1838,  di-owned  17  May.  1852. 

71.  II.    A  SON.  b.  32  July,  1829,  d.  17  Aug.,  1829. 

72.  III.    SUSAN  L..  b.  17  Sept.,  1830.  d.  20  Sept..  1833. 

73.  IV.    AARON  W..  b.  10  Apl..  1833.  drowned  30  Apl..  1834. 

74.  V.    WILLIAM,  b.  24  July,  18)4.  d.  at  Stillwater.  Minn.,  18  Sept.    1886,  lu.  5  Aug-., 

1803.  Frances  A.  L.  J.  Oonover,  of  Marion,  O. ;  he  was  a  private  in  civil 
war  wounded  at  Malvern  Hill,  2  July,  1862;  had  3  ch.,  I.  Emma  Locxse, 
b.  19  Jan.,  1806;  II.  Kate  Marion,  b.  9  Dec.  1867;  III.  Helen  L.  U., 
b.  10  Sept.,  1873,  d.  17  Apl.,   1882. 

75.  VI.    HELEN  MARY,  res.  Racine,  Wis.,  b.  4  Apl..  18:i8.  in.  .3  June  1856,  George  Q. 

Erskine,  b.  13  Dec.  1827,  he  is  pres.  of  a  bank  in  Fargo,  Dak.,  and  of  one 
in  Crookston,  Minn.;  have3ch.;I.  Helen  Rosaline,  b.  16  Oct..  1858; 
II.  Ethel  Acrelia.  b.  -27  Jan.,  1860,  m.  19  Oct..  1886,  Sheldon  W.  Vance, 
Prof,  of  Mod.  languages  at  State  Universit.v.  Vermillion.  Dak., 

FOURTH     GENERATION. 

Simon  Himrod  (17)  had  8  ch. 

76.  I.    NANCY,  b.  IS  Aug..  1829,  d.  27  Jan.,  1869,  at  Cedarville,   O.,  m.   1866,   John  P. 

Frazier,  ot  C;  had  1  ch.  I.  John  H.,  b.  19  Jan.,  1869. 

77.  II.    ELIZABETH,  b.  15  Oct.,  1»30,  d.  9  Jan.,   1873,   m.  Henry  Hugh  Whitney,  of 

Waterford,  Pa.;  had  3  ch..  I  Celia,  b,  15  Nov.,  1862;  II.  Mabel,  b.  10 
Nov.,  1867;  III,  Parkes.  b.  19  Aug.,  1870. 

78.  III.    AARON,  b.  5  Apl.,  1832.  d.  15  Feb.,  1873,  in.  30  Dec,  1861,  Nancy  Smith,  b.  21 

Autr.,  1834;  her  res.  Waterford,  Pa.;  had  2  oh.,  I.  Keed  S.,  b.  30  Jan., 
1863,  II.  Simon  S.,  h.  21  Apl..  1864. 

79.  IV.    JAMES  M.,  b.  30  June.  1334.  d.  24  Feb.,  1860. 

80.  V.    FRANCES  K.,  b.  31  Feb.,  1836,  d.  20  Aug.,  1862.  m.  Jan.,  1859.  Clinton  Fritts,  of 

Waterford.  Pa. ;  had  3  ch..  I.  James  Hunter,  b.  2  Nov.,  1859;  II.  Mary 
Frances,  b.3  Nov..  1861.  d.  July,  1887. 

81.  VI.    MARTHA  J.,  b.  10  Jan.,  18:»,  m.  16  Jan.,  1866,  Albert  Lamb,  of  Pleaaant- 

ville.  Pa. 

82.  VII.    SIMON  STEELE,  b.  9  Aug.,  1841,  d.  in  Union  army.  19  Jan.,  1863. 

83.  VIII.    CELIA  L..  b.  38  May,  1844,  d.  13  Apl.,  1863. 

FOURTH     GENERATION. 
David  Himrod  (ig)  had   10  ch. 

84.  I.    PHOEBE,  b.  23  Sep.,  1834, 

85.  n.    MARIETTA,  b.  12  Feb.,  ISST,  d.  11  Apl.,  1837,  at  Neosho  Falls,  Kansas,  where 

her  husband  lives;  m.  9  Sep.,  1861,  E.  S.  Woodward,  b.  1  May,  1835;  he 
served  in  Union  army  during  Civil  war,  rose  from  capt.  to  col.  and 
was  brevd.  brig.-genl  for  gallantry  in  the  battle  of  the  Wilderness 
where  he  lost  a  lesr;  had  3  ch..  I.  Hannah,  b.  26  Oct.,  1862;  II.  Kate,  b. 
26  Jan.,  1868;  III.  Alice,  b.  31  Ma.v,  1870. 

86.  III.    PATTEN;  cashier  Ist  Natl.  Bank  of  Stirling.  Kan.;    b.  20  Jan.,   1839,  m. 

May.  187S,  Clara  Hawkins,  widow.  Served  as  capt.  in  Ohio  regt.  during: 
Civil  war— taken  prisoner  and  confined  at  Columbia,  S.  C. ;  had  1  ch., 
David,  b.  Mar..  1876. 
8T.  IV.  CHARLES,  res.  637  Beldon  ave., Chicago,  b.  34  Dec.  1841,  ra.  7  Oct.  1869,  Alice  F., 
dau.  ot  Wm.  Judson,  of  Waterford,  Pa.,  b.  35  July,  1841;  he  is  a  leading 
iron  merchant  iii  Chicago,  served  3  years  in  the  Union  array;  has  had 
3  ch..  I.  Gertrude,  b.  6  Nov.,  1871,  d.  6  Aug..  1883;  II.  A  Son.  b.  17  Aug., 
d.  10  Sep..  1880. 


668  Ch.  of  Peter  and  William  Himkod. 

88.  V.    ANNA.  b.  34  Dec.,  184.3,  d.  at  Chicago,  14  Jan.,  1887. 

89.  VI.    HENEY,  b.  .31  Jan..  1846,  d.  Young-stown,  O.,  17  Jan.,  1877. 

90.  VII.    KATE,  res.  Longton,  Kan.,  b.  1.5  July,  1849,  in.  7  Dec,  1876,  Thomas  B.  Blg- 

g-ers,  b.  84  Oct.,  18-38;  served  through  the  Civil  War  as  major. 

91.  VIII.    KIKK,  of  the  firm  of  Charles  Hiinrod  &  Co.,  Iron  Merchants,  Chicasro. 

Ill,,  b.  31  Dec,   18.51,   ra.  11  Oct..  1888,   Minnie,  dau.  of  Gustave  Boehm, 

of  Chicago,  b.  11  Jan.,  1863;  has  2  ch.,  I.  Charles  B.,  b.  16  May,   1886; 

II.  Anna  Francesca,  b.  84  Jan.,  1887. 
98.    IX.    GERTRUDE,  res.  Chicag-o,  b.  23  Oct.,  1854.  ra.  84  Dec,  1878,  Thomas  A.  Hag:- 

erty,  ot  Washington  Co.,  Pa.,  now  with  Charles   Hlmrod    &  Co.,    b. 

■23  Feb.,  1849;  has  2  ch.,  I.  Kirk,  b.  3  Mch.,  1880;  II.  LooiSA.  b.  13  June. 

1882. 
93.    X.    BERNARD,  res.  Chicago,  with  C.  Hirarod  &  Co.,  b.  18  June,  1868. 

FOURTH   GENERATION. 

Peter  Himrod  (46)  had  8  ch. 

94.  I.  WILLIAM,  res.  830  Union  St.,  Broolilyn,  b.  23  ApL,  1814,  at  Ovid,  N.  Y.,  m.  2 
Sept.,  1839,  Ellen,  dau.  of  William  Covenhoven  van  Home,  a  sonot  Cor- 
nelius van  Home  of  Centreville,  Hunterdon  Co.,  N.  J.,  and  a  desc.  of 
Cornelius  Janszen  van  Hoorne.  who  d.  at  New  Amsterdam  (N.  Y.)  about 
1693;sheb.  80  Sep.,  1820.  William  Himrod  commenced  his  businesscareer 
in  1887  in  the  store  of  Herman  Camp,  at  Trumansburg,  remaining  there 
until  1835,  when  he  established  a  mercantile  business  at  Ovid,  N.  Y. ; 
in  1847  he  removed  to  N.  Y.  city  and  engaged  in  the  produce  commis- 
sion businessat  No.  SWater  St.,  he  being  one  ot  the  pioneer  merchants 
ot  the  old  corn  e.vchange  who  used  to  meet  daily  at  17  South  St.,  an 
association  which  has  since  grown  to  be  the  N.  Y.  Produce  Exchange. 
Later  he  became  interested  in  milling  and  operated  miUs  in  N.  Y.  c.  in 
West  Farms  and  Carthage  Landing,  N.  Y.,  and  in  New  Brunswick,  N. 
J.;  tor  a  number  ot  years  he  was  agt.  for  the  Equitable  Life  Ins.  Co. 
of  N.  Y.  and  is  now  special  agent  for  the  Hartford  Lite  and  Annuity 
Ins.  Co.  was  appd.  brigade-inspector  of  rifle  corps,  N.  Y.  S.  militia 
in  1836  with  rank  of  major;  was  deacon  (or  many  years  in  the  first 
Presb.  church,  of  Brooklyn,  and  deacon,  elder,  and  trustree  in  the 
Westminster  Presb.  Cliurch  of  South  Brooklyn,  also  elder  of  the  84  St. 
Presb.  Church,  N.  Y.  C. ;  had  4  ch. 
I.  Anna  Christina,  b.  2  Nov..  1840. 
II.    Elizabeth,  b.  8  Dec,  1842. 

III.  Mary  Jeannf.tte,  res.  230  Union  St.,  Bkln.,  b.  16  Nov.,  1844,  m.  N.  Y. 

C.  by  Rev.  Dr.  Hugh  Smith  Carpenter,  20  Feb.,  1882,  Albert  Jeffer- 
son." son  of  Williamson  W.  Dalton  of  Palatka.  Florida,  b.  17  Oct.,  1843; 
their  1  ch.,  Henry  Ifitnrod,  b.  28  Sep.,  1B8.3.  We  are  Indebted  to  Mrs. 
Dalton  for  this  record  of  tlie  descs.  of  Himrod.  Much  interesting 
biographical  matter  that  she  had  carefully  collected  it  has  been 
impossible  to  use  for  want  of  space. 

IV.  Julia  Ellen,  res.  20  Irving  Place,  N.  Y.  C,  b.  6  Aug.,  1847,  m.  N.  Y.  C. 

by  Rev.  Dr.  Hugh  Smith  Carpenter.  31  Oct.,  1882,  Josiah,  son  of 
Samuel  Quincy,  of  Boston,  Mass..  b.  22  Aug.,  1844;  has  been  for 
many  years  an  importer  of  decorative  pottery. 

95.  II.    JOHN  McMATH.  b.  10  May,  1810,  d.  24  Nov.,  1823. 

96.  III.    LOUISA  McMATH,  b.  29  Apt.  1818,  d.  8  Nov.,  1818. 

97.  IV.    CHARLES,  res.  Lodi,  N.  Y.,  b.  15  July,  1880,  m.  first,  15  Feb..  1849,  Deborah, 

dau.  of  Michael  Biggs,  of  Trumansburg,  N.  Y.,  b.  6  Nov..  1884,  d.  at 
Tekonsha,  Mich.,  88  Aug.,  1849,  ra.  secona.  4  Jan.,  1853.  Margaret  dau. 
of  James  Hill,  b.  1  June,  1829;  had  3  eh.,  I.  Ida  Deborah,  res.  Ithaca, 
N.  Y..  b.  27  June,  1854;  II.  Ella  Jane.  res.  Ithaca.  N.  Y.,  b.  2  Aug.,  1863; 
III.  Wm.  Cornelius,  b.  .31  May,  1866. 

98.  V.    OLIVER  WM.,  b,  26  June,  1822,  d.  28  Oct..  1881.  at  Alameda.  Cal..  m.  19  Aug.. 

1860,  Mary  J.,  dau.  ot  Lyman  Crutlenden,  b.  8  Sep.,  1825;  her  res.  Ala- 
meda. Cal.  Heremoved  to  the  Pacific  slope  in  1849  where  he  operated 
in  mines  and  grain,  being  associated  with  Mills.  Freldlander  &  Co. 
While  on  a  sick-bed  in  1874  he  elaborated  a  new  system  ot  book-keep- 
ing which  he  afterwards  copyrighted  and  successfully  introduced  In 


Ch.  of  Peter  &  David  W.  Himeod  &  G.  Robertson.   669 

business  houses  in  Cal. ;  had  1  ch.,  I.  Harriet  Ellen,  b.  Dec,  1854  d.  26 
Mch..  1855. 
99.    VI.    JANE  DeMOTT,   res.  Worcester,   Mass.,   b.  4  Apl.,  1834,  m.  17  Aug.,  1844, 
Georsre  Robertson,  of  N.  Y.  C.  b.  SI  Apl.,  1809.  had  4  ch., 
I.    Martha  Jane,  res.  Worcester,  Mass.,  b.  18  July,   1844,  m.  4  May,  1871, 

John  F.  Warner,  of  Jaraesport,  L.  I.,  b.  6  June,  1840. 
II.    Ellen  Himrod,  res.  44  Morg^an  St.,  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  b.  24  Mch..   1846,  m. 
20  Jan.,  1860,  John  H.  Mcintosh,  of  Cayuga,  N.  Y.,  b.  26  Mch.,  1845; 
have  2  ch.,  Onirles  tl.,  b.  24  Dec,  1870,  John  Henry,  b.  11  Dec,  1873. 

III.  Cecilia  Elizabeth,  res.  Corning,  N.  Y.,  b.  2  Dec,  1849,   m.  10  Nov., 

1873,  Daniel  F.  Chandler,  of  Truinausburg,  N.  Y.,  b.  22  Nov.,  1848; 
had  2  ch.,  William  R.,  b.  and  d.  10  Feb.,  1879,  and  George,  b.  and  d. 
39  June,  1880. 

IV.  William  Peter,  res.  74  Clinton  Place.  N.  Y.  C,  b.  1  Sep.,  1853,  m.  29 

Dec,  1S81,  Mary  Elizabeth  Shea,  dau.  of  Robert  Montgomery,  of 
N.  Y.  C,  b.  5  June,  1857;  their  3  ch.,  Robert  Deetnes,  b.  13  Dec,   1882; 
Gnwe  Marion,  b.  2  May,  1885;  Edillt,  b.  23  May,  1888. 
V.    James  Oliver,  b.  22  May.  185T,  d.  15  Mch.,  1858. 
VI,    George  Wharton,  res.  Worcester,  Mass.,  b.  30  July,  1S63. 
100.    VII.    PETER,  b.  23  Feb.,  1834,  d.  6  Apl.,  1887,  ni.  9  Jan..  1861.  Amaletta,  dau.  of 
Michael  B.  Ellison,  of  Lodi,  N.  Y.,  b.  28  Dec,  183G,  her  res.  N.  Y.  C. 
For  10  years  he  suffered  from  asthma;  among  the  many  remedies  he 
used  he  formulated  one  which  he  mauufactured  under  the  name  of 
Himrod's  Asthma  Cure,  and  about  1872  he,  in  connection  with  Col.  S. 
K.  Pinkney,  founded  the  "  Himrod  Manufacturing  Co."  at  1  Park 
Row,  now  at  Fulton  and  Church  Sts.,  N.  Y.  C. ;  had  1  ch.,  Fred,  b.  4 
Apl.,  1866. 

101.  VIII.    JAMES,  b.  2.5  Jan..  18.30,  d.  at  Alameda,  Cal.,  13  Nov.,  1878,   m.   at  Sacra- 

mento, Cal.,  27  Sep.,  1870,  Jane  Eliza,  dau.  of  David  M.  Cowdrey,  of  N. 
Y.,  b.  22  Oct.,  1834,  d.  26  June,  188G,  from  injuries  received  on  23rd,  by 
being  struck  by  a  locomotive  in  attempting  to  cross  the  track  on  the 
way  to  church  at  Passaic,  N.  J.  He  enlisted  24  Aug.,  1801,  in  Co.  A,  40th 
Reg.  N.  y.  S.  v.,  served  with  his  regt.  throughout  the  war  participat- 
ing in  many  engagements  in  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  and  before 
Richmond.  Va..  rose  through  the  successive  non-commissioned  gradef 
to  be  second  lieut.  ranking  from  4  Apl.,  1864  and  flrsB  lieut.  ranking 
from  16  Aug.,  1864;  had  2  ch. 
I.  Mabel  Cowdrey,  res.  230  Union  St.,  Brooklj'n,  N.  Y.,  b.  18  Dec,  1871. 
II.    Hugh  Carpenter,  res.  230  Union  St.,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  b.  10  Aug.,  1874. 

FOURTH   GENERATION. 
David  W.   Himrod  (53)  had  8  ch. 

102.  I.     WILLIAM  GIBSON,  res.  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  b.  20  May,   1834,   m.  first.   May, 

1857,  Elsie  A.  Newkirk,  of  Musquaka,  Iowa,  b.  1840  d.  8  July,  1869;  m. 
secona,  29  Mch.,  1871,  Electa  Ann,  dau.  of  Lewis  S.  Smith,  of  Cazenovia, 
N,  Y.,  had  4  ch. 
I.    Mary  Grace,  b.  3  Aug.,  1858,  m.  3  Sep.,  1878,  William  Emerson  Watklns, 

of  Hyde  Park,  Pa.,  b.  14  Dec,  1856. 
II.    Stella  Josephine  P.,  b.  4  June,  1861,  m.  4  Apl.,  1880,   Daniel  R.  Wat- 
kins;  their  1  ch.,  Thomas  Bronson,  b.  1886. 

III.  Sarah  Maria,  b,  and  d.  1865. 

IV.  Elizabeth  Christine,  b.  14  Feb.,  1.368. 

103.  II.    LOINE  LAMAR,  res.  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  b.  3  Mch.,  1836,  m.  19  Sep.,  1861,  Caro- 

line B.,  dau.  of  Philemon  Thompson,  of  Trumansburg,  N.  Y.,  b.  2  Apl., 
1842;  had2ch. 
I.    Philemon  H.,  b.  6  Dec,  1863,  d.  17  Apl.,  1876. 

II.    Anna  Belle,  res.  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  b.  5  Dec,   1865,   m.  21  Mch.,   1889, 
Charles  E.  Chapman. 

104.  III.    EDWARD  McLALLEN,  b.  1  Oct.,  1837,  d.  at  Trumansburg,  N.  Y.,  18  May, 

1887;  Editor  of  the  Truinausburg  News,  City  Editor  of  the  Daily  Demo- 
crat, Scranton,  Pa.,  and  was  afterwards  on  the  staff  of  the  Scranton 
Morning  Republican;  was  an  officer  of  the  Penn.  State  Senate  1877-8, 
and  altogether  was  a  man  highly  esteemed  for  his  ability  in  his  pro- 
fession and  for  his  many  sterling  qualtles  of  heart. 


670  Godfrey  Melick  of  Warren  Co.,  N.  J. 

105.  IV.    PETER  StJTPHEN.  b.  10  June,  1839,  d.  6  June,  1840. 

106.  V.    SARAH  ELIZABETH,  b.  19  June,  1843,  d.  1  Feb.,  ISU. 

107.  VI.    SARAH  MARIA,  b.  19  Mch.,  1847,  d.  6  Feb..  1859. 

108.  VII.    LAURA  TAYLOR,  b.  20  Sep.,  1849,  d.  10  Oct.,  1849.  ^ 
11)9.  VIII.    CHRISTINE,  res.  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  b.  11  Mch.,   1859,   m.   22  Aug.,   1882, 

Conway  P.  H.   Day,  b.  28  June,   1S3S,  Bristol,   Eng'd,   d.  10  July,  1389. 
at  Trumansburg,  N.  Y. ;  have  3  ch., 
I.    Mahjorie,  b.  25  Aug.,  1883. 
II.    Haighington  Himrod,  b.  Dec,  1884. 
III.    Stella  Himrod,  b.  23  Dec,  1886. 


JOHANN     GOTTFRIED     MOELIIJH     (B). 
(Godfrey  Melick,  of  Warren  Co.,   N.  J.,  and  His  Descendants.) 

1.  JOHANN  GOfl?TFRIED  MOELICH  was  the  youngrest  son  of  Johann  Wilhelm 
(XXVI)  and  Anna  Catherine,  of  Bendorf  on  the  Rhine,  German.y,  where 
he  was  born  in  1724,  and  baptised  in  the  Evangelical  Head-Church  by  the 
Rev.  Job.  Georg  Schmidt,  the  baptismal  certificate  reading:  "The 
14th  of  July,  1724,  to  Joh.  Wilhelm  Molich  a  son  was  born  and  baptized 
on  the  following  Sunday;  his  witnesses  of  baptism  were  Gottfried 
Knebel,  a  child  of  a  citizen  of  this  place,  but  who  migrated  soon  after- 
ward; Johann  Anthon  Kirberger,  Master  Hana  Wilhelm  Kirberger's 
son.  Master  Johann  Banthel's  eldest  daughter  Cathrina  and  has  been 
given  to  him  the  name  Johann  Gottfried."  (See  p.  71.)  The 
father  of  godmother  Cathrine  Baiithels  had  been  the  pastor  of  the 
Evangelical  Head-Church  and  the  predecessor  of  the  Rev.  Johannes 
Reusch,  who  was  installed  in  1697.  Godfrey  Melick,  as  he  was  known 
in  America,  emigrated  from  Germany  in  1735  with  Johannes  (A) 
landing  at  Philadelphia.  29  May,  from  ship  Mercury.  He  remained  a 
member  of 'Johannes  family  until  1747,  when  he  removed  to  Green- 
wich Tp.,  Sussex  now  Warren  Co.,  N.  J.,  where  he  permanently  settled 
on  land  that  had  been  purchased  for  him  during  his  minority  and 
where  he  d.  11*  Sep.,  1776.  He  married  20  May,  1748,  Margaret,  dau.  of 
Christian  Falkenberger  b.  3  Feb.,  1733,  d.  26  Sep.,  1799.  After  his  death 
his  widow  m.  a  Tomer  by  whom  one  son  John  who  d.  at  Orangeville, 
Columbia  Co.,  Pa.,  about  1840,  leaving  a  widow  Hester.  (See  pp.  25, 
50,  74.  561.) 

SECOND     GENERATION   (B). 

Godfrey  Melick   (i)   had   lo  ch. 

2.  I.    GODFREY,  b.  34  Mch.,  1749,  (^.  33  Jan.,  1777,  m.  and  had  one  son,  Samuel  Wil- 

LET. 

3.  II.    CHRISTOPHER,  b.  1  Dec,  1750,  d.  15  Feb..  1832,  m.  Mary,  dau.  of  Matthias 

Shipman,  b.  22  Sep.,  1754,  d.  11  Feb.,  1836,  both  bur.  in  St.  James  Luth. 
Ch.  yd.,  Philipeburg,  N.  J.  Matthias  Shipman  came  from  Saybrook, 
Conn.,  and  settled  in  Lopatcong  tp.,  Warren  Co.,  N.  J.,  his  homestead 
being  now  (1888)  occupied  by  his  gr. -grandson  William;  during  our 
Revolution  he  was  Col.  of  1st  Susse.x  regt.     For  his  12  ch.  see  p.  671 

4.  ni.    WILLIAM,  b.  9  Mch.,  1753,  d.  37  Apl.,  1808,  m,  Zuriah  Kent,  d.  6  May,  1847;  at 

outset  of  Revolution  he  was  a  loyalist  and  entered  the  British  army 
in  which  he  served  as  sergeant  throughout  the  war,  receiving  a  bullet 
in  the  shoulder  which  he  carried  until  his  death.  In  1783  he  settled  at 
St.  John,  N.  B.,  Can.,  where  he  became  prominent  in  business  and 
social  circles,  and  at  his  death  owned  the  most  extensive  tannery  in 
the  city.    (See  Chap.  XXXVI).    For  his  8  ch.  see  p.  672. 


Ch.  of  John  Hulshizer,  John  Fine  a:  Chris.  Melick.  671 

6.  IV.    JACOB,  b.  3  Jan..  1755,  d.  2u  Feb..  1832.  buried  In  Briar  Creek  Cemetery  in 

Columbia  Co..  Pa. ;  m.  30  July,  1781,  Sarah  Laycock.  b.  23  May,  1760.  d. 
17  Mar..  1812.  He  owned  and  lived  on  a  farm  near  Bloomabury,  Hun- 
terdon Co..  N.  J.,  until  Feb.,  1811,  when  he  purchased  from  the  heirs 
of  John  Printfle  3U  acres  near  Bloomsburg,  Col.  Co.,  Pa.,  paying:  there- 
tor  $2990.  upon  which  he  lived  till  his  death.  For  his  10  oh.  see  p.  672. 
0.  V.  MAHY  MARGAKET.  b.  20  Aug.,  1757,  d.  25  Feb.,  1822.  m.  John  Martin,  young- 
est son  of  Martin  Hulshizer,  who  emigrated  from  Germany  between 
1760  and  1760,  b.  18  Jan.,  1747,  d.  9  Apl..  1810;  had  ch.,  I.  Catharine,  b. 
14  Sept.,  1775,  d.  17  March.  1853,  m.  Samuel  Drake;  II.  Godfrey,  b.  9 
June.  1778,  d.  3  March.  1S58,  m.  Margaret  Hix;  III.  Martin,  b.  2  Feb.  ,1781, 
d.  19  Jan.,  1862,  m.  Anna  C.  Sharp;  IV.  Margaret,  b.  6  Dec,  1783,  d.  27 
May.  I860,  m.  William  Smith;  V.  William,  b.  23  Sept..  1786,  d.  16  Dec, 
1852.  ra.  Hester  Heller;  VI.  Hannah,  b.  20  March,  1789.  d.  17  Feb..  1865.  ra. 
John  Duckworth;  VII.  John,  b.  24  Jan.,  1792.  dec;  VIII.  Mary.  b.  16  Apl., 
1794,  d.  17  Sept.,  1827,  m.  Peter  Tinsman;  IX.  Daniel,  b.  l.'>  Feb..  1797,  d. 
2  Dec,  1881,  m.  Margaret  Carpenter,  he  was  a  prominent  citizen  of 
Warren  Co.,  and  an  elder  of  Greenwich  Pres.  Ch..  his  son  Doctor 
\  P.  F.  Hulshizer.  is  now  resident  physician,   at  Stewartsville.  in  that 

Co.;  X.  Andrew,  b.  29  Jan.,  woo,  d.  12'Apl..  1883.  m.  Lena  Sharp;  XI- 
James,  b.  22  March,  1803,  d.  10  Oct.,  1879,  m.  Lydia  Austen. 

7.  VI.    HENKY,  twin,  b.  3  Dec,  1751,  d.  9  Apl.,  1859,  m.  5  Apl..  1781,  Rebecca,  dau.  of 

James  Stewart,  b,  10  March,  1702,  d.  27  Jan.,  1835.  ,Both  bur.  in  St. 
James'  Luth.  Chyd..  PhiUipsburg.  N.  J.    For  his  11  ch.  see  p.  673. 

8.  VTI.    ANDREW,  twin,  b.  3  Dec,  1759.  d.  18  Nov.,  1843,  m.  11  Dec.  1785.  In  St.  James 

Luth.  Ch.  at  Philipsburg.  N.  J.,  Catharine  Crumline,  b.  1  Dec,  1764,  d. 
11  July,  1839.  He  lived  and  died  in  the  forks  of  Big  and  Little  Fishing 
creeks  near  Bloorasburg.  Col.  Co..  Penna.    For  his  8  ch.  see  p.  673. 

9.  VIII.    JOHN,  b.  15  April.  1702,  d.  0  May.  1866.  m.  Mary,  dau.  of  Joseph  Beck.  b.  in 

Phila.,  31  Jan..  1777,  d.  19  April,  1867.  In  1783  ho  removed  with  William 
(4)  to  St.  John,  N.  B.,  though  not  forced  to  do  so,  as  had  been  his 
loyalist  brother.    For  his  9  ch.  see  p.  674. 

10.  IX.    CATHARINE,  b.  17  Jan..  1765.  d.  39  Jan..  1846.  m.  5  Sept..  1784,  Philip  Fine, 

■  b.  18  April.  1763.  d.  14  Aug.,  1834;  had  ch..  I.  John.  b.  22  Aug.,  17a5;  II. 
William,  b.  7  Sept..  1787;  III.  Philip,  IV.  Godfrey,  b.  8  June,  1792,  d. 
6  June,  1819;  V.  Margaret,  VI.  Maria,  b.  6  June.  1796;  VII.  Jacob,  b. 
26  Aug.,  1800;  VIII.  Christopher,  b.  15  Aug..  1S03.  All  their  children 
bap.  in  St.  James  Luth.  Ch.,  Philipsburg,  N.  J.  John  Fine  was  an 
elder  in  that  church. 

THIRD     GENERATION     (B). 
Christopher  Melick  (3)  had   12  ch. 

11.  I.    GODFREY,  b.  2  May.  1774. 

12.  II.    WILLIAM,  b.  13  Dec.  1776,  d.  24  Feb.,  1841,  unm.,  bur.  in  St.  James  Luth. 

chyd..  Philipsburg.  N.  J. 

13.  m.    MATTHIAS,  b.  6  June.  1778,  d.  5  March.  1819.  bur.  in  St.  James  Luth.  chyd., 

Philipsburg,  N.  J. ;  ra.  22  May.  1806,  Hannah,  dau.  of  Andrew  Malick 
(A  4);  had  ch..   I.  Catharine,  b.  7  Apl..  18o9. 
II.    Maroahetta  S.,  b.  27  June,  1811. 

14.  IV.    MARGARET,  b.  0  June.  1780. 

15.  V.    JACOB,  b.  17  July.  1782.   d.  1  April.   1819,  bur.   in   St.   James   Luth.  chyd., 

Philipsburg,  N.  J.;  m.  Mary,  dau.  of  Jacob  Sharp. 

16.  VI.    JOHN,  b.  5  Nov.,  1784,  d.  30  July,  18.53,  unm..  in  consequence  of  falling  from 

.   a  load  of  hay,  bur.  in  St.  James  Luth.  chyd..  Philipsburg.  N.  J. 

17.  VII.    SARAH,  b.  30  Jan..  1787,  m.  16  Feb..  1809.  John,  son  of  Andrew  (A  4.) 

18.  VIII.    CHRISTOPHER,  b.  14  May.  1789,  d.  in  infancy. 

19.  IX.    MARY,  twin,  b.  14  May.  1789. 

30.    X.    SAMUEL,  b.  13  Apl..  1793.  d.  11  May.  1832,  ra.  3  Jan.,  1816,  Sarah  Hunt,  b.  18 

June.  1798.  d.  9  Jan.,  1878.    For  his  8  ch.  see  p.  675. 
21.    XI.    ELIZABETH,  b.  20  Apl..  1796. 
32.    Xn.    ISAAC,  b.  11  Dec,  1798,  d.  26  Apl.,  1863,  bur.  in  St.  James'  Luth.  Chyd.. 

PhiUipsburg,  N.  J. 


672    Ch.  of  William  and  Jacob  Melick  and  John  Hay. 
third   generation  (b). 

William   Melick  (4)  had  7  ch. 

23.  I.    MABGARET.  b.  3  May,  1794.  d.  31  Meh.,  1860,   at  Loch  Lomond.   Co.   of  St. 

John,  Canada,  ra,  13  Dec,  1811,  John  Jordan,  b.  38  Mch.,  1790.  d.  34  Feb., 
1863,  at  Fredericton,  N.  B.,  Can. ;  for  18  year«  he  represented  his  city 
and  CO.  in  the  legislature.    For  their  11  ch.  see  p.  675. 

24.  n.    SARAH,  b.  3  May,  1795,  d.  7  Dec,  1845,  m.  10  Aug-.,  1816,  Nathan  Reed,  a  sail- 

maker,  at  Woolwich,  Maine,  b.  29  Sep.,  1791.  d.  at  sea.  For  their  4  ch., 
see  p.  676. 

25.  III.    DAVID,  b.  1797,  d.  in  infancy. 

26.  IV.    WILLIAM  GODFREY,  b.  1799,  d.  6  Aug-.,  1834,  unm. 

27.  V.    ELIZABETH,  b.  1801,  d.  7  Aug.,  188.3.  unm. 

28.  VI.    RACHEL  JANE.  b.  180.3,  d.  Oct.,  1848.  m.  James  Farler,  had  3  ch.,   I.  Annie, 

m.  George  Squires;  II.  Melick,  m.  Margaret  Sentell;  III.  James,  m. 
Annie  DeForest'. 
39.    VII.    MARY,  b.  36  Jan.,  1806,  d.  Nov.,  1884,  m.  Thomas  Pluramer,  had  4  ch. 
L    Maby  C,  dec,  m.  William  Plummer,  of  N.  Y.,  and  had  3  sons. 
II.    Sophia,  d.  May,  IS86,  m.  Israel  Hawes,  had  2  eh. 

III.  THOM.iS,  m.  Rhena  Braten,  had  one  ch. ;  residence  in  N.  Y. 

IV.  Alice,  m.  James  Sinclair,  had  one  ch. 

30.  VII.    HULDAH,  b.  15  May,  1808.  d.  1«  Jan.,  1887,  m.  John  Hay,  of  St.  John,  N.  B., 

Can&da,  b.  23  May,  1804,  d.  30  March,  1860;  had  ch. ;  I.  Cecilia  A„  res.  St. 
John,  N.  B.;  II.  Mabia  V.,  res.  St.  John,  N.  B. ;  III.  Albert  S.,  res. 
St.  John,  N.  B.,  jeweller,  m.  Jennie  K.,  dau.  of  Leonard  Weeks,  their 
ch.,  Ella  A.,  criarles  L.,  Morton  M.,  dec,  and  Clara  C. ;  IV.  Geobqe  A. 
F.,  res.  French  Village,  N.  B.,  farmer,  m.  Emma  J.  Fowler;  their  ch.. 
Alberta  M.,  dec,  Louis  D.,  and  Grace  C.\  V.  John  M.,  res.  St..  John,  N. 
B.,  jeweller,  m.  Frances  M.,  dau.  of  John  S.  Kowe;  VI.  Geoboe  F.,  dec. 

THIRD   GENERATION   (B.) 
Jacob   Melick  (5)  had  10  ch. 

31.  L    JACOB,  b.  19  Nov.,  1781,  d.  21  Nov.,  1847,  m.  10  Oct.,  1811,  Lydia,  dau.  of  Jesse 

Barber,  b.  13  Oct.,  1794,  d.  12  April,  1879.  Lived  at  New  Village,  N.  J. 
For  16  ch  see  p.  67B. 

33.  II.    ELIZABETH,  b.  11  Dec,  1783,  d.  22  Dec,  1858,  at  Light  Street,  Penna.,  unm, 
38.    III.    JOHN,  b.  9  Apl.,  1780,  d.  7  Feb.,  1827,  m.  Hauuah,  dau.  of  Peter  Van  Bus- 
kirk,  b.  12  May,  1790.  d.  in  Ohio  17  Dec,  1876,  had  4  ch. 

1.  Martha  Matilda,  res.  Shenandoah,  Richland  Co.,  O.,  b.  31  Jan..  ISI.5, 
ra.  27  Dec,  1832.  Jacob  Creveling,  b.  3  Nov.,  1811,  d.  Oct..  1878;  had  7 
ch.,  but  2  of  whom  matured,  viz:  William  F.,  b.  5  Jan.,  18;38.  d.  Oct., 
1876,  m.  1863,  Harriet  Miller;  and  Anarew  W.,  b.  11  Jan.,  1841,  m. 
Zarada  Burns. 
II.  BOSETTA,  b.  21  Sep.,  18-22,  d.  9  Jan.,  1861.  m.  184.3,  John  Oman,  b.  1818.  d. 
June,  1884;  their  7  ch.,  Isaiah,  d.  in  infancy,  Alfred,  Alexander, 
William,  Oscar,  Mary  Jane,  res.  Shiloh,  O.,  m.  Thomas  Hunter,  and 
John  S. 

in,    jANE,  d.  in  infancy, 

IV.  Jacob,  b.  1835,  d.  1858,  m.  Sarah  Ann  Swan;  their  3  ch.,  Martha,  who  m. 
James  McCoy,  Mary  Ella  and  Sarah  Ann,  who  m.  Laman  Hocken, 
and  lives  at  Pern,  Nehama  Co.,  Neb. 

34.  IV.    MARGARET,  b.  29  Nov.  1788,  d.  at  Salona,  Pa.,  1832,  m.  George  Gilbert;  had 

3  ch.,  I.  Jacob,  II.  Sabah,  III.  Elizabeth. 

35.  V.    MARY,  b.  7  Feb.,  1791,  m.  34  Aug.,  1815,  Jonathan  Agler;  no  ch. 

36.  VI.    CATHERINE,  b.  24  May,  179.3,  d.  25  Feb.,  1818,  ra.  Samuel  Bright,  and  left 

one  son. 
.37.    VII.    REBECCA,  b.  23  Apl.,  1795,  d.  31  Nov.,  1815,  m.  39  Dec,  1814,  William,  son  of 
Abm.  Willet;  no  ch. 

38.  VIII.    HENRY,  b.  13  July,  1797,  d.  25  Oct.,  1798. 

39.  IX.    WILLIAM,  b.  2  Sept.,  1799,  d.  33  Nov.,  1829,  unm. 

40.  X.    DANIEL,  b.  28  Nov.,  1801,  d.  2  Aug.,  1860,  m.  13  Feb.,  1823,  first,  Mary  Magda- 

line,  dau.  of  Philip  Weller.  b.  3  Oct.,  180-2,  d.  3u  Aug..  1847 ;  m.  seconfl, 
17  Oct.,  1818,  Margaret,  dau.  of  Josiah  McClure,  b.  17  June,  1804.  For  his 
9  ch.  see  p.  677. 


Children  of  Henry  and  Andrew  Melick  (twins).    673 
third    generation    (b). 

Henry  Melick  (7)  had  ch. 

41.  I.    JAMES,  b.  14  Aug..  1781,  d.  18  Oct.,  lf>4S,  in.  Rebecca  Catharine  Smith,  b.  17 

Sep.,  1782,  d.  3  Aug.,  187.3;  bur.  in  St.  James'  Luth.  Ch.  yd..  Philllpa- 
burg-,  N.  J.    For  his  7  ch.  see  p.  *i7S.  . —  ---1 

42.  II.    WILLIAM,  b.  18  Ma.v,  US.%  d.  18  Mch.,  1787.  -  / 

43.  III.    JOHN,  b.  16  Aug.,  1786,  d.  4  Nov.,  1815;  bur.  in  St.  James'  Ch.  .vd. :  m.  Eliza- 

beth Huselton;  had  8  ch.,  I.  Hannah;  II.  Henry;  III.  Jane, 

44.  IV.    GODFREY,  b.  10  Dec,  1787,  d.  3  Mch.,   1H70,   m.   Sarah,   dau.  of  Abraham 

Hance,  b.  20  Jan.,  1797,  d.  3  Dec.  18i;5;  had  8  ch. 
I.    Abraham,  res.  Stewartsville,  Warren  Co.,  N.  J.,  b,  28  Mch.,  1818,  m. 

Elmira,  dau.  of  John  Snyder. 
II.    Mary,  res.  Stewartsville,  b.  7  Aug.,  1620,  unm. 

III.  James  H..  res.  Stewartsville,  b.  22  May,  1822,  m.  Ann,  dau.  of  Spencer 

Carter. 

IV.  Margaret,  b.  1824,  d.  1851, 

V.    Henhy  H..  b.  24  Mch.,       d,  in  1805,  after  serving  in  Civil  War,  m.  Mary 

Knaup,  h»?r  res.  Easton,  Pa. 
VI.    Peter  M.,  res.  Newark,  N.  J.,  b.  19  Oct.,  1830,  m.  Mary  E.  Smith. 
Vil.    John  H.,  res.  Stewartsville,  N.  J.,  b.  28  Aug.  18.3.3,  ra.  Elizabeth,  dau.  of 
Basil  Linn. 
VIII.    Sarah  A.,  res.  Stewartsville.  N.  J.,  b.  26  Jan..  1837,  m.  Henry  Frey. 

45.  V.    JACOB,  b.  23  Dec.  1789,  d.  1  Apl.,  1881,  m.  Mary  Sign,  b.  10  Oct.,  1813;  haii4ch., 

I.  Kebecca;  II.  John;  III.  Mary;  IV.  William. 

46.  VI.    WILLIAM  S.,  b.  23  March,  1792,  d.  14  Jan.,  1834,  m.  Hannah  Sharp,  b.  in 

March.  1797,  d.  23  April,  1868;  both  bur.  in  St.  James'  Luth.  chyd.;  had 
ch.,  I.  John,  II.  Christopher,  III.  James,  IV.  Catharine. 

47.  VII.     REBECCA,  b.  11  Aug.,  1794,  m.  Peter  Tinsman;  had  1  ch.,  b.   10  July,  1816, 

d.  in  infanc.v. 

48.  VIII.    MAKGAHET.'l).  24  Dec,  1797,  ra.  John  Mutchler;  had  ch.,  I.  George,  b. 

S  April,  1818,  d.  in  March,  1869;  II.  Henry  M.,  b.  in  Nov.,  1819;  III. 
Eleanor,  b.  31  Dec.  1821,  d.  22  Feb.,  1886;  IV.  Valentine,  b.  28  Feb.. 
1823;  V.  Jacob,  b.  8  May,  1825;  VI.  John,  b.  4  April,  1827;  VII.  Rebecca 
J.4NE,  b.  in  Feb.,  1829,  m.  G.  W.  Clindumd;  VIII.  WiLLi-iM.  res.  Easton, 
Pa.,  b.  21  Dec,  1831;  IX.  James,  b.  SMay,  1833,  d.  in  Jan.,  1887;  X.  God- 
frey, b.  4  May,  1836,  dec. 

49.  IX.    JANE,  b.  28  March.  1799,  m.  William  Person;  had  ch..   I.   Chkistianne,   II, 

Jacob,  III.  Rebecca,  IV.  Henry.  V.  Charlotte,  VI,  Hugh,  VII, 
Josephine. 

50.  X.    SARAH,  b.  20  Oct.,  1S02,  m.  Peter  Bloorh;  had  ch.,  I,  William,  II.  Rebecca, 

III.  Abraham,  IV.  Catharine,  V,  John,  VI,  Ervin. 

51.  XI.    ELEANOR,  b.  29  Oct.,  1804,   m.  William  White,  now  living  jiear  Colum- 

bus. O. 

THIRD      GENERATION     (B). 

Andrew  Melick  (8)  had  8  ch.  ^ 

52.  1.    ELIZABETH,  b.  8  Aug.,  1786,  d.  6  Apr.,  1S70,  m.  in  1803,  Joseph  Cra^vford,  b. 

in  1778;  d.  27  Sept.,  1844;  had  ch.  I.  Catharine,  b.  20  Dec,  1804;  II. 
Edmond,  b.  3  Oct,  1806;  III.  Andrew.  1?.  22  Feb.,  1809;  IV.  John,  b.  11 
Feb..  1811;  V.  Mary.  b.  3  Dec.  1813;  VI.  Hannah,  b.  27  July,  1815;  VII. 
Joseph,  b.  25  Sept.,  1818,  res.  OrangevlUe,  Columbia  Co..  Pa.,  m. 
Catharine,  dau.  of  Harman  Labaw.  b.  22  June,  1822,  d.  19  June,  1875, 
had  ch.,  Clinton,  EUzahetlt,  John,  Harmon,  William,  AlfreO,  Joseph, 
Jtebecca  and  Mnry;  VIII.  Catharine,  J.,  b.  8  Aug.,  1821;  IX.  Eliza- 
beth, b.  16  July,  1824;  X.  Stephen,  b.  9  May,  1827;  XI.  Sarah  Ann.  b. 
22  March.  1830. 

53.  II.    JOHN,  b.  13  Mch.,  1778,  d.  31  Aug.,  1847,  m.  Sarah  Conner,  b.  6  June,  1791,  d.  23 

Aug..  1843;  had  2  ch. 

I.    Andrew,  b.  Mar.,  ISI.5,  d.  Nov.,  1805,  m.  Feb.,  18.3.3,  Sarah  White;  their  7 

ch.,  John:  Eli  aha;  Henrv,  res.  Camba,  Mt.  Pleasant.  Pa.,  m.  1866, 

Louisa  Krouse  and  has  3  ch.,  Caroline,  Esther  and  Rose;  Andrev}, 

b.  1849,  d.  in  infancy;  Darirl  w,:  Fetfr,  res.  Camba,  m.  Anna  Howell 

43 


\,j:..^- 


674  Ch.  of  Jno.  Melick,  J.  H.  Vanderslice,  W.  Lt;AviTT. 

and  has  6  ch.,  Henry.  Charles.  Willets.  Peter,   John  and  Estherj 
Margaret,  res.  Orangeville,  Pa.,   ra.  Henry  Melick,  and  has  1  ch., 
Laura  Esther. 
II.    Esther  Ann,  res.  Bloomsburg,  Col.  Co.,  Pa.,  b.  6  June,  1817,  ui.  David 
Stroup,  b.  18  July,  1809,  d.  18  Auif.,  1«44;  no  ch. 
64.    III.    ANDREW,  b.  28  Mch..  1790,  d.  11  Mch.,  1868,  in.  5  Jan.,   1816,  Sarah  Besht,  b. 

26  Sep.,  1794,  d.  3  Aug.,  1851,    For  his7  ch.  see  p.  679. 
55.    IV.    WILLIAM,  b.  Uir,.  d.  Nov.,  188.5.  unm. 
J  56.    V.    STEPHEN,   b.  27   May,  IROO,  d.  30  Apl.,  18.57,   m.  30  Apl.,  1830,  Sarah,  dau.  of 
Peter  Melick,  b.  16  Nov.,  1R02,  d.  10  Feb.,  1848;  lived  and  died  in  Luzerne 
Co.,  Pa.    For  his  7  ch.  see  p.  679. 
57.    VI.    CATHARINE,  b.  25  Dec,  1802,  d.  5  Oct.,  1805.   m.  1  May,  1824,  John  Hiester 
Vanderslice,  b.  9  Aug,  1805,  d.  29  Oct.,  1874;  had  ch.,  I.  Rebecca  Ann,  b. 
in  Dec.  1824,   ra.  in  Jan.,  1851,   ,Iackson  Hower,  b.   in  June,  1828,   res. 
Bloomsburir,  Col.  Co.,  Pa.;  II.  Henry  William,  res.  Bloomsburg,  Col. 
Co..    Pa.;    II.    Tacy    Elizabeth,   b.   21    Mch.,    1835,   m,   10    Feb.,  1857, 
John  M.  White,  res.   Light  St.,  Col.  Co.,   Pa.,   b.   30  Dec,  1833;  have 
3    boys  and  2    girls,    all    living;   IV.   Hannah  Hellena,   m.   James 
M.  Salmon,  les.  Bangor,  Northampton  Co.,  Pa.;  V.  John  Heisteb,  b, 
23  Aug.,  1840.  m.  2  July,  1802,  Eliza  Jane  White,  b.  7  Mch.  1841,  res.  Milan, 
Rock  Island  Co.,  111.;  VI.  Sarah  Susanna;  VII.  Harriet  M.,  b.  16 
July,  1854,  d.  22  Apl.,  1883. 
68.    VII.    GODFREY,  b,  31  Dec,  1805,  d.  Feb.,  1878,  m.  flrst,  1835,  Susan,  dau.  of  Har- 
mon Kline,  m.  second,  1850,  Caroline  Jacoby,  b.  1  April,  1825,  d.  18  Mar., 
1685.    For  his  8  ch.  see  p.  680. 

59.  VIII.    HENRY,  b.  11  Nov.,  1808,  in  Col.  Co.,  Pa.,  d.  9  July,  1877,  in  Richland  Co., 

0.,  to  which  place  he  removed  in  1837,  in.  12  Apr.,  1832,  Christiane,  dau. 

of  Wm.  Roseberry;  had  1  ch. 
I.  Andrew,  res.  Plymouth,  Richland  Co.,  O.,  b.  IJ  Nov.,  1838,  m.  12  Nov., 
1850,  Frances  Elizabeth,  dau.  ot  Ephraim  Hart.  Andrew  Melick 
served  in  Civil  war  in  45th  Reg.  O.  V.  I.  from  22  Aug.,  1802.  to  3 
July,  1805;  has  9  ch.,  Henry  Ephraim,  b.  9  Nov.,  1870;  Hiland  Lleie- 
eUiin,  b.  14  Dec,  1871;  Xettie,  b.  28  Jan.,  1873;  Philip  Hayes,  b,  8  Oct., 
1875;  Andrew  Williarrl,  b.  29  Aug.,  1877;  Jason  Forsler,  b.  22  Feb., 
1879;  Lois  Tclell,  b.  1  Sept.,  1880;  Mary  Elsie,  b.  3  Oct.,  1883;  Al>ra7n 
Lloyd,  b.  SG  Dec,  1883;  Daisy  Myrtle,  b.  26  Jan.,  1886. 

THIRD  GENERATION     (B.) 

John    Melick   I'g)  had  g  ch. 

60.  I.    WILLIAM  BECK,  b.  18  June,  1704,  d.  21   June,  1832,  m.  Mary  Vail,  b.  about 

1800,  d.  17  Aug.,  1827,  leaving  1  son,  I.  William  Naole. 

61.  II.    HENRY,  res,  St,  John,  N.  B.,  Canada,  b.  26  Jan..  1796,  ra.  Isabella,  dau.  of 

Lawrence  Forster,  b.  6  June,  1800,  d.  27  July,  1884;  no  ch. 

62.  III.    JANE,  b.  14  Mch..  1798,  d.  2b  Jan.,   1883,   m,  Wm.   Loavitt.   merchant  of  St. 

John,  N.  U.,  Can.,  b.  19  Mch.,  1790,  d.  2  June,  1886,  had  6  ch. 
I.    John,  d.  1870,  unra. 
II.    Jane  Caroline,  res.  7  Dorchester  St.,  St.  John,  N,  B.,  Can. 

III.  Mary  Grandon,  res.  7  Dorchester  St.,  St,  John.  N.  B,,   Can.,  m.Jlrst 

Alfred  L.  Busly,  d.  1862,  by  whom  2  ch.,  ir//y.  Learitt,  ana  Mary  iP.; 
m.  secona  Wm.  Hogg,  of  Grangemouth,  Scotland,  d.  1876,  by  whom 
no  ch. 

IV.  William  Henry,  res.  16  Craig-y-don  Parade,  Llandudno,  N.  Wales,  b, 

6  June,  1820;  ra.  flrst  Annie  Gorst,  dau.  of  Philip  Crellin,  of  Liver- 
pool, Eng.,  dec,  by  whom  2  ch.,  Annie  Jane,  res.  45  Osborne  Road,  The 
Brook,  Liverpool,  Eng.,  b.  10  Oct.,  18.54.  m.  George  John  Hancock; 
Margaret  Ali<'e,  b.  18  May,  1850,  unm;  Wm.  Henry  Leavitt,  m.  secona, 
10  Feb.,  1868,  on  the  Island  ot  Toboga,  Elizabeth,  dau.  of  Wm.  Wan- 
stall,  by  whom  4  ch.,  Mary  Elizabeth,  b.  13  July,  1869;  Maua  Pea- 
hoay.  b.  3  Feb..  1876;  Blanclte  Eleanor  Louise,  b.  23  Feb.,  1880;  Jessie, 
b.  30  July,  1882. 
V.  James  Hay,  res.  88  Myrtle  St.,  Liverpool,  G.  B.,  m.  1870,  Isabella  Mc- 
Auley,  had  3  ch.,  Barbara,  James  and  Jane,  all  dec. 
VI.    Clarence,  res.  7  Dorchester  St„  St.  John,  N,  B.,  Can. 


Ch.  of  Henry  Fothekby,  Sajiuel  Melick,  J.  Jordan.  675 

63.    IV.    JOHN,  b.  13  Apr.,  1800,  d.  31  Aug.,  1870,  ra.  Anne  Durland. 

C4.  V.  JAMES  GODFREY,  b.  24  May,  1802,  d.  8  May,  1885,  m.  .lirnt,  a  dau.  of  Daniel 
Smith,  of  St.  John,  N.  B.,  who  d.  in  childbirth,  the  infant  surviving 
but  two  days;  m.  aeconil,  15  Feb.,  1834.  Caroline  M.,  dau.  of  William 
Fairweather,  of  Millstream,  N.  B.,  b.  17  Aug.,  1807,  d.  11  Feb.,  1888. 
James  Godfrey  Melick  was  a  .iewelcr  at  St.  John,  N.  B.,  for  upwards  of 
4u  years;  retiring  from  business  in  1864,  he  purchased  a  residence  at 
Hampton,  N.  B.,  where  he  resided  until  his  death.  For  his  7  ch.  see  p. 
680. 

65.  VI.    CHARLES  JOSEPH,  b.  16  Nov.,  1806,  d.  19  May,   1873.  m.   Margaret,  dau.   of 

Lawrence  Foster,  b.  S  Sept.,  18u5,  d.  in  Nov,.  1866. 

66.  VII.    GEORGE,  b.  13  Sept.,  1813,  d.  14  Oct.,  1830. 

67.  VIII.    MARY  ANN,  b.  5  Sept.,  1816,  m.  Henry  Fotherby,  of  Wakefield,  Yorkshfre, 

Eng.,  merchant,  b.  12  Dec.,  1814,  d.  15  Aug.,  1866;  had  4  ch.,  I.  Henky, 
d.  in  Yorkshire.  Eng.,  10  Jan.,  1881;  II.  Willum  Le.\vitt,  d.  in  In- 
fancy; III.  Eliza  Priestley,   unm.;  IV.  Mary,  unm. 

68.  IX.    MARGARET  SOPHIA,  b.  14  Mch..  1820.  d.  i  Aug.,  1820. 

FOURTH   GENERATION   (B.) 

Samuel   Melick  (20)  had  8  ch. 

69.  I.    WILLIAM  HUGHES,  b.  21  Dec,  181G,  d.  20  Mch.,  1877,  m.  13  Mch..  1838,  Mary. 

dau.  of  John  Coe,  of  Havcrstraw,  N.  Y'.,  b.  6  Jan.,  1817,  For  his  5  ch. 
see  p.  680. 

70.  II.    JOHN  HUGHES,  b.  22  June,  1816,  d.  10  Oct.,  1856,  at  Clayton  City,  Iowa,  m.  5 

Apl.,  1841,  Rebecca  J.  Posten,  b.  20  Nov.,  1820,  d.  13  Feb.,  1883  at  Wash- 
ington. N.  J.    For  his  8  ch.  see  p.  681. 

71.  III.    MATTHIAS,  b.  1  June.  1820,  d.  29  Oct.,  1859. 

72.  rv.    MARY  ELIZABETH,  b.  9  Aug.,  1822.  d.  13  Sep.,  1827. 

73.  v.    CHRISTOPHER,  b.  5  Oct.,  1824,  d.  10  Nov.  1827. 

74.  VI.    MARTHA  MOORE,  b.  9  Feb..  1827.  m.  18  Mch.,  1862,  to  the  Rev.  Joshua  H. 

Turner'  b.  14  May,  1620,  d.  19  Feb..  1867;  res.  Wilmington,  Del.;  had  ch., 
I.  Altbea,  b.  6  June,  1853,  m.  2  July,  1873,  to  H.  A.  Bradfleld.  res.  Bris- 
tol, Pa.;  had  ch..  Martha  M.,  b.  6  Feb.,  1875;  Sana,  b.  16  Jan.,  1881;  IL 
Sarab  Elizabeth,  b.  Feb.  3,  18.57,  d.  18  July.  1859;  III.  Eleanor 
Myers,  b.  21  Oct.,  1859,  m,  30  June,  1887,  Fred.  Willmont  Fenn;  res. 
Wilmington,  Del. 

75.  VII.    SAMUEL,   res.   Stroudsburg,  Pa.,  b.  8  Feb.,  1829,  m.  9  June,  1851,   Eliza- 

beth Phillips;  for  many  years  he  was  leading  jeweller  at  Newburg,  N. 
T.,  from  which  place  he  removed  in  1889;  had  10  ch.,  I.  Mary 
Ella,  b.  31  Aug..  1852;  II.  John  Hughes,  b.  1.)  Aug.,  1S54;  III. 
William  M..  b.  4  Sep.,  1856,  d.  5  Nov.,  1861;  IV.  Lewis  P.,  b.  15  Oct.,  1858; 
V.Martha  J.,  b.  6  Aug.,  1860;  VI.  Edward  P.,  b.  16  Mch..  1863;  VIL 
Henry,  b.  28  Mcb..  1866,  d.  8  Mcb.,  1872;  VIII.  Nettie  Hunt,  b.  28  Oct.. 
1867,  d.  4  Sep.,  1S71;  IX.  Anna  P.,  b.  11  Dec,  1868,  d.  30  July,  1875;  X 
Samuel  D.,  b.  3  Dec,  1872. 

76.  VIII.    JOSEPH,  b.  15  Apl.,  1831,  d,  8  Sep..  1832. 

FOURTH     GENERATION       B). 

John  and  Margaret  (Melicki  Jordan  (231  had  11   ch. 

77.  I.    JANE,  b.  27  Oct.,  1812,   d.  May,   1838,   m.    in  1834.   Robert    Roberts,    of   St. 

Andrews,  N.  B.,  Canada,  had  2  ch.,  I.  Robert  J.,  res.  N.  Y.  City,  and  II. 
Jane  J.,  who  m.  Nathaniel  Upham.  of  Upham  Parish,  Kings  Co    Can 

78.  II.    SARAH  ANN,  b.  28  Apr.,  1814,  d.  in  infancy. 

79.  III.    WILLIAM  M.,  res.  Westfleld,  Kings  Co.,  N.  B.,  b.  29  Mar.,  1816,  m    3  June 

1844. 

80.  rv.    JAMES,  m.  Jlrst  in  1844,  Sarah   Copperthwaite,   of  Woodstock,   Can.,  by 

whom  3  ch.  I.  W.M.  F.,  res.  Montreal,  Can. ;  II.  Elizabeth,  m.  C.  D. 
Truemau,  merchant,  of  St,  Johns,  N.  B.,  and  III.  Henrietta,  res! 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y'.,  m.  Henry  Jordan ;  James  (80)  m.  second,  Charlotte 
Daniel,  of  St.  John,  N.  B..  by  whom  one  dau.  unm. 

81.  V.    JOHN,  m.   Mary  Alice  Jordan,   had  4  ch.    I.   Arthur,  who  was  recently 

drowned;  II.  Ella  Le  Baron;  III.  Margaret  and  IV.  Bcrpie  B. 


676  Ch.  of  Nathan  Rked,  Jacob  Melick  &  T.  Weight. 

8d.    VI.    MARY  B.,  res.  St.  John's,  Newfoundland,  unra. 

83.  VII.    MARGARET  ANN,  m.  Edward  Sentell.  res.  Vancouver,  British  Col.,  had 

10  ch,  I.  Margaret,  ra.  Chas.  M.  Fowler,  of  Uphain,  Can,;  II.  Mary; 
III.  Ephraim;  IV.  Edward,  dec;  V.  Alfred;  VI.  Frederick;  VII, 
Sophia,  m.  Mr.  Cameron,  of  Queens  Co.,  N,  B.;  VIII.  Florence,  IX. 
Charlotte;  X.  George. 

84.  VIII.    SARAH  ELIZABETH,  m.  Rev.  George  S.  MilUgan,  Supt,  of  Schools,  at 

St,  John's,  Newfoundland,  no  ch. 

85.  IX.    GEORGE  D.,  b.  1829,  removed  to  California,  1860,  has  not  been  heard  from 

in  7  years. 

86.  X.    CHARLOTTE,  R.  B.,  res.  Houlton,  Maine,  m.  B,  O.  Hatheway,  no  ch. 

87.  XL    CAROLINE  A.,  d.  unm. 

88.  XII.    THOMAS  P.  res.  Loch  Lomond,  Co.  of  St.  John,  Can.,  m.  first  Isabella 

Foibes,  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  by  whom  2  ch. ;  m.  second  Sarah  Brown,  of 
the  Parish  of  Simonds,  Co,  of  St,  John,  Can.,  by  whom  3  ch. 

FOURTH   GENERATION   (B.) 
Nathan  and  Sarah  (Melick)   Reed  (24)  had  4  ch. 

89.  I.    JAMES  LOWELL,   res.  Westmoreland  Road,   St.  John,   N.  B.,   Canada,  b.  9 

Aui?.,  1817,  m.  Eliza  Good,  has  several  ch. 

90.  II.    ELIZA  JANE,  res.  Bath,  Maine,  b.  ao  Sept.,  IS19,  m.  29  Sept.,  1840,  George  D. 

Dunham,  b.  1-3  June,  1813,  d.  7  Jan.,  1876,  had  7  ch. ;  I  Wm.  G.,  d.  in 
infancy;  II.  John  M.,  b.  in  1843,  m.  andhaslch.;  III.  Douglas  A.,  b. 
in  1845,  m.  has  '2  ch.;  IV.  James  L.,  b.  in  1848,  d.  1863;  V.  W.M.  H.,  b. 
1850,  d.  1856;  VI.  Annie  E.  ;  VII.  Emily  C,  d,  in  infancy. 
91  III.  "WILLIAM  GODFREY  M.,  res.  805  Bedford  Ave.,  Brooklyn,  L.  I.,  b.  33  Mch.. 
1822,  m.  8  June,  1857,  Phoebe  Elizabeth,  dau.  of  Wm.  Simonson,  of  Hemp- 
stead, L.  I.,  had  9  ch. 
I.    William  E.,  b.  6  April,  1852;  II,  Ella,  b.  11  May,  18.55,  m.  Geo.  T, 

Crutlesden;  III.  Oscar,  b.  5  Dec,  1857;  IV,  Annie,  S  Jan.,  m. 

Caspar  Feld;  V.  Jennie  W.,  b.   10  Sept.,   1868,  d.  in  infancy;  VI. 

Minnie  M.,  b.  10  Oct.,  1864;  VII.  Lizzie  D.,  b.  16  Nov.,  1867,  d.  in 

infancy;  VIII,  Maggie  B.,  b.  1  Feb.,  1870;  IX,  Lilian  D.,  b.  1872  d. 

1887. 
92.    IV.    CHARLES  HENRY,  b.  5  Oct.,  1824;  was  a  mate  of  a  sailing-  vessel  from 
Boston;  he  is  supposed  to  have  been  drowned  at  sea,  unm. 

FOURTH     GENERATION     ^B). 

Jacob  Melick  (31J  had  15  ch. 

03.    I.    SARAH,  b.  •2-2  Jan.,  1812,  m.  Jerome  Hartpence. 

94.  XL    ELIZABETH,  b.  23  Oct.,  1813,  d.  17  Mar.,   Ib76,  m,   12  Oct.,    1836,    Thomas 

Wright;  had  8  ch, 
I.    Anna,  b.  Dec,  1838,  d,  10  Jan.,  18.59. 
11.    Emma,  res.  Staunton,  Va.,  b,  5  Mar,,  1840. 

III.  William  M.,  b.  1  Dec,  1841,  d.  27  Mar.,  1886,  m.  in  1865,   Cordelia  Cald- 

well; has  1  ch.,  Anna,   res.  41  Harrison  Ave.,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  b. 
1865,  m,  1S88,  Theodore  A.  Newlan. 

IV.  ASHER,   b.  28  May,  1843,  dec;  m.  Emma  Rice. 

V.    Edwin,  res.  Staunton,  Va.,  b.  8  July,  1845,  ra,  16  Feb.,  1867,  Charlotte 
Veer  Drury,  b.  Isle  of  Monserrat,  W.  I.;  had  6  ch.,   Thomas  V.  and 
Clara  A.,  d.  in  infancy;  Eloisa,  b.  80  Sept.,  1873;  George  S.,  b.  9  Feb., 
1876;  Edu-in  C,  b,  16  Mar,,  1879;  C?uts.  D.,  b,  9  Mar.,  1883. 
VI,    Mary,  b.  2  Dec,  1847,  d.  in  infancy, 

VII.    George  H..  res.  500  Cambria  St.,  Phila.,  Pa„  b.  4  Dec,  1S49. 
VIII.    Lydia,  b,  24  Aug.,  1857,  d.  in  infancy. 

95.  ni.    WILLIAM  B.,  b.  6  April,  1815,  d.  5  April,  Ibso,  at  Albany,  N.  Y.,  m.  14  July, 

1842,  Margaret  Matilda  Sharp,  b.  8  Jan.,  1821,  d.  30  March,  1385,    For  his 
4  ch  see  p.  681. 
90.    IV.    JOANNA,  b.  3  June,   1817,   m.  18  Oct.,   1838,   William  King  Hulshizer,  of 
Asbury,  Hunterdon  Co.,  N,  J„  b.  7  July,  1812;  had  two  ch. ;  I.  Joseph, 
b,  1839,  d.  1843;  II.  James  M.,  b,  23  Nov.,  1851,  d.  24  March.  1881,  unm. 


Ch.  of  John  S.  Beers,  Daniel  Melick  &  Jos.  Eves.    677 

97.  V.    JOHN.  b.  3  Feb.,  1S19.  d.  30  May.  1884.  m.  Jlrst  Elizabeth,  dau.  of  Wm.  Pinsell, 

b.  19  Feb..  18*1,  d.  4  Aug..  1848.  by  whom  -i  ch. ;  I  Edwakd,  b.  1839,  d.  1851, 
II.  Lydia  Ann,  b.  1843,  d.  1876;  III.  Mary  Marqaret.  b.  1843.  d.  1869, 
John  (97)  m.  Sfcona,  30  Oct..  1849,  Elizabeth,  dau.  i^aui.  Hart,  of  Treuton, 
N.  J.,  b.  3IJ  Sept..  1819.  d.  4  March.  1876.  by  whom  4  ch. ;  IV.  Jacob,  b.  23 
June.  1851;  V.  William,  b.  13,  April,  1854;  VI.  Joshua  J.,  b.  19  Feb., 
1857;  VII.  Charles  G..  b.  13  June.  18.)9. 

98.  VI.    GEORGE  B..  b.  11  Jan..  1821,  d.  18  Dec.  1840,  unm. 

99.  VII.    AMANDA,  b.  19  Dec,  1823.  unm. 

100.  VIII.    MARY  CATHERINE,  b.  19  Nov.,  1824,  d.  31  March,  1854,  unm. 

101.  IX.    MARGARET,  b.  17  Jan..  1827.  d.  9  May.  1863. 

102.  X.    JAMES  H..  b.  26  July.  1829.  m.  23  Oct..  1855.  Ruth  Ann.,  dau.  of  Lot  Breese, 

b.  27  Dec,  1830;  had  ch.,  I.  Anna,  b.  1  Jan,  1851.  d.  36  Feb..  1870;  II.  William 
Barber,  b.  19  Oct..  1859.  III.  Ella  Breese.  b.  10  Feb..  1861;  IV.  Matilda 
Sharp,  b.  26  Aug..  1804. 

103.  XI.    EMMA  M..  b.  23  April.  1831.  d.  1  July,  1881.  m.  19  Aug..  1869.  Hon.  Robt.  S. 

Kennedy,  b.  10  Oct..  1S03.  d.  2"  Mar..  1879.  He  was  widely  known 
throughout  the  state,  and  wielded  much  influence.  Besides  filling 
many  minor  positions  of  trust  he  was  for  several  years  one  of  the  lay 
judges  of  his  county,  for  two  terms  a  lay  judge  of  the  Court  of  Errors 
and  Appeals  of  N.  J.,  and  in  1850  was  United  States  marshall  of  his 
state.  Judge  Kennedy  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Stewartsville 
Presbyterian  church  in  Warren  county.  N.  J.,  where  he  resided. 
No  ch. 

104.  XII.    JANE.   res.  Newtown.   Penna..  b.  3  July.  1833.  m.  25  Oct..  1856.  John  S. 

Beers,  b.  9  Aug.  1833;  d.  Sept..  1888;  had  ch.  I.  Matilda  Melick.  b. 
6  Mar.  1857.  m.  Oct..  1881.  John  C.  Harmon;  II.  Anna  Wright,  b.  15  Sep.. 
1859;  III.  William  H.,  b.  17  Aug..  1803.  d.  7  Dec.  1863;  IV.  Henry 
Ogden,  b.  9  Mar.,  1868;  V.  Mary  Emma,  b.  18  Aug..  1871. 

105.  XIII.    JESSE,  b.  18  Aug.,  1835,  d.  2.  Apr.,  1837. 
10;;.    XrV.    ANNIE,  b.  3  Jan..  18.37.  d.  36  Sept.,  1837. 

107.  XV.    LYDIA  W..  b.  37  April.  1838,  d.  12  April,  1879. 

FOURTH     GENERATION     (B.) 

Daniel   Melick  (40)  had  9  ch. 

108.  I.    PHILIP  WELLER,  b.  29  Feb.,  1824.  m.  Mary  Ellen,  dau.  of  Richard  Camden, 

of  Mt.  Bethel,  Pa.,  by  birth  an  Englishman,  b.  18  Feb..  1839;  graduated 
from  Lafayette  College  and  Princeton  Seminary;  entered  the  Presb. 
ministry  and  was  settled  over  various  Pa.  parishes  until  outbreak  of 
Civil  war,  when  he  was  commissioned  chaplain  of  163d  Pa.  Vols., 
remaining  with  reg't  until  its  discharge;  again  was  settled  over  various 
congregations  in  Pa.  until  1873,  when  he  resigned  from  the  ministry 
and  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits  in  Elizabeth  City.  N.  C. ;  had  ch.,  I. 
IDELETTE.  b.  25  Aug..  1863.  d.  1806;  II.  Camhen  Wellek,  b.  22  Aug:., 
1867;  III.  Grace,  b.  33  July.  1870;  IV.  Ada,  b.  9  Dec,  1871. 

109.  II.    SARAH  JANE.  res.  Elizabeth  City.  N.  C.  b.  20  Dec.  1826.  m.  39  April.  1847. 

Joseph  Eves.  b.  5  Dec.  1814.  d.  15  Nov.,  1887;  removed  from  Pa.  to  N.  C. 
in  1870;  had  10  ch. 
I.    Willis  M..  b.  5  April.  1848.  d.  29  May,  18.50. 

II.  Mary  Margaret,  res.  Big  Rapids,  Mich.,  b.  25  July,  1849.  m.  3  Jan.. 
1871.  William  Fribley.  b.  6  Dec.  1845.  in  Pa.;  their  5  ch..  Joseph  J.. 
b.  1873;  Je.«se  .?..  b.  1876;  Sarah  E.,  b.  1879;  Knlie  La  Monte,  b.  1881;  and 
WiUiam  ir.,  b.  1885. 

III.  Martha  Elizabeth,  res.  E.  City,  N.  C.  b.  2  Aug..  1851.  m.  Thomas  B. 

Wilcox;  has  5  ch. 

IV.  AvA  Atta,  res.  Newbegun  Creek.  Pasquotank  Co.,  N.  C,  b.  25  Oct., 

185.3.  m.  John  A.  Mead;  has  7  ch. 
V.    Charles  Clark,  res.  Newbegun  Creek.  N.  C.  b.  12  Nov..  1855,  m.  Emma 

C.Davenport;  has  5  ch. 
VI.    Daniel  H.,  b.  10  Nov.,  18.57,  d.  21  Jan.,  1882.  m.  Mary  Frances;  had  2  ch. 
VII.    Joseph  Pearce.  res.  Newbegun  Creek.  N.  C.  b.  27.  June,  1860. 
VIII.    Ellie  Matild.4.  res.  N.  Creek,  N.  C,  b.  9  May.  1863,  ra.  Robert  C.  Low- 
rey;  has3ch. 


678      Ch.  of  J.  D.  ,sc  James  Melick  &  Nathan  Stecker. 

IX.    Minnie  Jane,  res.  Virginia  Beach,  Va.,  b.  26  Jan..  1867,  m.  Taylor  For- 
bes; has  1  ch. 
X.    William  W.,  res.  N.  Creels,  N.  C.  b.  9  Jan.,  18T1. 
110.    III.    JACOB  D.,  res.  Muncy,  Pa.,  b.  23  Apl.,  182H,  m.  16  Oct.,  1851,  Elizabeth  M., 
dan.  ot  William  White,  of  Columbia  Co.,  Pa.;  Jacob  D.,  (110)  served  in 
Civil  war,  first  as  1st  lieut.  Columbia  Co.  Tigers,  a  company  raised  in 
186J  for  general  defence.    In  June,  1S63,  he  was  commissioned  adju- 
tant 2sth  Regt  Infantry,  Pa..  N.  G.,  and  mustered  in  the  service  of  the 
U.  S.  under  President  Lincoln's  proclamation  ot  that  month;  per- 
formed dutv  at  Harrisburg  and  Carlisle  defending  the  latter  town 
from  Earley's  attack,   and  took  part  In  dislodging  the  enemy  from 
Hagerstown.    During  the  last  year  of  war  was  in  the  provost  mar- 
shal's office  at  Willianisport,  Pa.,  having  charge  of  the  correction  of 
the  enrollment  of  the  Congressional  district;  had  5  ch., 

I.  Del  Rot,  res.  Muncy.  Pa.,  b.  30  Aug.,  1852,  unm. 
II.    Daniel  O'Eel,  b.  15  Oct.,  185.3,  d.  8  Feb.,  1869. 

III.  WILLIAM  McCluue,  res.  Muncy,  Pa.,  b.  10  Oct.,  1857. 

IV.  James  Pearce,  res.  Lock  Haven,  Pa.,  b.  4  Oct.,  1862. 
V.    Jenny,  b.  21  Feb.,  1871,  an  adopted  dau.  and  a  niece. 

111.  IV.    MATTHEW  PATTERSON,  b.  30  June,  18.31,  d.  6  Dec,  1832. 

112.  V.    WILLIAM  WILLET,  b.  10  Jan.,  183.3,  d.  31  Aug.,  1867,  m.  Jtnit  Margaret,  dau. 

of  William  Mather,  b.  22  Mch.,  18:!8,  d.  24  Feb.  1865;  had  ch;  I.  William 
Calvin,  b.  30  July,  1858,  d.  7  Sept.,  1861;  II.  Agnes,  b.  Feb.,  1863,  d.  25 
Dec,  1884;  William  W.  (112),  m.  second,  S.  Agnes,  sister  of  first  wife;  her 
res.  Orangeville,  Columbia  Co.,  Pa. 

113.  JOHN  P.,  b.  18  Aug.,  1835,  d.  5  May  1836. 

114.  'VTI.    MARY  ELIZABETH,  b.    25  March,   1837,  m.  10  Sept.,    1856,    Nathan    W, 

Stecker,  b.  15  Sept.,  1832,  res.  449  Twentieth  street,  San  Francisco  Cal. ; 
had  ch. ;  I.  Eugene  Addison,  b.  .31  March,  18.58;  II.  Wilbur  Melick,  b. 
29  April,  1861.  d.  8  Aug.,  1803;  III.  Frank  Dana,  b.  if,  Aug.,  1863.  d.  '26 
Nov.,  1863;  IV.  Henry  McClure,  b. '26  Mch.,  186.5,  m.  Dec,  188.5.  Min- 
nie Updegraff;  res.,  Wallace,  New  Mexico;  V.  Mary  Margaret,  b. 
23  Dec,  1867. 

115.  VIII.    DANIEL  RAMSEY,  b.  21  Nov.,  1839,  d.  17  May,   1866,  from  consumption 

contracted  in  army;  m.  4  May.,  1865.  Sarah  Matilda,  dau.  of  John 
White,  b.  21  Oct..  1841 ;  he  graduated  from  Lafayette  medical  college, 
practiced  as  a  physician,  and  served  during  rebellion  as  lieut.,  Co.  G. 
133d  Regt.  Penna.  Vol's;  he  commanded  his  company  in  a  brilliant 
charge  at  Antletara.  and  at  the  repulse  at  Fredericksburg  after  his 
regt.  had  been  driven  back  he  returned  to  the  field  and  carried  off  his 
wounded  brother,  James  P.,  (116)  amid  a  storm  ot  shot  and  shell;  no 
ch. 

116.  IX.    JAMES  PEARCE,  b.  26  June,   1843,   d.  28  Dec,   1862;  served  during  Civil 

War  as  corporal  Co.  G.  132nd  regt..  Pa.,  Vols.;  wounded  at  Antietam, 
17  Sep.,  1362,  again  in  the  charge  at  Fredericksburg,  13  Dec,  1S62,  caus- 
ing his  death  at  Mt.  Pleasant  Hospital,  15  days  later.  A  boy  in  years, 
a  man  in  heart  and  courage. 

FOURTH     GENERATION     (B.) 

James   Melick   (41)  had  7  ch. 

117.  I.    HENRY  J.,  res.  Philipsburg,  N.  J.,  b.  13  March,  1.808,  m.  17  April,  1834. 

IIK.    II.    RACHEL,  b.  16  Dec,  1810,  d.  in  Dec,  1840,  m.  10  May,  1837,  Philip  Shipman; 
had  1  ch.,  d.  in  infancy. 

119.  III.    WILLIAJI  S.,  b.  7  March,  1812,  d.  29  Oct.,  1882,  unm. 

120.  IV.    REBECCA,  res.  Philipsburg,  N.  J.,  b.8  June,  1814,  unm. 

121.  V.    JAMES  S.,  res.  Williamsport,  Pa.,  b.  29  March,  1816,  m.  25  Nov.,  1851,  Mary 

Martha,  dau.  of  Ralph  Hunt,  b.  31  July.  1827;  had  3  ch., 
I.    Mary  Elizabeth,  res.  Philipsburg,  N.  J.,  b.  21  Sep.,  1854,  m.  James  H. 
Hess,  b.  23  June,  1854;  their  3  ch.,  Clarence  B.,  b.  2  Nov.,  1877;  Henry 
Leiris,  b.  16  Dec,  1879;  Annie  Hunter,  b.  13  Dec,  1884. 

II.  James  Bergen,  530  East  3rd  St.,  Williamsport,  Pa.,  b.  14  Aug.,  1837,  m. 

Annie,  dau.  ot  James  M.  Purcell,  b.  21  Oct.,  1858;  their  S  ch.,  Mary 
P.  ■  }rarttia  H.,  b.  2  Nov.,  1888. 


Children  of  Axdrew  and  Stephen  Melick.         679 

III.    Ida.  b.  1.3  Aug.,  1863. 

122.    VI.    ELIZABETH,  I).  Aug..  1818.  d.  in  infancy. 

183.  VII.  SAKAH  JANE.  b.  Oct.,  23.  m.  1326  Nov.,  1853,  William  Allshouse.  b.  28 
Dec.,  1830,  was  a  tanner  and  currier  at  Belvidere,  N.  J.,  and  was  sur- 
rogate of  ttie  CO.  from  1S59  to  1864;  in  18(i(i  removed  to  present  res.  Pon- 
tiac,  Micli. ;  had  ch.,  I.  Florence,  b.  14  Oct.,  18)3.  unm. ;  II.  Catha- 
rine M.,  I).  2  July,  1853,  unm.;  III.  John  C  b.  15  Nov.,  1857,  m.  15  June. 
1881,  Sarah  Melissa,  dau.  of  Ale.x.  G.  Collins.  1).  29  Oct..  1800;  their  ch.. 
Hthel,  b.  13  May,  1883,   and  Chester,  b.  8  Oct.,   1884.  res.  Pontiac,   Mich. ; 

IV.  Elizabeth,  b.  18  May,  1859,  unm. ;  V.  Eda.  b.  1  Dec.,  1863,  m.  Joseph 
A.  Linabury,  b.  15  March,  1858,  hotel  Iceeper  at  Pontiac,  Mich. 

FOURTH     GENERATION     (B). 

Andrew   Melick  (54)  had  7  ch. 

124.  I.  CATHARINE,  b.  10  Feb.,  1817,  ra.  Isaac  White,  had  9  ch. ;  Newton  White,  of 
Bioomsburu,  Col.  Co.,  Pa.,  is  a  son. 

125.  II.    ELIZA,  b.  14  Nov,,  1819,  m.  29  Jan.,  1840,  Samuel  B.  Henry,  b.  1  May,  1817; 

she  dec. ;  his  res.  Orangevllle,  Pa. ;  had  ch.,  I.  Ja.mes,  b.  14  Nov,,  1840,  d, 
in  infancy;  II.  Sarah  Louisa,  b.  10  Sep.,  1841;  111.  Mary  Catherine. 
b.  27  Feb!.  184.3,  d.  23  Apl.,  1863;  IV.  FRANCIS  Stewart,  b.  23  Jan.,  1844; 

V.  Joseph  Benson,  b.  39  Feb.,  1846,  d,  8  Mch.,  1806;  VI.  Eudora  Ann,  b,  20 
Jan.,  1847;  VII.  Jairus  Day.  b.  13  Feb.,  1840;  VIII.  Andrew  Boyd.  b. 
19,  Nov.,  1850;  IX.  Nora  Matilda,  b.  22  Sep..  18.53,  d,  in  infancy,  X. 
Lizzie,  b.  4  Sep..  ia54.  d.  in  infancy,  XI.  Evageen,  b.  3  Sep.,  1855;  XII 
Orval  a.,  b.  2  Sep.,  1857;  XIII.  John  Hauvey,  b.  5  Oct.,  1859. 

126.  III.    JACOB,  b.  8  Api.,  1823,  m.  Minerva  Melvina  Kline,  res.  Pittston,  Pa„  had 

ch.;  I.  Hester  Anne,  b.  20  June,  1847,  m.  Daniel  Long,  res.  Pittston, 
Pa.,  II.  Francis,  h.  25  June,  1851,  dec. ;  III.  Sarah  Ameli  a.  b.  in  Aug., 
1856,  m.  Jasper  Creveiing,  res.  Pittston,  Pa. ;  IV.  Amos  W.,  b,  29  Sep., 
1800,  res.  Bioomsburg,  Pa. 
137.  IV.  JOHN  A.,  res.  Shiloh,  Richland,  Co.,  Ohio,  b.  25  Aug.,  1828,  m.  85  Sept., 
1861,  Sarah  Jane,  dau,  of  Samuel  White,  of  Columbia,  Co.,  Pa.,  b.  4  July, 
18.^.    For  his8  ch.  seep  G81. 

128.  V.    SARAH  ANN,  b.   10  May,  1831,  m.  Peter  White,  res.  Mendon.  St.  Jos.  Co., 

Mich. 

129.  VI.    HESTER  ANN,  b.  18  May,  1S35,  m.  Jas  W.  Shipman.  res.  .Shiloh,  Ohio;  had 

ch.;  I.  Andrew  J.,  b.  26  Sept.,  1857;  II.  Sarah  M.,  b.  24  Jan..  1859;  III. 
John  H.,  b.  32  Aug.,  1804,  m.  33  Dec,  1885,  Mamie,  dau.  of  Clarli  Cleve- 
land. 

130.  VII.    ANDREW  R.  b.  21  May,  1S41,  d.  in  infancy. 

FOURTH   GENERATION   (B). 

Stephen   Melick  (56J  had  8  ch. 

131.  I.    ELIZABETH,  b.  30  March.  1831,  d.  30  Sept.,  18SS,  unm. 

132.  II.     RACHEL  ANN.  res.  Town  Hill,  Luzerne  Co..  Pa.,  b.  9  Aug.,  1833,  m.  1  June, 

1856,  Robert  W.  Chapin.  b.  11  Oct.,  1834,  had  3  ch.,  I.  Stephen  W..  b.  27 
Jan..  1858;  II.  Charles  E.,  b.  23  April,  1861,  d.  18  March,  1864;  III, 
Minnie  R.,  b.,  18  Dec,  1868,  d.  14  Jan.,  1872. 

133.  III.    ANDREW,  b.  25  Dec,  1835,  d.  29  Dec,  1880,  ra.  1  Jan.,  1863,  Abiah,  dau.  of 

Peter  Franklin;  had  1  ch..  Fredonia,  b.  27  Jan.,  1866. 

134.  IV.    PETER,  res.  Watertown,  Luzerne  Co.,  Pa.,  b.  27  May,  1838,   m.  28  June,  1868, 

Margaret  J.,  dau.  of  Samuel  Wilcox,  b.  in  Aug.,  1848;  had  Gch„  I.  Ruth 
C,  b.  26  Jan.,  1869;  II.  Sadie,  b.  28  March,  1870;  III.  Clara  J.,  b.  6  Jan., 
1871;  IV.  Lehoy  S..  b.  17  March,  1875;  V,  Otto,  b.  5  July,  1877;  VI.  Han- 
nah L.,  b.  30  Dec,  1881, 

135.  V,    STEPHEN,  b.  13  Nov.,  1840.  d.  7  April.  1370,  m.  19  Sept.,  1869,  Elizabeth,  dau. 

of  Daniel  SutliLt  widow,  m.  Charles  Hughes,  res,  Catawissa,  Colum- 
bia Co.,  Pa. ;  had  1  ch..  Lena.  b.  22  July.  1870. 

136.  VI.    CATHARINE,  res.   Watertown,   Luzerne  Co..  Pa.,  b.  6  March,  1843,   m.  29 

Aug..  1867.  Benjamin  A.  Bidlack,  b.  1  Aug.,  1842;  had  3  ch..  I.  SarahA., 
b.  IS  Oct.,  1873;  II,  Amy  B.,  b  8  April,  1875;  III.  Stephen  B..  twin.  b.  8 
April,  1875. 


680      Ch.  of  Godfrey,  James  G.  and  Wm.  H.  Melick. 

137.  Vn.    FANNY,  b.  24  June,  1846,  m.  .rfcs(,  19  Sept.,  1869,  John  Watson,   b.  14  Jan., 

1841,  a.  3  May.  1878,  by  whom  1  ch.,  I.  William  Wood;  m.,  second,  7  Feb., 
1877,  George  D.  Brandon,  b.  in  18'25,  by  whom  3  ch..  II.  George  A.,  III. 
Saida  E.,  IV.  Emma  L. 

138.  Vni.    Sanderson  W.,  b.  ai  Jan.,  1R40,  d.  15  Ma.v,  1876.  unm. 

FOURTH     GENERATION     (B.) 

Godfrey  Melick  (58)  had  4    ch.  by   ist  wife   Susan  Kline. 

139.  I.    HENRY,  b.  1  May,  1836,  m.  Margaret,  b.  in  Dec,  1839,  and  had  1  ch.,  Laura,  b. 

28  Feb.,  1883. 

140.  II.    CLINTON,  b.  16  Feb.,  18.39,  ra.  31  Dec,  1863,  and  had  5  ch.,  I.  Emma,  b.  23  Aug., 

1864;  II.  Minnie  A.,  b.  11  March,  1873;  IIL  Cora  R.,  b.  35  Aug.,  1877;  IV. 
Della,  b.  21  March,  1881;  V.  Henry  C,  b.  30  Jan.,  1885. 

141.  III.    MARY  CATHARINE,  b.  17  Oct.,  1840,  d.  in  1863.  m.  in  1862,  Henry  Hippen- 

Btiel,  res.  Orangeville,  Col.  Co.,  Pa. ;  had  1  ch.,  Henry,  b.  in  Feb.,  1885. 

142.  IV.    REBECCA  ANN,  b.  14  Aug..  1845,  m.  Abraham  Kline,  and  has  4  ch. 

Godfrey  (58)  had  4  ch.  by  2d  wife,  Caroline  Jacoby. 

143.  V.    JOHN,  res.  Canby,  Col.  Co.,  Pa.,  b.  7  June,  1851,  m.  Clara  Everitt,  and  had  6 

ch.,  I.  Verda  Letitia.  b.  29  July,  1878;  II.  Franklin  T.,  b.  19  Feb., 
1880;  III.  Elmira  Caroline,  b.  29  April,  1881;  IV.  Jessie  Luella,  b.  5 
Dec,  1882;  V.  Stella  Pearl,  b.  16  June,  1885;  VL  Oscar  Ray,  b.  9 
July,  1887. 

144.  VI.    LYDIA  ELLEN,  b.  17  Jan.,  1856,  unm. 

145.  VII.    STJSAN  MARIA,  b.  1  Aug.,  1857,  m.  Matthias  Whitnight. 

146.  VIII.    HARRIET  LUCINDA. 

FOURTH    GENERATION    (B). 

James  Godfrey  Melick  (64)  had  7  ch. 

147.  I.    GEORGE  GODFREY,  res.  100  State  St.,  Boston,  Mass.,  b.  19  Oct.,  1836,   m.  13 

Dec,  1867,  Mary  Ann  Matilda,  dau.  of  James  D.  Perkins,  of  St.  John, 
N.  B.,  b.  27  March.  1846;  had  c.  ch.,  I.  Minnie,  b.  7  April.  1868,  d.  11  April, 
1870;  II.  George  H.,  b.  11  Oct.,  1869;  III.  Unita,  b.  7  May.  1873,  d.  in 
infancy;  IV.  Charles  D.,  b.  5  Jan.,  1878.  d.  4  March,  1886;  V.  Myrtle 
L.  Kent,  b.  5  March,  1879;  VI.  Martin  Lansdowne,  b.  31  July,  1881. 

148.  II.    MARY  ELIZA,  b.  27  Aug.,  18.38,  d.  5  Oct..  1858. 

149.  III.    JAMES  WILLIAM,  res.  St.  John,  N.  B.,  b,  19  March,  1840,  d.  3  May,  1889,  m. 

in  June,  1873,  Kate  McCaffrey,  of  Fredericton,  N.  B.,  had  ch..  I.  Fred- 
erick; II.  Frank;  III.  Lizzie;  IV.  Herbert. 

150.  IV.    FREDERICK  COLBROOK,  res.  St.  John,  N.  B.,  b.  17  July,  1843,  unm. 

151.  V.    DEBORAH  JULIETTE,  b.  20  June,  1845,   ra.  27  Nov.,  1873,   James  E.   Fair- 

weather,  res.  Hampton.  N.  B..  no  ch. 
162  VL    CATHERINE  ALICE,  b.  15  Nov.,  1847,  m.  11  Oct.,   1871,   Charles  D.  MoAvlty, . 

res.  Hampton,  N.  B. ;  had  5ch..  I.  William  Douglas,  b.  17  Sept.,  1872;  11. 

George  Thomas,  b.  9  Feb.,  1875;  III.  Caroline  Maud,  b.  9  July,  1878, 

IV.  James  Herbert,  b.  14  Feb.,  1883;  V.  Kate  Isabel,  b.  9  July,  1885. 
163.    VII.    ANDREW  WELLINGTON,  res.  St.  John.  N.  B..  b.  28  July.  1850,  m.  14  Feb., 

1883.  Isabel  Hay  ward,  has  2  eh.,  I.  Helen  L.,  b.  26  Nov..  1883;  II.  Ethel 
W.,  b.  6  April,  1885. 

FIFTH     GENERATION. 

William  Hughes  Melick  (69)  had  5  ch. 

154.  I.  CHARLOTTE  LOUISA,  b.  6  April,  1839,  ra.  23  Jan.,  1861,  Peter  M.  Van 
Keuren,  of  N.  Y.  city;  had  4  ch.,  I.  Wm.  M.,  b.  17  Jan.,  1804,  d.  21  Feb,. 
1866;  II.  Jessie,  b.  19  Dec,  1866,  d.  25  Sept.,  1867;  III.  Georgine  M.,  b. 
14  Sept.,  1868;  IV.  Helen,  b.  29  Jan.,  18T1,  res.  357  Garden  street.  Hobo- 
ken,  N.  J. 

156.    II.    JOHN  HENRY,  b.  8  July,  1841,  d.  14  July,  1841. 

156.  III.  SARAH  JANE,  b.  2  Oct.,  1842,  m.  21  Jan.,  1863,  Jaraes  A.  Purdy,  of  N.  Y. 
city;  had  2  ch.,  I.  Mary  M.,  b.  3  Mar.,  1864,  d.  13  Sept.,  1886.  ra.  22  May, 

1884,  Thos.  H.  Sheffield,  of  Stonington,  Conn.,  had  1  ch.,  Warren 
Thomas,  b.  15  Mar.,  1885;  res.  Hoboken;  II.  William  M.,  b.  24  Oct.,  1867. 


Ch.  of  John  H.,  William  B.,  and  John  Melick.      681 

167.    IV.    ANNA  GEORGINA.  b.  11  Feb..  1&15,  m.  12  Oct..  1770.  J.  Goodheart  De  Voe; 

had  3ch..  1.  Charlotte  L.,  b.  11  Feb..  1876;  II.  Alice  E.,  b.  24  Nov.,  1881. 

III.  Thubm AN  G. ,  b.  5  Oct.,  1886.    Res.  Hoboken. 
158.    V.    John,  b.  4  April.  1847,  d.  8  Dec.,  1854. 

FIFTH     GENERATION     (B). 

John  Hughes  Melick  (70)  had  7  ch. 

169.    I.    RACHEL  POSTEN,  b.  20  Feb..  1842,  d.  3  Jul.v.  1842. 

100.  II.  EDWARD  POSTEN,  b.  31  May,  1843,  killed  at  Aiitletem  17  Sept..  1862,  he 
joined  Co.  G.,  Capt.  Abbott,  132  Regt..  Pa.  Vols.  Just  seven  weeksfrom 
the  day  he  left  home  he  fell  on  the  field  of  battle;  during:  his  short 
military  career  his  conduct  and  bearinur  wore  so  brave  and  admirable 
as  to  attract  particular  attention,  and  bad  he  lived  hedoubtless  would 
have  attained  promotion  and  distinction. 

161.  III.    SARAH,  b.  0  June,  1845,  unmarried;  res.  Stroudsburg-.  Penna. 

162.  IV.    ADDISON  BROWN,  b.  20  May,  1847,  m.  16  Mar.,  1876  to  Emma  Edinger;  res. 

Stroudsburg.  Penna..  had  ch..  I.  Wm.  E..  b.  22  May.  1879. 

163.  V.    HESTER  A.,  b.  12  April.  1849,  d.  24  Nov.,   1888,   m.   1  >  Nov.,   1887,   Alfred  B. 

Groff,  of  Washington,  N.  J. 

164.  VI.    MARY.  b.  28  April,  1851,  d.  1  Jan..  1870. 

165.  VII.    HELEN,   b.  26  Mar.,   1853,   m.  2  Sept.,   1879,  Charles  Creveli[ig;  b.  4  April, 

1841;  res.  0.\ford  Furnace.  N.  J.;  had  s  ch.,  I.  Jane.  b.  1  July,  1880;  II. 
Jacob  Van  Horn  and  Elizabeth  C.  twins,  b.  25  Aug.,  1882. 

FIFTH     GENERATION     (B). 

William   Barber  Melick  (95)  had  4  ch. 

166.  I.    EMMA,  b.  8  July.  1843,   m.  15  Jan.,  1861,   Chas.  B.   Heydon;  res.  186  Jay  St., 

Albany,  N.  Y.,  had  4  ch.,  I.  Elizabeth  Sharp,  b.  25  Nov.,  1861.  m.  14 
Sep.,  1881,  George  W.  Coriell.  res.  New  Market,  N.  J.;  II.  Agnes 
Amelia,  b.  28  Feb.,  1807;  III.  Em.wa  Melick,  b.  7  Oct.,  1875;  IV.  Alice 
Read,  b.  7  Nov.,  1878. 

167.  II.    MARTHA,  b.  4  Oct.,  1845. 

168.  III.    JAMES  HEDFOKD.  b.  12  Oct..  1849.  m.  23  Dec,  1869,  Margaret  E.,  dau.  of 

Ben.  Kirtland;  had  10  cb,  I.  Charlotte  Thurber,  b.  24  Sep.,  1870;  II. 
Chas.  Benj.,  b.  18  Oct..  1872;  III.  William  Barber,  b.  2  Oct..  1874;  IV. 
Daniel  Read,  b.  3  Jan.,  1876;  V.  James  Redford,  Jr..  b.  25  Jan.,  1879; 
VI.  and  VII.  Frederick  and  Frank,  b.  31  Jan.,  1881,  d.  2  July,  I88I; 
VIII.  Arthur  Kirtland,  b.  9  Jan.,  1884,  d.  3  Oct.,  1884;  IX  Philip 
Wackerhagen.  b.  19  Aug.,  1885;  X.  Henuy  Read.  b.  20  Aug.,  1888. 

169.  IV.    ELIZABETH  SHARP,  b.  18  July,  1852,  m.  5  Oct.,  1875,  Daniel  P.  Read,  res. 

268  W.  13th  St.,  N.  Y.  City;  had  2  ch.,  I.  Archie,  b.  17  June,  1878,  d.  in 
infancy;  II.  Henry  M.,  b.  26  Dec,  1879. 

FIFTH     GENERATION     (B). 

John  Melick  (127)  had   8  ch. 

170.  I.    SA.MUEL  HUBERT,  b.  22  May,  1853,  m.  1  Jan.,  1878,  Lucy,  dau.   of  David 

Myers. 

171.  II.    ANDREW  NEWTON,  b.  7  May,  1836,  m.  22  Feb.,  1886,  Florence,  dau.   of  John 

Licy. 

172.  III.    WILLIAM  CLARlv.  b.  4  Aug.,  1858,  m.  27  Dec,  1877,  Matilda,  dau.  of  Wil- 

liam McKinney.  b.  4  Aug.,  1857. 

173.  IV.    JOHN  CLEMUEL,  b.  7  June,  1860,  m.  22  Jan.,   1885,   Dora,  dau.  of  John 

Fransky. 

174.  V.    CHARLES  ELLSWORTH,  b.  6  July.  1803. 

175.  VI.    MINNIE  JANE,  b.  18  Aug..  1868,  ra.  23  June,  1887,  Frank  Brlcker. 

176.  VII.    IDA  MAY,  b.  23  April.  1872. 

177.  VIII.    EDWARD  HAYES,  b.  23  March,  1877. 


682     JoHAN  Peter  Moelich  and  hi>;  son  Tunis  Melick. 

JOHAN     PETER     MOELICH     fC.i 

His  son  Tunis  Melick  of  Hunterdon  Co.,  N.  J.,  and  descendants. 
1.  JOHAN  PETER  MOELICH  was  the  son  of  Johan  Wilhelra  (XXVI)  and  Anna 
Katherine  of  Bendorf  on  the  Rhine,  Germany,  where  he  was  b.  in  1708, 
and  bap.  in  the  Evangelical  Head-Church,  by  the  Revd.  Johannes 
Reusoh,  the  certificate  reading:— "The  9th  Sunday  after  Trinity,  1708, 
to  Master  Hans  Wilhelm  Molich  of  this  place  a  young-  son  has  been 
baptized  and  named  by  the  Christian  name,  Johann  Peter.  The  god- 
fathers were  Mr.  Peter  Hoffbauer,  citizen  at  Winnineren,  and  Johann 
Peter  Molich,  bachelor,  of  this  place.  The  godmother  was  Master 
Hermann's,  of  Hochstenbach,  conjugal  housewife,  the  child's  mother's 
own  sister.  God  grant  to  the  baptized  all  prosperity  on  earth,  and 
after  this  life  in  eternity.  Amen."  Godfather  Johan  Peter  Molich. 
bachelor,  was  Hans  Peter  (VIII),  son  of  Jonas  (V);  he  must  have  mar- 
ried soon  after  this  time  as  his  first  child  Jonas  (XV)  was  born  in  1710. 
When  but  twenty  years  old  Johan  Peter  (I)  emigrated  to  America 
landing  at  Philadelphia,  24  Aug.,  1728,  from  the  ship,  "  Mortonhouse," 
John  Coultas,  master.  The  vessel  sailed  from  Rotterdam,  touching  at 
Deal,  and  leaving  the  last  port,  June  15.  The  records  of  Palatine 
arrivals  preserved  at  Harrisburg  do  not  show  that  he  brought  with 
him  either  wife  or  child.  He  probably  married  soon  after  arrival  as 
his  son  Tunis  was  born  in  1730.  As  no  traces  of  him  have  been  found 
Jn  New  Jersey  he  probably  remained  in  Pennsylvania,  perhaps  at 
Germantown,  froTn  whence  many  of  the  New  Germantown,  N.  J., 
Germans  migrated.  He  was  not  living  in  1755,  as  the  record  of  the 
marriage  of  his  child  Maria  Catharina  (3),  in  that  year,  describes  her  as 
"the  daughter  of  the  late  John  Peter  Melick."  All  his  decs,  spell 
their  name  Melick, 

SECOND   GENERATION   (C.) 
Johan  Peter  Moelich  or  Melick    had  at  least  3  ch. 

d.  I.  TUNIS,  ANTON,  or  ANTHONY,  b.  0  Mar..  1730,  d.  27  Nov..  179o;  m.  Eleanor, 
dau.  of  Abraham  Van  Horn,  of  White  House,  Hunterdon  Co.,  N.  J.,  b. 
31  Mar.,  173^,  d.  3.  Jan.,  1819,  from  burns  caused  by  her  clothing  igniting 
from  the  fireplace;  both  are  buried  in  Zion  churchyard.  New  German- 
town,  N.  J.  He  first  settled  at  White  House,  where  he  built  a  grist 
mill  on  South  Rockaway  Creek,  on  land  now  owned  by  Wyekott"  Van 
Horn,  fronting  on  the  read  leading  from  the  village  to  the  railway 
station.  Subsequently  he  removed  to  New  Germantown.  in  the  same 
county,  where  he  purchased  200  acres  of  land  from  Ralph  Smith,  upon 
which  he  built  a  new  mill,  removing  the  gear  from  the  old  one.  This 
property  became  his  homestead,  and,  though  not  since  then  continu- 
ously possessed  by  his  posterity,  is  now  owned  and  occupied  by  a 
descendant,  Peter  W.  Melick  (34).  Tunis  was  actively  interested  in  the 
afifairs  of  his  vicinity;  served  as  county  freeholder  from  17T6  to  1794, 
inclusive,  for  a  number  of  years  was  a  leading  member  of  Zion  Luth- 
eran Church,  and  was  instrumental  in  founding  the  first  Methodist 
congregation  of  his  county.    (See  p.  8s)    For  his  8  ch.  see  p.  683. 

3.  II.  MARIA  CATHARINE,  b.  13  July,  1733,  d.  23  Jan.,  1807;  m.  3  Apl..  1755,  John 
Henry,  son  of  John  Valentine  Miiller,  b.  22  May,  1738,  in  "  Dndtr  Mosh- 
olem  inAmjyt  Laiitzherg  in  der  riatz  Zweibrucken,"  Germany,  d.  9  Feb.. 
1819.  He  landed  in  Philadelphia.  12  Aug.,  1750,  and  removed  to  New 
Jersey  3  Apl.,  1753.  He  is  said  to  have  been  a  Redemptioner;  if  this  be 
true  he  probably  paid  for  his  passage  and  gained  his  liberty  before 
reaching  New  Jersey.  He  settled  near  New  Germantown  in  Hunter- 
don county,  where  he  became  a  valued  citizen,  being  for  thirty-one 
years  the  elerk  of  Tewskbury  township.  He  was  a  devout  Christian 
and  prominent  in  the  Zion  Lutheran  congregation.  His  family  Bible, 
which  has  been  preserved,  freely  testifies  as  to  his  deeply  religious 
nature.  On  entering  in  German  the  record  of  his  marriage,  he  added  : 
"May  the  good  God  rule  our  hearts  and  minds  through  His  Holy 


Ch.  of  J.  H.  Miller,  Tixls  Melick  &  Isaac  Farlet.  683 

Spirit  in  Christ  Jesus.    Aroen."    The  bii-th  of  his  first  child  isinscribed 
as  follows:    "In  1758  on  the  11th  day  of  July  has  the  dear  God  rejoiced 
us  with  a  dauj^hter,  and  has  permitted  her  to  come  happily  into  the 
world  and  to  receive  Holy  Baptism  on  tlie  tith  day  of  Auffust  and  has 
Ifiven  her  the  Christian  name  of  Elizabeth."    An  equally  pious  an- 
nouncement is  made  of  the  advent  of  each  child.    When  the  list  was 
complete  he  wrote:    "  May  the  dear  God^uide  and  rule  these  my  dear 
children  with  His  Holy  and  g-ood  Spirit  and  xrant  that  thej' may  be 
religions  and  God  fearing-.    May  they  love  God  and  walk  in  his  ways. 
May  they  love  right  and  justice  and  avoid  sir..   Amen."    This  old  fam- 
ily register  thus  recounts  the  death  of  his  wife:    "1807.    To  day  the 
92d  Jan.  at  12  o'clock  noon,  has  my  dear  wife  Maria  Cathrina  fallen 
peacefully  asleep  in  the  Lord  and  will  be  buried  on  the  25tb   day. 
After  we  have  iived  fifty-one  years  nine  nionlhs  and  three  weeks 
together  in  the  Holy  estate  of  Matrimony.    And  she  is  the  first  one 
who  has  died  in  my  house.    May  the  dear  God  prepare  us  who  are  left 
behind  to  follow  piously  after,  for  the  sake  of  His  dear  Son  Jesus 
Christ.    Amen."    John  Henry  Miiller  and  Maria  Catharine  Melick  had 
3ch., 
I.    Elizabeth,  b.  11  July,  1758,  d.  6  Jan..  laii,  m.  12  May,  1772.  Christian, 
the  son  of  Godfrey  Kline,  who  emigrated  from  Bendorf.  Germany; 
this  Godfrey  was  born  in  Bendorf  30  Oct..  173ti.  and  was  the  son  of 
Christian  Kline,  a  "military  horseman"  from    Homburg   (see   p. 
91);    Elizabeth   and    Christian    had    12  ch.,    Elizabeth,   b.   10   Sep., 
1779.    d.   23  Sep.,   1781;  ilarij  Catharine,  b.  5  Jan.,   1781,  m.  Simeon 
Wyckoff,    and    removed   to    Illinois;    Henry   M.,  b.  10  Jan.,  1783. 
m.    Sarah    Ramsey;   David   M.,    b.    1    Jan.     1785,    d.    6    Dec,   1861, 
m.    Elizabeth  Hager,    who    d.    19  Mch.,  183.-.;  ma.    b.  8  Dec;,    1786, 
m.   Harmon  Dilts;    Elizabeth,   b.  4  Dec,   1788,  d.  9  Jan.,    1861,    m. 
John  Kamsey;  Phehe.  18  Oct..  1790;  E.'ither.  b.  in  1792,  d.  in  infancy; 
Ilaiinnh.X).  1  Nov..  1794,   m.  a  Henry;  fiarah  S.,  b.  22  June.  1797; 
Jacob  }[.,  b.  33  July,  1709,  m.  Jlrst,  Phebe  Kuhl,  serond,  a  Fisher; 
Lasettali.  b.  in  1801,  d.  in  181.5. 
II.    Maria  Cathrina,  b.  12  Feb.,  1763,  m.  Baltis  Stiger. 

III.  Henry,  b.  7  Nov.,  176<i,  m.  Jlrst  a  Baird,  second,  Catherine  Sharp,  their 

3  ch..  .facob  li..  Ann  and  John  P. 

IV.  David,  b.  28  Apl..  1769.  m.  Elizabeth  Welch,  their  9  ch.,  Jacob  W.,  William 

H'.,  David  ir.,  I/enry,  Eliza.   Dorothy,  Mary,  Catherine,  and  Lydla 
Ann..    (H.  W.  Miller,  pres.  Morris  Co.  Savings  Bank  at  Morristown 
is  a  son  of  Jacob  W.,   and  owns  John  Henry  Miller's  (the  immi- 
grant) family  Bible. 
V.    jACon.  b.  .s  June,  1771,  m.  Elizabeth  Sharp. 
4.    III.    JOHN  was  a  tanner  and  currier  in  the  city  of  New  York,  where  he  died  in 
1767.  his  will  being  dated  26  Sep.,  and  proved  24  Dec.  of  that  year.    His 
e.xecutors  were  his    brother    Tunis    and    his   brother-in-law,   Henry 
Miller,  of  N.  J.,  and  Peter  Grimm,  of  N.  Y.  city.    The  will  named  a 
wife  Christiana  and  6  ch.,    I.    John,   II.  M.iRV,   III.    Eliz.^beth,  IV. 
Catherine,  V.  M.\rq.vret.  VI.  Sar.4h. 

THIRD    GENERATION   (C.) 

Tunis  Melick    (2)    had  8  ch. 

5.  T.    PETEK.  b.  4  Dec.  17.58.  succeeded  his  father  on  the  homestead  where  he  d.  18 

Nov..  1S18;  m.  -27  Feb.,  1783,  Susanna,  dan.  of  Nicholas  Egbert,  of  Read- 
ington,  tp.,  b.  3  Mch..  1763,  d.  2  May,  18.37.    For  his  10  ch.  see  p.  686. 

6.  II.    ANNA,  d.  about  1S31,  m.  7  Doc.  1779,  Isaac  Farley,  of  Cokesburg,  Hunterdon 

Co.,  who  d.  about  1814;  had  11  ch.,  viz:  (order  of  names  partly  conjec- 
tural.) 
I.  Anthony  (Tunis)  b.  7  Sep.,  1780,  d.  8  Apl.,  1846;  m.  Elizabeth,  dau.  of 
Richard  Sutton,  of  Tewksbury  tp. ;  their  10  ch. ;  Bichard  S.,  b.  in  1802, 
d,  in  ISf^l,  m.  Margaret,  dau.  of  Herbei-t  Apgar.  and  had  10  ch. ; 
Isaac,  d.  unm.;  Eliza,  m.  Samuel  Crooks  and  had  2  ch. ;  JIfcrci/,  m. 
Jlrst.  SL  Johnson,  second.  John  Ryan;  Mary  Ann,  had  3  husbands; 
Allhea,  who  m.  John  Force,  of  Rochester,  N.  Y.:  Ellen,  res.  Phila., 
m.  James  Buist.   and  has  4  ch.;  Frances,   m.  William  Beujamin  ; 


684       Ch.  of  Tunis  Melick,  Isaac  &  Mindakt  Farley. 

Anthony,  res.  Scotch  Plains,  N.  J.,  m. ^rs(  Harriet  Lyons,  spcofid, 
Mary  Boll;  Margaret,  res.  Plainfleld,  N,  J„  m.^^st  John  Meelser, 
necond,  Charles  Uoltier. 
II.  MiNARD,  b.  in  178-.!,  d.  in  1843,  m.  Mary  Frazer,  b.  in  1783,  d.  In  1849, 
1-emoved  from  N.  J.  in  18i8,  settling  in  N.  Y.  State,  and  4  years  later 
at  South  Lyons,  Washtenaw  Co.,  Micliij^an,  where  he  died; 
their  9  ch.;  [nam-,  b.  in  1803,  d.  in  infancy;  Da  rid.  b.  in  180.').  d.  in 
1S88.  m.  Rosina  Blackmar,  and  had  4  ch.;  »'i!lia?n,  of  Albion, 
Mich.,  b.  in  181J7,  d.  in  1872,  m.  Sally  Ann  Ostrora,  and  had  4ch.; 
SaraJi  F.,  b.  in  1S09,  d.  in  1852.  m.  Lemuel  Droelle,  and  had  2  dau. ; 
.  Isabel,  res.  Salem,  Mich.,b.  in  1812,  ni.  Eli  Smith,  has  2  ch.; 
Eleanor,  b.  in  1S14.  d,  in  1882,  unra.;  Archibald,  b.  in  1816,  dec; 
Anthoiaj  M.,  b.  19  May,  1817,  d.  in  1882,  m.  Hosina  Packard,  and  had  3 
sons;  Manning  F.,  b.  in  1820. 

III.  William,  dec,  m.7?r.sf  a  Pa.  Quakeress,  by  whom  one  son,  William,  a 

Phlla.physiciau;  m.  second,  Anne  Garretson  of  New  Germantown, 
N.  J.,  by  whom  several  ch. 

IV.  Barbara,  m.  Minard  Pickel  of  White  House,  N.  J.,  dec. ;  they  removed 

to  Ohio,  thence  to  Indiana;  left  ch. 

V.  Margaret  W,.  b.  27  Dec,  1792,  d.  17  Nov.,  1860,  m.  Joseph  Stevens,  b.  in 
1792,  d.  in  1864;  their  10  ch.,  Henry  J.,  b.  in  1813,  d.  in  188.5,  m.  Margaret 
R..  dau.  of  Joseph  Hoffman,  of  Lebanon.  N.  J.,  and  had  3  ch.;  Den- 
nis H'.,  m.  first,  Sarah,  dau.  of  John  Ramsey,  second,  Elizabeth, 
widow  of  John  Kodenbaugh,  tlitrd,  Amanda,  dau.  of  George 
Neighbour,  noch.;  Isaac  F.,  res.  Illinois,  m.  Naomi,  dau.  of  John 
W.  Gaston,  of  Pluckamin,  N.  J,,  and  had  5  ch.;  Elizabeth,  b.  in  1819, 
d.  in  1878,  m.  Zachariah  Z.  Smith,  of  Peapack,  N.  J.,  and  had  4  ch.; 
Mary,  m.  Amos  Oliver,  of  New  Vernon,  N.  J.,  and  had 8  ch. ;  George 
J.,  b.  in  1822,  d.  in  1872,  m.  first,  Phebe  Ann  Oliver,  of  New  Vernon, 
by  whom  3  ch.,  m.  .lecond,  Elizabeth,  widow  of  George  Neighbour, 
by  whom  2  ch. ;  Catherine,  in.  Van  Arsdale  Cortleyou,  of  Bedrains- 
ter,  N.  J.,  and  had  7  ch. ;  Margaret,  res,  Somerville,  m.  Eli  Crater,  of 
Peapack,  no  ch. ;  Joseph  c,  m.  tivice  and  has  one  ch. ;  Sarah,  res. 
Raritan.  N.  J. 
VI.  Catherine,  d.  in  1832,  m.  Jacob  Hoffman,  of  Lebanon,  N.  J.,  dec. ;  their 
2  ch.,  Angeline,  b.  in  183.5,  d.  in  1847,  m.  William  S.  Burrell,  noch.; 
Hannah,  res.  Somerville,  m.  Stephen  Jerolamen,  and  has  4  ch. 
VII.  Eleanor,  m.  Aaron  Smock,  and  removed  with  her  husband  to  Ohio. 
VIII.  Eliza,  b.  about  IStiO,  dec,  m.  Robert  Blair,  dec,  their  3  ch.,  n'ilHayn, 
who  is  ra.  and  lives  in  Ohio;  Lydta;  Ellen,  res,  Chicago,  111.,  m. 
Martin  Hoagland,  and  has  3  ch. 
IX.  Mary  Ann,  b.  in  1802,  d.  1887,  m.  first.  Jacob  Apgar.  b.  in  1802,  d.  in  1850, 
by  wh  jm  4  ch.;  m.  second,  Charles  Wolverton,  of  Tewkesbury,  tp.. 
Hunt.  Co.,  N.  J.;  her  ch.  by  Ap:jar,  Ann  Elizabeth,  ni.  John  W. 
Melick,  of  New  Germantown.  ajid  had  7  ch.;  Catherine  C,  b.  in 
1824,  d.  in  1868,  ra.  Peter  W.  Melick,  and  had  10  ch.;  Maria  C,  b.  in 
1827,  d.  iu  1850,  m.  Stephen  B.  Ransom,  of  Jersey  City,  and  had  3  ch. ; 
Lydla,  res.  Streator,  111.,  b.  1  Nov.,  1830,  m.  .«)■«£,  Henry  T.  Hage- 
man.  of  Bedminster,  by  whom  one  son;  m.  second,  Edward  Kline, 
by  whom  C  ch. 

X.    Charles,  d.  in  youth. 
XI.    Anna,  d.  in  youth. 
7.    IU.    MARY  CATHERINE  (TREENIE),  b.  15  Feb.,  1763,  d.  13  Mar.,  18.32,  m.  Mindart 
Farley,  of  Cokesburg,  N.  J.,  had  3  ch., 
I.    Barbara,  b.  82  Dec,  1783,  d.  17  Dec,  18-51,  m.  Archibald  Kennedy,  b.  in 
17S7,  d.  in  1857,  their  2  ch.,  Mary.  b.  in  1806,  d.  in  1833,  ra.  Daniel  K. 
Reading,  of  Fleraington,  N.  J.,  had  one  son,  dec;  Catherine,  b.  in 
1813,  d.  in  18.38,  m.  Revd.  George  F.  Brown,  of  N.  J.  M.  E.  Confer- 
ence, one  son,  dec. 

II.    Anthony  M.,  b  in  1789,  d.  in  1851,  m.  first,  Keturah,  dau.  of  Col.  Wil- 
liam McCullough,  of  Asbury,  N.  J.,  by  whom  5  ch., 
William  M.,  d.  in  infancy;  Catherine,  d.  in  infancy;  Minard,  res.  N. 
Y.  city,   unra.;  Williani,  res.  New  Germantown,    unra.;  Elizabeth, 
res.  Pelhamville,  N.  J.,  m.  George  H,  McGalliard,  and  has  3  ch., 


Ch.  of  T.  Memck,  D.  Wtckofk  i  Counelius  Vliet.   685 

Anthony  M.  Farley,  m.  secona,  Sarah  E..  dau.  of  Judge  Miller,  of 
'  Ithaca,  N.  Y.,  d.  in  1S49,  by  whom  4  ch.,  Sarnli  H..  who  m.   Lyman 
Crego,  and  has  3  ch.;  iiargaret  E..  res.  Trumansburg,  N.  T..   m. 
Faith  Williams,  no  ch.;  two  sons  who  d.  in  infancy. 
in.    Francis  Asbury.  b.  17  Apl.,  I807,  d.  10  Sep.,  I881).  ra.  19  Jan..  1878,  (at  the 
age  of  6.^)),  Calvina,  {aged  14)  dau.  of  Christopher  B.  Hageman,  of 
Pottersville,  N.  J.,  no  ch. 
H.    IV.    ELIZABETH,  m.  30  Apl.,  1789,  Martin  Mehle,  of  Germantown,  Pa.,  and  had 
3,  perhaps  more,  ch,,  viz. : — 
I.    Eleanor,  d.  S  May,  1816,  m.  5  May,  isri,  Aaron   Ijarabert.  b.  in  1789,  d- 
in  1869;  their  3  ch.,  Mary  Ann,  res.  Now  Hope.  Pa.,  b.  in  181.S,  unra. 
Caroline,  res.  N.  H.,  unm. ;  and  Elizabeth,  who  d.  in  infancy, 
n.    Anthony  M. 
III.    Jacob,  m.  a  Miss  McAulay  and  hud  4  ch.,  Edwara.  Theoaore,  Elizabeth, 
and  Eleanor. 

9.  V.    MARGARET,  b.  27  Nov.,   1769.  d.  19  Apl!.  1837,   m.  23  Nov.,   1792.   Dennis 

Wyckotf.  of  White  House,  N.J.,  b.  17  Apl.,  1760,  d.  li  Dec.  1830;  he  was  a 
justice  of  the  peace  and  an  influential  citizen;  had  7  ch. 

I.  Simon  D.,  Ulster  Co.,  N.  T.,  twice  married,  had  4  ch.  by  flrst  and  2  by 

second  wife. 
XI.  Tunis,  b.  2.5  Jan.,  1797,  d.  i  May,  1871,  m.Jtrst,  Ann  Vosseller,  b.  in  1797. 
d.  in  IMT;  m.  second,  Mrs.  Ruth  Reas,  d.  4  July.  1876;  he  left  Hunter- 
don Co..  N.  J.,  in  183(5,  moving  his  family  in  wagons  to  Wooster. 
Wayne  Co..  Ohio.,  where  he  bought  a  farm  upon  which  he  lived 
unt'il  his  death,  had  ch.,  all  by  first  wife.  Marriaret  M.,  res..  North 
English.  Iowa,  b.  17  May,  1S19,  m.  Thomas  Buckley,  and  has  6  ch., 
Jolui  v.,  res.  Richfield,  O..  Ann  Eliza,  b.  in  1824.  d.  in  1884.  m.  Ezra 
Munson,  leftSch.;  Dennis,  b.  in  1826.  d.  in  1870,  unm.;  Luke  v.,  res., 
West  Richfield.  O..  b.  23  Mch..  1829;  Sarah  E.,  res.  Wooster.  O..  b.  29 
May.  18il,  m.  Joseph  Kimber,  their  eldest  son,  D.  W.  Kimber,  lives 
at  Excelsior  Springs,  Mo.;  Marij,  b.  in  18:i4.  d.  in  infancy. 

III.  George  D.,  b.  in  I8(i0,  d.  in  1829.  m.  Maria  Waldrou,  and  had  4  ch.,  but 
two  living. 

W.    Dennis,  m.  Martha  Lowe,  and  had  i  ch. 

V.  Eleanor,  m.  Jlr.-it,  Henry  Vroom,  by  whom  one  dau.,  Henrietta,  b.  in 
1830,  d.  in  1873,  who  m.  Lewis  Van  Doren.  of  Peapack,  N.  J.,  and 
hart  3  ch.  (see  p.  2.50);  Eleanor  Wyckoff  (V)  m.  second,  John  Kliue, 
of  Readlngton,  N.  J.,  b.  in  1784,  d.  in  1880. 

VI.  Peter  M.,  b.  in  iho9,  d.  in  18S4.  m.  in  1832,  Alice  Polheraus,  left  one  son, 
Edrjar  P.,  who  lives  in  Brooklyn,  unm. 

VII.  Eliza,  m.  Abraham  Van  Pelt,  of  Branchburg.  N.  J. ;  their  3  ch.,  Ralph, 
res.  Bound  Brook,  N.  J.,  m.  Kate  Powelson.  and  has2ch.;  J/(i«/!PW, 
res.  Bound  Brook,  m.  a  Ditmars,  and  has  4  ch. ;  Ilenrii,  res.  Iowa. 

10.  VI.    ELEANOR,  b.  3  Feb..   1772,  d.  about  1801.  m.  first,  30  Oct.,  1794,   Cornelius 

Vliet,  of  New  Germantown,  by  whom  2  sous;  m.  second,  her  brother- 
in-law,  Martin  Mehle,  of  Germantown,  Pa.,  by  whom  2  dau's.  Eliza- 
beth and  Mary  Ann,  both  d.  unra.;  had  ch.  by  first  husband. 
I.    Abraham   M.,  b.  in  1797,  d.  in  1808,  m.  in  1822,  Ann,  dau.  of  George 
Biles,  of  Warren  Co..  N.  J. ;  their  6  ch..  Eleanor  J/.,  res.  Freliughuy- 
seu,  Warren  Co.,  N.  J.,  b.  23  Aug.,  1823,  m.  W.  H.  Cook;  Margaret, 
res.  Frelinghuysen,  b.  10  Mch.,  182.5,  m.  Jonathan  Lundy;  Sarah  B. 
r.,  b.  4  July,  1827.  m.  Gideon  L.   Albertson;  Williain  D.,  res.  Haok- 
ettstown,  N.  J.,  b.  24  Jan..  1839,  m.  Elizabeth  Decker;  their  3  ch., 
John,  George  and  Rosella;  Edna,  b.  in  1831,  d.  in  1834;  Daniel,  res. 
Hope,  N.  J.,  b.  13  Sep.,  1833,  m.  first,  in  1860,  Maria  E.,  dau.  of  Robert 
Ayres,  of  Frelinghuysen.  d.  12  Sep.,  1804,   by  whom  one  ch.    Anna 
M.;   m.    second,  in  1800,  Mary  E.,   dau.  of  Alexander    Decker,    of 
Blairstown,  by  whom  4  ch.,   Abraham  M.,  Rosa  E.,  Emma  D.  and 
Mary  E. 

II.  John,   b.  in  1798,  d.  in  1841,  m.  in  1819.  Rachel  W.  Werts,  b.  in  1800,  d.  in 

1883,  their  10  ch. ;  Thomas  Stewart,  d.  unm. ;  Eleanor  A.,  res.  Brook- 
lyn, N.  Y.,  m.  first  Gilbert  B.  Stoothoff.  by  whom  9ch.,  m.  secoud.n. 
F.  Sheppard,  of  Bridgeton,  N.  J.;  Mehetable,  res.  Brooklyn,  m.  John 
Pearsall,  dec,   and  has  9  ch. ;  Peter  W'..  dec,  Mnm.;  Mary  W.,  dec; 


686      Ch.  ok  J.  Vliet,  Peter  Melick  &  Moses  Felmly. 

Maretta  Louisa,  res.  Newark,  m.  George  Squire,  and  has  5  ch.; 
^Irnos  3f.,  d.  unm.,  served  in  War  of  Rebellion;  ./oftn,  b.  in  1838,  d. 
in  1889,  m.  Mary  Chapman,  had  5  ch.,  served  in  War  of  Rebellion,  in 
14th  Brooklyn  Regt.,  returning  as  adjutant;  Mrlinrta  J.,  res. 
Beattytown,  Warren  Co.,  N.  J.,  m.  Robert  Martin,  has  7  eh. ;  Emma 
Frances. 

11.  VII.    ABRAHAM,  b.  in  1776,  d.  38  Nov.,  179:1. 

12.  VIII.    MARIA  DOROTHEA  (Dolly),  b.  16  July.,  1778,  d.  30  May,   1803,   lu.  2  Apl.. 

179.3,  John  Vliet,  of  Bedminster,  N.  J.;  had  2  ch. 
I.  ELE.tNOK,  dec.,  m.  a  Frenchman  and  removed  to  Conn.;  no  ch. 
II.  Simon  J.,  b.  in  1797,  d.  in  1875,  m.  Eliza,  dau.  of  Nicholas  Emmons,  of 
Morris  Co.,  N.  J.;  their  9  ch.,  Mary  Ann,  res.  Morristown,  N.  J.,  m. 
Jacob  H.  Lindabury,  of  White  House,  and  had  5  ch..  Henry,  dec, 
Ricliard  V.,  of  Elizabeth,  and  Franli,  Isaac,  and  George  B.,  of  Mor- 
ristown; John,  res.  Peapacli,  b.  in  1821,  m.  flrat,  in  1845,  Aletta  W., 
dau.  of  Captain  John  Hottman,  of  Colsesburg,  N.  J.,  b.  in  1820,  d.  in 
1800,  by  whom  4  ch.,  m.  aecnnd,  Martha  J.  Blazier,  of  Basking  Ridge, 
N.  J.,  by  whom  3  ch. ;  Dorothy  Ellen,  b.  in  182:i,  d.  in  18H0,  m.  John  B. 
Demond,  b.  in  1823,  d.  in  1877.  and  had  4  ch. ;  Williai'n  S.,  b.  in  1825,  m. 
Dorothy  Sharp  and  has  2  ch. ;  Jacot)  E.,  b.  in  1K27,  din  1847 ;  Elsie,  b. 
in  1829,  d.  in  1848;  I.^aac  E.,  b.  in  1831.  d.  in  1854;  Richard,  b.  in  1835,  d. 
in  1850;  Sarah  .inn,  res.  Peapack,  N.  J.,  m.  Henry  Kice,  had  6  ch. 

FOURTH   GENERATION   (C). 

Peter  Melick  (5)  had  g  ch. 

13.  I.    TUNIS,  b.  15  Mch.,  1784,  d.  15  Oct.,  1802,  m.  18  May,  1805,  Sarah,  dau.  of  Andrew 

Van  Syckle,  of  Tewksbury  tp.,  Hunt.  Co..  N.  J.,  b.  26  Oct.,  1784,  d.  22 
Jan.,  1859. 

14.  II.    MARY,  b.  4  Apl.,  1786,  d.  4  Aug..  1868,  m.  2  Sep.,  1809,  Moses  Felraly,  of  Tewks- 

bury tp..  b.  in  1789,  d.  16  Nov.,  1819;  had  5  ch.. 
I.  David,  res.  Rockford,  111.,  b.  30  Sep.,  1810,  d.  3  Oct.,  1853,  m.  in  1834, 
Sarah,  dau.  of  Maj.  John  Logan,  of  Peapack;  their  10  ch.,  Jo?iii  X., 
res.  Cedar  Falls,  Iowa,  b.  in  18.35,  m.  in  1S55.  Cynthia  E.  Davis,  and 
has  3  ch.  living;  Mary  J.,  res.  Rockford,  111.,  b.  in  18.36,  m.  in  1854, 
William  A.  Davis  and  has  5  ch.  living;  Moses  C,  b.  in  1838,  killed  in 
Dec,  1862,  at  battle  of  Murfreesboro,  Tenn. ;  Almartn,  b.  1840,  d.  in 
1858;  William  L.,  b.  in  1842,  ni.  in  1877,  Sylvia  S.  Hall,  no  ch..  Stisan 
A.,  res.  Cedar  Falls,  Iowa,  b.  in  1844,  m.  in  1866,  Stephen  B.  Collins, 
has  3  ch.,  he  d.  in  1866;  Calheriiie  ana  Sophia,  b.  in  1840  and  1848,  d. 
ill  infancy;  Ellen,  res.  Cedar  Falls,  Iowa,  b.  in  1850,  m.  in  1809.  Rob- 
ert Sirling,  has  10  ch.  living;  Sarah  L.,  b.  in  June  18.53.  unm. 
SUSANN.4.  b.  10  Nov.,  1812,  m.  27  Dec,  1830,  Morris  J.  Welsh,  of  Tewks- 
bury Tp.,  b.  in  1799,  d.  in  1873.  their  0  ch.,  Lyaia  Ann,  b.  in  1832.  d.  in 
18.56,  m.  in  1853,  Peter  P.  Philhower,  and  left  one  ch.,  Sarah  J.,  who 
m.  Abraham  V.  Honeyraan.  of  White  House,  N.  J. ;  Peter  M.,  res. 
Bedminster,  b.  1835,  m.  1804,  Margaret,  dau.  of  William  Honeyman, 
of  Lamington,  hasSch.;  Sarah,  C,  b.  1841,  num.;  Jacob,  res.  Bed- 
minster, b.  in  1843,  ra.  1805,  Sarah  E.,  dau.  of  John  1.  Roger,  of 
Tewksbury  tp.,  has2ch.;  Morris  J.,  res.  Tewksbury  tp.,  b.  1851,  m. 
1873,  Emma  L.,  dau.  of  James  O.  Hughes,  of  Clinton,  N.  J.,  has  4 
ch. ;  Dorothy,  b.  1854,  m.  1873,  James  E.  Ramsey,  of  Tewksbury  tp., 
no  ch. 

in.  Peter  M.,  b.  30  Nov..  1814.  m.  14  Sep.,  1836,  Gertrude,  dau.  of  Zachariah 
Smith,  of  Peapack,  their  3  ch,,  Edwin,  res.  Pleasant  Run,  b.  1837,  m. 
1859,  Phebe  A.,  dau,  of  John  I.  Reger.  of  Tewksbury  tp.,  and  have  9 
ch.;  Mary  Ann,  b.  1839,  m.  1862,  Abraham  Van  Cleef,  of  Somerset 
Co.,  have  4  ch. ;  Clarissa,  res.  Fairmount,  N.  J.,  b.  1852,  ra.  1872,  Theo . 
Fisher. 

IV,  John  S.,  b.  5  Nov.,  1810,  d.  1  May,  I8GO,  m.  first,  18.37,  Ann  M.,  dau.  of 
Henry  Stoothoff,  of  Bedminster,  b.  1819,  d.  1853,  by  whom  4  ch., 
Garret  r.,  b.  1840,  d.  at  City  Point  Hospital,  Va.,  26  June,  1864; 
Sarah  S.,  res.  Harlingen,  N.  J.,  b.  184.3,  m.  1869,  Gordon  N.  J.  Higgius, 
M.  D.,  b.  1845,  d.  1872,  hasl  ch.;  Jonathan  C,  b.  1840,  d.  1865;  Morris  (T- 


Ch.  of  p.  Melick,  a.  Van  Sickle  &  Chas.  Williams.  687 

b.  18«,  is  in  XJ.  S.  A.  John  S.  Felmley  (IV).  m.  secona,  9  Aug.,  1854 
Ellen,  dau.  of  Garret  Voorhees,  of  Mine  Brook.  Somerset  Co..  b. 
1835;  their  8  ch..  David,  res.  Illinois,  b.  18.57.  m.  1887,  Auta  Stout, 
has  1  ch.;  Joltn,  res.  Griggsville,  111.,  b.  1860. 
V.  ASTHON-Y  M..  b.  29  May,  1S18.  d.  2  Dec..  1873.  m.  Jlrst.  18.38.  Catherine, 
dau.  of  John  Van  Dyke,  of  Flanders.  N.  J.,  b.  1817.  d.  1K50.  by  whom 
2  dau..  Maria  Jaitp,  m.  John  B.  Van  Dyke,  of  Sedalia,  Mo.,  and 
S'isanna,  m.  Austin  Hoffman,  of  same  place.  Anthony  M.  (V).  m. 
second,  1658,  Mar><aret,  dau.  of  Henry  Cortelyou,  of  Bedminster,  by 
whomSch.,  iri7?ia/u.  d.  uura.;  Marti,  d.  unm.;  and  liarah,  d.  1876, 
m.  Charles  Courtne.v,  of  Sedalia;  Anthony  M.  (V),  m.  third,  Ade- 
line, dau.  of  James  Park,  of  Tewksbury.  N.  J.,  b.  10  Aug.,  1831,  by 
whom  no  eh. 

15.  III.    NICHOLAS  EGBERT,  b.  18  Aug.,  1788,  d.  23  Jan.,  1872,  m.  first.  11  Apl.,  1812, 

Elizabeth,  dau.  of  Christopher  Backer,  b.  17  June,  17.S9,  d.  21  Feb.,  18o~'; 
m.  second,  Anna  Krj'mer,  wid.  of  John  Rockfellow.  of  Round  Valley, 
N.  J.,  b.  29  May.  1791,  d.  4  Mch.,  1872;  no  ch.  by  last  wife;  Nicholas 
Egbert  (15)  was  a  prominent-  citizen  of  Tewksbury  tp..  serving  fre- 
quently as  a  county  freeholder,  member  of  town  com.,  and  as  town 
collector;  iu  1824  he  was  one  of  the  incorporators  and  trustees  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Soc.,  of  New  Germantown,  N.  J.  For  10  ch.  see  p. 
689. 

16.  IV.    PETER,  b.  2  Jan.,  1701,  d.  24  Jan..  1873,  m.  12  Jan..  1S1.3,  Ruth,  dau.  of  Amos 

Leake,  of  Chester,  N.  J.,  b.  8  Jan..  1793.  d.  3  Nov..  1H76;  in  18,32  he  re- 
moved from  New  Jersty  to  Zanesville.  Ohio,  from  there  in  1847  to 
Owen  Co..  Indiana.    For  13  ch.  see  p.  690. 

17.  V.    ABRAHAM,  b.  4  Apl.,  1794.  d.  2  Jan.,  1855,  m.  1814.  Mariah  (Sarah  S),  dau.  of 

Christian  Kline  (C  3-1),  b.  22  June,  1797,  d.  29  Dec.  1867.    For  9  ch.  see  p. 
691. 
IS.    VI.    JAMES,  of  Peapack,  N.  J.,  b.  21  Mch.,  1795.  d.  29  Apl.,  1868,  m.  20  Sept.,  181T, 
Lydia.  dau.  of  Andrew  Van  Sickle,  of  Readingtou,  N.  J.,  b.  30  Apl., 
18fiO,  d.  2T  Sept.,  1874.    For  7  ch.  see  p.  692. 

19.  VII.    JOHN  v.,  of  Bedminster,  F.  J.,  b.  7  Feb..  1797  d.  IMay.  1857.  m.  7  Mch..  1818. 

Mariah  Brunt  Able,  of  Peapack.  N.  J.,  b.  6  Apl..  1799,  d.  31  Dec,  1885. 
For  his  9  ch.  see  p.  093. 

20.  VIII.    ELEANOR,  b.  1  Sept.,  1799.  d.  6  Apl..  1867,  ra.  in  1818.  Andrew  Van  Sickle, 

of  Readlngton.  N.  J.,  b.  23  Mch.  1797,  d.  in  Nov..  1848.    About  1822  she 
removed  with  her  husband  to  Tompkins  Co.,  N.  Y.,  later  to  Steuben 
Co..  where  she  died,  had  6  ch,. 
I.    Andrew,  b.  15  May.  1819,  d.  3  Jan..  1860,  m.  1840,  Sarah,  dau.  of  James 

Kennedy,  their  2  ch..  Henry  and  John  K. 
II.    John  M.,   res.   HornoUsville,  b.  13  Dec,  1820,  m.  4  Jul.v.  1842,  Ethylinda, 
dau.   of  Uriah  Nicholls,  of  Mass.,  b.  3  Nov..  1S19.  their  8  ch.,  JSoftere 
i.,  b.  1843.  d.   1863;  Charles  A.,   res.   Hornellsville.   b.   1848,  m.  1876, 
Abbie  Betts.  1  ch.  dec;  Emma.  b.  1858,  d.  1863. 

III.  Hannah,   b.  35  Feb..   182.3.   d.  3  Dec.  1805,  m.  about  1863.  Robert  Brun- 

dagc  of  Steuben  Co..  N.  Y.,  their  2  ch.,  -Franfc.  b.  1848,  d.  1857,  and 
Ella,  b.  about  1851. 

IV.  Peter,  b.  15  Apl.,  182.5,  d.  lo  Dec,  1878.  m.  Susan,  dau.  of  Alvah  Mead, 

of  Steuben  Co..  their  2  ch..  Ellen  and  Sarah. 

V.  Charles,  b.  12  -Mar..  1832,  d.  26  Dec.  1868.  ra.  18.58,  Sarah,  dau.  of  Charles 

Coasting,  of  Steuben  Co.,  their  1  ch..  Ernest. 
\'\.    Nelson,  b.  22  Sep.,   1838.  dec.  m.  Eliza  dau.  of  Henry  Harrison,  of 
Allejfhany  Co..  N.  Y..  2  ch.;both  dec. 

21.  iX.    ELIZABETH,  of  Springdale.  Ohio.  b.  3i)  Nov..  1801.  d.  7  Jan.,  1852,  m.  20  May, 

1821,  Charles  Williams,  of  New  Germantown,  N.  J.,  b.  12  Mch.,  1797,  d.  3 

Ma.v,  1874,  removed  to  Ohio  about  1824;  had  ch. 
I.    Edwin,  of  Grundy  Co.,    Mo.,   ra.  first.  22  Sep.,  1844.  Ann  Adams,   of 
Laurenceburg.  Ind.,  b.  1826.  d.  1872,  by  whom  8  ch.,  m.  secona,  8  Mar., 
1875,  Mrs.  Helen  Berry,  b.  Maybee.  of  Grundy  Co.,  by  whom  no  ch. ; 
had  ch.  by  first  wife. 

Edwin  C.  b.  1845.  d.  1851;  Ferdinand  P..  res.  Browning,  Sullivan 
Co.,  Mo.,  b.  24  Sep..  1847,  m.  1873.  Victoria  A.  Blackwood,  b.  in  Jack- 
son Co..  W.  Va..  16  May,  1851.  and  has  5  ch. ;  Martin  L..  res.  Custer 
Co..  Montana,  b.   6  Aug.,  1850;  Walter  D.,  res.  ScottsvlUe,  Sullivan 


()88         Ch.  ok  Tunis  Melick  and  Jacob  D.  Trimmer. 

Co.,  Mo.,  b.  6  Apl.,  1852,  m.  31  Jan.,  1882,  Mrs,  Ella  J.  Smith,  b. 
21  Sep.,  185(i,  has  one  ch.;  Martha  Elizabeth,  res.  Keokuk,  Iowa, 
b.  7  May,  1864,  m.  20  Dec,  1S71,  E.  H.  Caywood.  b.  in  Ohio,  1  Feb.. 
1880,  has  4  eh.;  Cornelia  B.,  b.  1866,  d.  1874;  Charles,  b.  1859,  d.  1860; 
Charles  T.,  b.  11  May,  1862  and  another. 

II.  Susan,  of  Clinton  Co  .,Ind.,  b.  1-'  June,  1823,  d.  i  Dec,  1872,  m.  first,  1842, 

John  Emmons,  of  Preble  Co.,  Ohio,  b.  1811,  d.  1854.  by  whom  4ch.; 
m.  semiifl,  1856,  Moses  Davis,  of  Clinton  Co..  and  had  3  daus.,  both 
deed. ;  had  ch.  by  first  husband,  Charles,  Tea.  Frankfort,  Clinton 
Co.,  Ind.,  b.  12  bee,  1843,  ra.  lYances  Lucas,  who  d.  18S9,  has  2  ch. ; 
Elizabeth,  b.  1845,  d.  187.5,  m.  18U.5.  Edward  Miller,  b.  1840,  hadoch.; 
William,  res.,  Frankfort,  Ind.,  b.  1847,  m.  1872,  Harriet  V.  McNelly, 
b.  1854.  has  had  6  ch. ;  Martlia  Jane.  res.  Frankfort,  Ind.,  b.  1852,  m. 
first.  1870,  Samuel  Moore,  b.  1848,  d.  1887,  by  whom  .3  ch..  all  dec. ;  m. 
secona.  1888,  James  Pickerin;?,  b.  1849. 

III.  Thomas,  b.  1826,  d.  18.32. 

IV.  Peter  M.,  res.  Lonoke,  Ark.,  b.  4  Meh.,  1827,  m.  6  Apl.,  1853,  Elizabeth 

Ann  Lncas,  of  Clinton  Co.,  Ind.,  their  7  ch.,  Xewton  L..  b.  1864,  m, 
1875,  Josephine  Cameron,  has  3  ch. ;  Reuben,  b.  18.57,  d.  ItSi;  .James  A., 
b.  1863;  Charles,  b.  1808;  Marion  and  Samintha  (twins)  b.  1872;  John, 
b.  1877. 
V.  Henry  Clat,  res.  Hepler,  Crawford  Co.,  Kan.,  b.  23  Dec,  1828,  d.  25 
Oct.,  1834,  ra.  1853,  Hannah  Morris,  of  Ohio;  their  2  ch.;  Charles  H., 
res.  Cincinnati,  O.,  b.  1853;  Clarence,  res.  Hepler,  Kan.,  b.  1867. 

VI.  Isaac  Newton,  b.  18.30,  m.  first,  Maria  Pinckley,  of  Ohio,  by  whom  4 
ch. ;  Charles;  Elizabeth,  dec;  Edwin  and  Xemton  :  Isaac  Newton 
(VI.)  ra.  second,  a  widow,  born  Susan  Marpole,  by  whora3ch..  Peter, 
Annie  &nd.  John.  Reserved  from  1H61  to  the  end  of  the  Civil  War  in 
an  Ohio  Keg't. 
VII.  Mary  Jane,  b.  18.33,  d.  ia53. 
VIII.  Elizabeth  Ellen,  res.  Springboro,  Warren  Co.,  Ohio.  b.  33  Jan.,  1836, 
m.  8  Apl.,  1858,  Samuel  Stowe,  of  Salem  Co.,  N.  J.,  b.  1831,  d.  1884, 
their7ch.,  Morris,  b.  lS5fl,  d.  1873;  Edtrard.  b.  1801;  Manj  Jane,  b. 
1863;  Charles  \V.,  b.  1867;  Clara  B.,  b.  1870;  Laura  M.,  b.  1872;  Louella, 
b.  1879. 

IX.    Thomas,  res.  Platville,  Taylor  Co.,  Iowa,  P.  O.  Athelstan,  Mo.,  b.  38 
Mch.,  18:J8,  m.  in  1861,   Julia  House,  of  Ind.,  their  6  ch.,   Camillus; 
Morton  ;  Ida;  Charles;  Elizabeth;  Mary. 
X.    Susanna,  b.  21  Dec,  1803.  dec.  m.  Cornelius  Mefore,  of  Readington,  N, 
J.,  and  removed  to  Steuben  Co.,  N.  T.,  had  at  least  2  oh. 

XI.    Catherine  Ann,  b.  1807,  d.  1809. 

FIFTH     GENERATION   (C). 
Tunis   Melick  (13)  had  3  ch, 
22.    I.    SUSANNA,  b.  9  Sep.,  1806,  d.  38  Dec,  1868,  ra.  29  ApL,  1834,  Jacob  D.  Trimmer, 
b.  12  Aujf.,  1802,  d.  27  July,  1864;  had  ch. 
I.    Anthony  M.,  res.  Clinton,  N.  J.,  b.  34  Jan.,  1833,  m.  23  May,  1847,  Mary 
Maloney,  of  Phila.,  b.  27  Nov.,  1835;  their  2  ch.,  James  M. ;  Mary  A.. 
who  m.  William  C.  Freeman,  of  Phillipsburg,  N.  J. 
II.    Sarah  Ann,  b.  1827,  d,   1883,   m.   1847,  Archibald  H.  Johnston,  b.  1823; 
their  2  ch.,  Mary  A.,  res.  New  Hampton,  N.  J.,  b.  1852,  m.  Charles  A. 
Underwood,  and  has 4  oh.;  Jo/tanua.  res.  Glen  Gardner,  N.  J.,  b. 
1857,  ra.  J.  Calvin  Gardner. 

III.  David  W.,  d.  in  infancy. 

IV.  Mary  Elizabeth,  b.  26  Mar.,  1832,  d.  28  June,  1866,  uum. 

V.    Ellen  Angeline,  b.  35  Mch.,  18.34,  d,  24  Dec,  1884,  m.  18  Mar.,  1858,  Peter 
Todd,  of  Lamingtou.  N.  J.,  present  res.  Lambert  vlUe;  no  ch. 

VI.  Peter  W.,  res.  Harford  Mills,  N.  \'.,  b.  38  Dec,   1836,    m.   19  Mch.,  1862, 

Minerva  L.  Moore,  of  Liberty  Corner,  N.  J.,  their  3  ch.,  Mamie 
E.,  b.  1803  is  m. ;  Kate  L.,  b.  1867,  is  m. ;  Israel  M.,  b.  1871;  .Kf^usJa  M., 
b.  1873;  Lena  B.,  b.  1377. 

VII.  Maria  Louisa,  res.  Lambertville,  N.  J.,  b.  26  July,  1»40.  m.  17  Jan., 

1861,  John  C.  Swayze,  b.  1833,  d.  18s2,  their  4  ch.  d.  in  infancy. 
VIII.    Andrew  V.  S.,  b.  20  Feb.,  1842,  d.  in  infancy. 


Ch.  ok  a.  V.  S.,  NiCH.  E.,  Peter  W.  &  3 as.  JIelick.    689 

IX.    Martin  Luther,  b.  11  Aug.,  1843,  m.  16  Nov.,  1869,  Henrietta  C,  dau.  of 

Stephen  Beach,  of  Pluckarain.  no  ch. 
X.    Jacob,  A.  W.,  b.  28  Aug^.,  l&W,  d.  12  May,  1863. 

23.  n.    ANDREW  VAN  SYCKLE,  b.  7  Feb.,  IWO.  d.  12  June,   im.i,   m.   17  Mar..   1831, 

Kachel,  dau.  of  John  McKinsley,  b.  IS  Sep.,  1811.  d.  2  Mar.,  188.i,  had  3  ch. 

I.  Sarah  Jane,  res.  Griggstown,  N.  J.,  b.  4  Aug.,  1832.  m.  29  Apl.,  1858, 

Henrj-  D.  Wilson;  their  ch.,  I.  Ifarv  McKinstry,  b.  4  Apl..  1859,  m. 
23  Aug..  1882,  Abram  Williamson,  res.  Lebanon,  N.  J.,  has  3  ch; 
II.  Andrew  Luther,  b.  Sept.,  1600,  unm. 

II.  Anthony,  res.  New  Germantown.  N.  J.,  b.  27  June.  1834,  m.  3  Mch. 

1868,    Joanna,  dau.   of  J.  Mehelm  Brown,  of    Pluckamin,    N.  J.; 
their  2  ch.,  I.  John  M.  B.,  b.  13  Sept.,  1876;  II.  Andrew    V.  S.,  b.  S3 
Aug..  1881. 
III.    Andrew  Luther,  b.  6  Oct.,  1842.  d.  29  Apl.,  1863,  at  Acquia  Creek.  Va.. 
while  member  of  31st  Rejft..  N.  J.  Vols. 

24.  III.    PETER  WHITFIELD,  res.  Barnet  Hall,  New  Germantown.   N.  J.,  b.  21 

Sep..   182.3,   m.  first.   15  Oct..  1844,  Catherine  C,  dau.  of  Jacob  Apgar.  of 
New  Germantown.  by  whom  in  ch. ;  m.  second,  27  Oct.,   1870,   Emma 
(Rea),   widow  of  Charles  Illff.  of  Kansas,  b.  Aug.,  1845.  by  whom  2 ch.; 
his  10  ch.  by  first  wile.  . 
I.    Tunis  de  Witt.  b.  31  Oct.,  1843,  m.  22  Feb..  1872.  Sarah  M..  dau.  of  Law- 
rence V.  Studdiford,   of  South    Branch.   N.  J.,   and  has  7  ch.,  I. 
Laicrence  S.;  II.  Caroline  C;  III.  Sarah  L.;  lY.  Etta;  \.  Florence; 
VI.  Tunis;  VII.  Edith. 
II.    Sakah  Elizabeth,  b.  25  Feb..  1847.  d.  19  Apl.,  1849. 
III.    Mary  Josephine,  b.  7  May.  1849.  d.  19  May.  1850. 
VI.    Arabella,  b.  13  Mch.,  1851.  d.  12  Feb..  1868. 
V.    Franklin,  res.  Garden  City,  Kansas,  b.  23  July.  1833,  m.  a  Swede,  and 
has  3  ch. 
VI.    Gorilla,  b.  23  Jan.,  1856,  d.  17  Oct.,  1862. 

VII.    Wilbur  Fiske.  les.  Boss  Forks.  Idaho  Ter.,  b.  26  Oct.,  1858,  unm. 
VIII.    Georgi-^na.  b.  3  Aug..  1801.  d.  in  infancy. 
IX.    George  Washington,  res.  Denver.  Col.,  b.  18  July.  1862.  unm. 
X.    Jacob  Irving,  res.  Garden  City,  Kansas,  b.  10  Nov.,  1864,  unm. 

Peter  W.  (24)  had  2  ch.  by  second  wife. 
XI.    Peter  Whitefield.  b.  17,Jan..  1873. 
XII.    Martin  Raub.  b.  13  June,  1874. 

FIFTH     GENERATION    iC.) 

Nicholas   Egbert  Melick   (15)  had   10  ch.  by  first  wife. 

26.    I.    PETER,  b.  20  Nov.,  1812,  d.  21  May.  1878.  m.  first,  17  Apl..  1837.  Jane  Maria,  dau. 

of  Samuel  Miller,  of  New  Germantown,  N.  J.,  b.  7  Nov..  1815.  d.  3  Aug.. 

1861;  by  whom  4  ch..  m.  secofid.  3  Mar.  1862.   Kate.   wid.  of  Siberno  G. 

Larrinaga,   b.   16  Feb..  1823.  d.  1877;  no  oh.,  m.  third,  in  autumn  of  that 

year  Urania  Cummings.   no  ch.     In  1859  he  removed    to    Lincoln. 

Nebraska,  where  he  became  a  justice  of  the  peace  and  prominent  in 

affairs.    For  4  ch.  see  p.  094. 
26.    II.    CHRISTOPHER  BACKER,  res.  Clinton,  N.  J.,  b.  31  Jan.,   1815.   m.  2  Nov., 

1837.   Maria  V..   dau.  of  Abraham  Cortelyou.  b.  30  Nov..  1818,  d.  3  Apl., 

1860.    For  his  10  ch.  see  p.  693. 
87.    III.    JOHN  WESLEY,  of  111.,  b.  18  July,  1817.  d.  1871.  m.  Sep..  1841.  Anne  E.,  dau. 

of  Jacob  Apgar.  of  New  Germantown.  N.  J.,  b.  9  Apl.,  1822,  d.  14  Apl.. 

1888. 
38.    IV.    JAMES,  res.  New  Germantown.  N.  J.,  b.  22  July.  1819.  m.  5  June,  1843.  Erne- 
line  M..  dau.  of  Bernhardt  S.  Kennedy,  and  granddau.  of  Revd.  Saml. 

Kennedy.  Basking  Ridge.  N.  J.,  b.  8  Jan.,  1823.  (See  pp.  159.402)  had  5  ch. 
I.    Annie  E..  b.  1  Oct..  1847. 

II.    Egbert,  b.  9  Feb..  1849.  m.  17  Jan.,  1878,  Palmyra  Louise,  dau.  of  Rich- 
ard Goodchild.  artist;  res..  Bayonne.  N.  J. 

III.  Edwin  R..  b.  2  May.  1850. 

IV.  Louis  M..  b.  14  Feb..  1855.  m.  20  Oct..  1887.  Ella  A.,  dau.  of  John  Hoff. 

V.    Adelaide  K..  b.  19  Sept..  1801,  ra.  1  Jan..  1883.  to  Edward,  son  of  David 
Park.  b.  20  Oct..  1857,  d.  10  Feb..  1884.  res.  New  Germantown,  N.  J. 
44 


690         Ch.  ok  Peter  Melu  k  of  Owen  Co.,  Indiaxa. 

89.    V.    SUSAN  A.,  b.   16  July,  18-22,  d.  Hi  May,  1853,  m.  Sep.,  1845,  William  Creger,  of 
Lebanon,  N.  J.;  had  2ch., 
I.    Anne  Elizabeth,  b.  12  Mch.,  1848,  m.  18  Nov.,  1876,  George  F.  Case;  no 
ch. 
II.    John  H..  b.  27  Jan.,  1852,   m.  13  Nov.,  1870,  Louise  J.,  dau.  o£  George 
Apg-ar. 

30.  VI.    EDWIN,  res.  Clinton,  N.  J.,  b.  20  Sep.,  1824,  ra.  8  Oct.,  ISoO,  Phebe  E.,  dau.  of 

Aaron  Dunham,  b,  12  Jan.,  1829;  has  one  ch., 
I.    Aakon  Dunham,  b.  31  Aug.,  1851,  m.  June,  5  1889,  Estelle,  dau.  of  Revd. 
T.  H.  Jacobus,  of  Somerville,  N.  J., 

31.  VII.    NICHOLAS  T.,  d'  in  infancy. 

82.    VIII.    WILLIAM  J.,  res.  82  Congress  St.,  Newark,  b.  13  Nov.,  1823,  m.  Jan.,  1865, 
Mary  E.,  dau.  of  Wm.  B.  Fisher,  b.  28  Oct.,  1856. 

33.  IX.    CATHERINE,  res.  Pottersville,  N.  J.,  b.  IG  Mch..  1831,  d.  10  Jan.,  1867,  m.   16 

Oct.,  1851,  Stephen  M.  Wortmau,  b.  23  Aug.,  1827;  he  is  an  elder  in  the 
Reformed  Church;  had  7  ch. 
I.    Mary  E.,  b.  26  Sep.,  1852,  d.  28  Aug.,  1864. 

II.  Anna  L.,  res.  86  Elm  St.,  Newark,  b.  26  June,  1855.  m.  13  Dec,  1873,  John 
Rowe,  b.  24  July.  1844;  their  6  ch.,  Addie  C,  b.  1874;  Mary  E.,  b.  1876, 
d.  in  infancy;  Wm.  W..  b.  1878,  d.  1882;  Alice  C,  b.  1881;  Harold  W., 
b.  1884;  Hat'tie  A.,  b.  1888. 

III.  Mart,  res.  Califon,   N.  J.,   b.  2  May,   1857,   m.   1  Jan..   1880,   Aaron  K. 

Creger,  b.  19  Nov.,  1353;  their  2  ch.,  Lizzie,  b.  1881,  d.  in  infancy,  and 
Herbert  !i.,  b.  1886. 

IV.  William  M.,  res.  Pottersville,  b.  22  Dec,  1859,  m.  17  Oct.,  1883,  Milly  S., 

dau.  George  Pickel.  b.  13  May,  1860;  their  one  ch.,  Ternon  P.,  b.  1886. 
V.    Martha,  res.  Peapack,  N.  J.,  b.  0  Jan.,  1861,  m.  6  Dec,  1882,  Joseph  M. 

Plckcl,  b.  16  Sep.,  1859;  their  one  ch.,  Mamie  v..  b.  1883. 
VI.    Egbert,  b.  1862,  d.  1864. 
VII.    Kate,  res.  Pottersville,  b.  11  Sep.,  1864,  m.  9  Nov.,  1886,  Henry  M.  Rar- 
ick,  b.  11  Nov.,  1863;  their  one  ch.,  Merryn  If.,  b.  1888. 

34.  X.    ELIZ.\BETH  L.,    b.  18  Apl.,  1833,   d.  23  Apl.,  1876,   m.  26  Dec,  1864,   Samuel 

Sutton;  hadOch., 
I.    Esther  anna,  b.  14  Dec,  1855,  d.  29  Mch.,  1881,  m.  29  Mch..  1879,  had  one 
dau. 
II.    Catherine  Louisa,  res.  New  Germantown,  b.  20  Feb.,  18.58,  m.  8  Jan., 
1881,  Wm.  Cox;  their  3  ch.,  Samuel  Lewis,  b.  1881;  Stella  Belle,  b. 
1883;  William  Johnson,  b.  1885. 
in.    William  E.,  b.  24  Aug.,  1860,  m.  24  Jan.,  1885,  Alice  Apgar;  no  ch. 
rv.    Emma  Eliz  th,  res.  Bloomingdale.  Passaic  Co.,  N.  J.,  b.  19  Sep.,  1862, 
m.  25  Dec,  1883,  George  H.  Ma.tfleld;  their  2  ch.,  John,  b.  1884,   and 
William,  b.  1887. 
V.    Egbert  Melick,  b.  1364,  d.  in  infancy. 
VL    Edwin  Melick,  b.  22  ApL,  1807. 
VII.    Mart  Wortman,  b.  19  July,  1870. 
\TII.    Samuel  Lincoln,  b.  2  May,  1873. 
IX.    Jenny  P.,  b.  1875,  d.  in  infancy. 

FIFTH     GENERATION     (C.) 

Peter  Melick  (i6)  had   13  ch. 

35.  I.    MARTIN  MEHL.,  res.  Cuba,  Owen  Co.,  Ind..  b.  9  Sep.,  1814,  m.  30  Mch.,   1843, 

Maltha  Parrish.  b.  11  Nov.,  1824.    For  8  ch.  see  p.  695. 

36.  II.    MARTHA,  res.  Cuba,  b.  2  Feb.,  1816,  unm. 

37.  III.    ELIZABETH,  res.  ZanesviUe,  Ohio,  b.  11  Oct.,  1817,  m.  26  Mch.,   1844,  Peter 

Flesher,  who  d.  10  Dec,  1886;  had  4  ch., 
I.    Nancy,  res.  ZanesviUe,  O..  b.  24  Feb.,  1845,  m.  20  May,  1869,  Perry  Bed- 
man;  their  2  ch.,  Arthur  B.,  b.  1870.  and  Charles  W.,  b.  1872. 
n.    Samantha,  res.  Newark,  Ohio,  b.  28  Aug.,  1846,  m.  17  Jan.,  1878,  Milton 

Smith,  no  ch. 
III.    John  Wesley,  res.  ZanesviUe,  b.  9  Aug.,  1848,  m.  29  June,  1880,  Matilda 

Urania  Kine,  no  ch. 
rv.    Ruth  Ellen,  b.  1850,  d.  1877,  no  ch. 

38.  IV.    NANCY,  of  Johnson  Co.,  Ind..  b.  21  Nov.,  1819,  d.  17  Dec,  1881,  m.  Jlrst,  1840, 

Wm.  Wood,  of  Ohio,  who  d.  about  1860;  m.  second,  1861,  Isaac  Farrand, 


Ch.  of  Abraham  Meuck  ov  Huntekdon  Co.,  N.  J.     691 

of  Ind.,  who  d.  about  1S6C;  m.  t?nrd,  Wm.  St.  Johns,  of  Terre  Haute, 
lnd.;m./ovrtfi,  Joseph  T.  Hall,  of  Franklin,  Ind.;  no  ch. 
89.    V.    PETER,  res.  Freedom,  Owen  Co.,  Ind.,  b.  22  Apl.,  1822,  m.  16  Dec.,  1852,  Kate 
Blair,  b.  in  Tenn..  31  Oct.,  1828;  has  one  ch. 
I.    James  Richard,  b.  1  Sep.,  1885,  and  is  m. 

40.  VI    SUSAN,  res.  Fish  Creek,  Madison  Co..  Mont.  Terr.,  b.  13  Feb.,  1824.  m.  1850' 

Andrew  J.  Rundell.  of  Ind.,  has  7  ch. 
I.    George  A.,  b.  18  Mch.,  1858,  m.  18  Nov.,  1880,  Sarah  E.  Ravenscroft. 
II.    Whitfield,  b.  18  Aug.,  1852. 
m.    Charlotte  Melinda,  b.  12  Aug.,  1857,  m.  23  May,  1878,  E.  E.  Renuix. 
IV.    Henry  M..  b.  23  June,  1859,  m.  31  Dec,  1886,  Dolly  Sarry. 
V.    FiNLEY  H.,  b.  23  Nov.,  1861. 

VI.    Alice  M.,  b.  8  Feb..  1864,  m.  5  Nov.,  1882,  F.  H.  Scott. 
VII.    Rosa  L.,  b.  21  Oct.,  18G5.  m.  lo  Dec,  1882,  E.  E.  Baker. 

41.  VII.    CHARLOTTE,  res.  Cuba,  b.  21  Oct..   1825  m.  flrsl,   1862,   Walker  Ennis,  of 

Ind.,  who  d.  in  1879,  m.  secoiicl,  1882,  David  Coble,  of  Indiaua,  no  ch. 

42.  VIII.    JOHN,   res.  Cuba.  b.  29  Mch.,   1827,  m.  flrsr,  1853,  Sarah  Gaston,  b.  1829,  d. 

1881,  m.  seco-na,  1882,  Mary  Ellen  Wright,  by  whom  no  ch. ;  had  3  ch.,  by 
first  wife. 
I.    James,  b.  1854,  d.  in  infancy. 

n.  William  M.,  res.  Spencer,  Owen  Co.,  Ind.,  b.  3  July,  1856,  m.  first,  4 
July,  1882,  Amanda  Spears,  who  d.  1884,  by  whom  one  son,  ^(i'i«  R., 
b.  1884;  m.  second,  1886  Belle  Hickson. 

III.  Henry,  res.  Lyons,  Green  Co.,  Ind..  b.  Apl.,  1861,   m.  Sep.,   1885,   Rosa 

Gillespie,  from  whom  div. ;  no  ch. 

43.  IX.    MARY  ELLEN,  res.  Cuba,  b.  25  Feb.,  1829.  m.  22  Apl.,  1855,  Washburn  Ennis 

of  Ind.,  from  whom  div.,  18S7;  had  8  ch., 
I.    Ruth  Ellen,  b.  1  Mch.,  1856. 
II.    Walker,  b.  10  Dec,  1857. 
in.    Jerusha  Ann,  res.  Romney,  Tippecanoe  Co.,  Ind.,  b.  21  Feb.,  1860,  m. 
19  Feb..  1880,   Marcus  Lafayette  Spratt;  their  4  ch..  Bertha  H.,  b. 
1881;  Cena  Alice,  b.  1883;  Emma  Gertruae,  b.  1884;  Anna  B.,  b.  1887. 

IV.  Rosa  Florence,  b.  1862,  d.  in  infancy. 
V.    Alfred  O.,  b.  1  Apl.,  1865. 

VI.    Theodore  C,  b.  23  Oct..  1867. 
VII.  an  infant  twin  bro.  d.  unm. 

VIII.    Tunis  W.,  b.  28  Nov.,  1870. 

44.  X.    RUTH,  res.  Cuba,  b.  10  Aug.,  1832,  m.  21  Aug..  1850,  R.  J.  Rundell,  of  Ind.; 

had  0  ch.. 
I.    Peter  F.,  b.  29  July.  1851,  d.  15  Apl.,  1889,  m.  1872,  Samantha  F.  Cant- 
well;  their  3  ch..  Erwst  E..  b.  1875:  Herbert,  b.  1880;  Elsie,  b.  1887. 
IL    Alvira.  b.  22  Mch.,  1855,  d.  5  Jan.,  1889,  m.  30  Nov.,  1877,  Shelton  Ennis; 
their  1  ch.,  Grace,  b.  1878. 

III.  Riley  S.,  res.  Indian  Ter.,  b.  2fi  Aug.,  1856,  m.  1879,  Elnora  Criss;  their 

3  ch..  Bertha,  b.  1879;  Ossie,  b.  1880;  Otis,  b.  1881. 

IV.  Cynthia  A.,  res.  Morgan  Co.,  Ind.,  b.  6  Jan.,  1858,  m.  8  Oct.,  1882,  John 

Flake;  no  ch. 
V.    Elma  E.,  res.  Morgan  Co.,  Ind.,  b.  26  Aug.,  1859,  m.  16  Dec,  1882,  Alice 
Glover;  their  3ch.,  Bertie,  b.  1884;  Pearl  B..  b.  1886;  and  a  baby,  b. 
1888. 
VI.    Minnie  B.,  b.  10  Jan.,  1869. 

Peter  (16)  had  3  other  ch.  who  d.  in  infancy. 

FIFTH      GENERATION     (C.) 
Abraham   Melick    (17)    had    g    ch. 

46.    I.    LtJCETTA.  res.  Paterson,  N.  J.,  b.  4  Apl.,   1815,  m.  Garret  C.   Post,  who  is 
dec;  hadch., 
I.    Mary  Katherlne,   res.  Paterson,  m.  Wm.  King;  their  one  ch.,  Abra- 
ham. 
II.    Sarah,  m.  John  Crown,  who  is  dec. ;  their  5  ch.,  Zeno;  Abraham,;  John; 
Buddie;  yelly,  m.  Frank  Arrison.  of  Paterson. 
46.    II.    ELLEN,  b.  16  Mar.,  1817,  d.  1871,   m.  first,  Joseph  Clearwater,   of  Paterson, 
who  was  drowned  in  Lake  Hopatcong;  m.  second,  Lawrence  Hagar,  of 
German  Valley,  N.  J.,  dec;  no  ch. 


692        Children  of  James  Melick  of  Peapack,  N.  J. 

47.  111.    ELIZABETH  M.,  b.  4  Dec,  18'2ij,  m.  1844,  William   Courter,  of  Paterson; 

their  5  ch., 
I.    Altheus,  m.  Carrie  Haslar.  no  ch. 
11.    SiBERNO,  G.  L.,   res.  Rutherford,  N.  J.,  m.  Emma  Consaul;  their  2  ch. 

Altlieiis,  and  Edith. 
111.    Emma,  res.  Elizabeth,  N.  J.,  m.  James  Harris;  their  3  ch.;  DeWitt; 
WiUielmina;  Jane  EUzaheth. 
IV.  V.    Two  sons  d.  in  infancy. 

48.  IV.    CATHEEINE,  b.  1823,   d.  1877,   m.  ^»'S(  Siberno  G.  Larrinaga,  a  Cuban;  m. 

second,  3  Mch.,  ISoa,  Peter  Melick  (C.  25),  of  Lincoln,  Neb.,  no  ch. 

49.  V.    MARY,  res.  Chester,  N.  J.,  b.  H  Mch.,  1826,  m.  Joseph  Berry;  their  4  ch. 

1.    Ella,  m.  Richard  Engelman,  of  Peapack,  N.  J. 
ri.    Sabina,  ra.  Richd.  Treadway,  of  Chester. 

III.  Abraham. 

IV.  Jane. 

50.  VI.    JOSEPH  H.,  res.  Joilet,  lU.,  b.  15  Sep.,  1828,  m.  first,  4  Nov.,  l»56,  Mary  E., 

dau.  of  John  Boseubury,  of  New  Germantown  N.  J.,  m.  second,  1876, 
Mary,  dau.  of  ^ar?et  L.  Emmons,  of  N.  G..  by  whom  no  ch. ;  had  ch. 
by  first  wife.  ' 

1.    Abraham,  b.  5  Feb.,  1838,  d.  15  Jan.,  1861. 

II.  Clara,  b.  12  Apl.,  1860,  m.  10  Dec,  1879,  Israel  Howell,  of  Hopewell,  N. 

J.,  no  ch. 

III.  Robert  D.,  res.  Chicago,  111.,  b.  11  Feb.,  1862,  unm. 

IV.  Anna  DeWitt,  b.  12  Dec,  1864,  m.  24  May,  1887,  Abraham  Hall,  of  New 
Germantown;  their  one  ch.,  Allen  H.,  b.  1888. 

61.  VII.  WILLIAM  C,  res.  Newark,  N.  J.,  b.  16  Sep.,  18.33,  m.  18  Oct.,  1858,  Harriet, 
dau.  of  Garret  L.  Emmons,  of  New  Germantown,  b.  9  Nov.,  1837,  d.  25 
June,  1886;  had  ch., 

I.  Emma  Delora,  b.  1859,  m.  George  Duran,  of  Newark,  N.  J.,  their  one 

ch.  d.  in  infancy. 
II.    Jerome  E.,  res.  Newark,  b.  7  Dec,  1860,  unm. 

III.  Abraham  Lincoln,  res.  Newark,  b.  2  Jan.,  1863,  unm. 

IV.  Jenny,  b.  18  Nov.,  1866,  m.  Edgar  L.  Courter,  of  Newark. 
V.',  Lizzie,  b.  10  May,  1873. 

VI.    William,  b.  3  Oct.,  1877. 
B2.    VIII.    ANGELINE,  b.  1831;,  d.  1832. 

53.  IX.    EMMA  K.,  res.  Paterson,  N.  J.,  b.  Aug.,  1837. 

FIFTH     GENERATION   (C.) 
James  Melick  (i8)  had  7  ch. 

54.  1.    PETER  v.,  b.  14  Aug.,  1818,  d.  1848,  at  Toledo,  O.,   m.  1  Nov.,  1838,  Elizabeth, 

dau.  of  Capt.  Henry  A.  Post,  of  Readington,  N.  J.,  b.  9  Feb.,  1820;  had 

4ch. 
I.    Martha  Ann,  b.  1839,  d.  1882,  m.  Peter  Sutphen,  of  North  Branch,  N. 
J.;  their  10  ch.,  Aurjusta;  Anna,  m.  Charles  Stevens,  of  Plaintield; 
N.  J.,  \rilson;  EtizaDeth;  Alice;  Enuna;  Jane;  Mary;  .Susan;  Joseph. 

II.  James  Henry,  res.  Soinerville,  N.  J.,  b.  31  May,  1841,  m.  Sarah  Ann, 
*  dau.  of  Joseph  S.  Ten  Eyck,  of  South  Branch,  N.  J.;  their  5  ch., 

George  A.,  b.  13  Oct.,  1805;  William  T.,  b.  16  Oct.,  1866;  Stephen  H.,  b. 
1868,  d.  1888;  Mary  Ella,  b.  19  May,  1870;  Eva  T.,  b.  1872.  d.  1874. 
m.    Geoboe  Anderson,  b.  27  June,  1843,  a  private  in  2nd  N.  J.   Cavalry 
during  Civil  war,  captured  in  Tenn.  and  confined  at  Anderson- 
vllle,  Ga.,  afterwards  at  Florence,  S.  C,   where  he  is  supposed  to 
have  died. 
IV.    Mary  Jane,  res.  KiUisca,  Iowa,  b.  22  July,  1846,  m.  Lewis  E.  EUick; 
their  5  ch.,  Charles,  d.  1884;  Annie  P.;  George  A.;  John  D.;  Frank. 
55.-^,11.    ANTHONY,  of  Peapack,  N.  J.,  b.  1  Aug.,  1820,  d.  May,  1851,  m.  1842,  Jane 
Dalley,  of  Bedminster;  their  2  ch., 

I.  Lydia,  b.  1847,  m.  Dr.  Erastus  Marshall,  of  Mass.,  who  is  dec;  no  ch. 

II.  Susan  Ann,  b.  1849,  d.  1874,  unm. 

66.  Jill.  •  REBECCA,  b.  3  Sep.,  1822,   d.  4  July,  1868,   m.  1841,   Isaac  L.  Philhower,  of 
Peapack,  N.  J.,  had  5  ch., 
I.    John,  res.  Peapack,  b.  1842,  m.  Mary,  dau.  of  Silas  Thompson,  of  Men- 
dham,  N.  J. ;  has  2  ch. 


Ch.  of  David  B.,  John  L.,  John  V.  &  Peter  Melick.  693 

n.    Isaac,  res.  Peapack,  m.  Matilda,  dau.  of  Adrian  H.  Pickel,  of  White 
House,  N.  J. ;  has  one  ch. 
m.    Lewis,  b.  14  Oct.,  1857,  d.  27  Apl..  1879. 
rv.    Emily,  b.  i860,  d.  1868. 

V.    Cyrus,  re-s.  Florida 

67.  IV.    DAVID  BARTINE,  of  Peapack,  N.  J.,  b.  13  May,  1825,  d.  4.  Jan..  1880,  m.  30 

Nov.,  1859,  Mary  A.,  dau.  of  Robert  Woodruff,  of  Metidham,  N.  J.,  b.  18 
May,  1840,  had  4  ch., 
I.    James  Robert,  b.  28  Oct.,  1860,  d.  2  Aug-.,  1884. 
II.    George  Woodruff,  res.  Montclair,  N.  J.,  b.  24  Aug.,  1868. 

III.  Mary  Caroline,  b.  2  Oct.,  1870. 

IV.  David  Bartine,  b.  13  May,  1872. 

68.  V.    ANDREW  VAN  SYCKLE,  b.  11  June,  1829,  d.  Sep.,  1867,  tu  California,  leav- 

ing- a  wife,  4  sons,  and  1  dau.,  who  remain  there. 
B9.    VI.    SUSAN,   res.  Peapack.   N.  J.,  b.  3  June.  1832,  m.  14  Dec,  185.3,   Elias  Phil- 
hower.  b.  28  May,  1832;  had  4  ch., 
I.    Annie,  b.  22  Aug.,  1850,  m.  3  Apl.,  1876,  AmosBIain.  of  Peapack;  has 5 
ch. 
II.    Laura,  b.  28  Feb.,  1858,  m.  14  Nov.,  1877,  Jonathan  Tharpe,  of  Peapack. 
had  5  ch. 
in.    Emma  Jane,  b.  6  Apl.,  1863,  m.  8  Feb.,  1883,  Elmer  De  Kyne;  has  3  ch. 
IV.    Rachael.  b.  17  Oct.,  1867,  m.  31  Dec,  1885,  James  Rodenbauirh,  of  Clin- 
ton, N.  J.;  has  1  ch. 

60.  VII.    JOHN  LENHART,   of  Peapack,  N.  J.,  b.  5  May,  1835.  d.  26  Feb.,  1870.  m.  1 

Sep..  1858.  Ang-eline,  dau.  of  Jacob  Petrie,  of  Peapack;  had  6  ch.. 
I.    Augusta,  b.  1861,   m.  a  Lindaberry,  of  Tewksburj-,  and  had  one  ch., 

Edna. 
II.    Eli,  res.  Pottersville,   N.  J.,  b.  11  June.  1863,   ra.  1885,   Fanny,  dau.  of 
Abraham  Cole,  of  Peapack;  their  1  ch.,  Addie,  b.  1888. 

III.  Bertha,  b.  in  1865.  unm. 

IV.  John.  b.  Feb.,  1868. 
V.    Mary,  b.  in  1872. 

FIFTH     GENERATION     (C). 
John  V.   Melick  (ig)  had  g  ch. 

61.  I.    PETER,  res.  Mendhara.  N.  J.,  b.  37  Nov.,  1821,  ra.  14  Sep.,  1842,  Margaret,  dau. 

of  Cornelius  La  Tourette,  b.  10  Aug..  18-23;  had  6  ch. 
I.    Maria  Jane,  b.  28  Sept.,  1843,  ra.  28  Oct.,  1868,  John  L.  Denton,  b.  89 

July,  1843;  res.  Cuba.  Mo. 
II.    Gertrude,  b.  23  Aug.,  1H4'>,  d.  13  May.  1883.  ra.  21  July.  1863,  E.  A.  Weeks. 

b.  8Mch,  1839;  res.  SomerviUe,  N.  J.;  had  ch.,  I.  Cliarles  F.,  b.  23 

Sept..  1864.  d.  30  July.  1867;  II.   Wilbnr  Kflsf!/,  b.  23  Oct.,  1871;  III. 

Louis  Berge,  b.  28  Nov..  1873. 

III.  Elizabeth,  b.  10  June,  1848,  d.  20  July,    18S7.    m.  29  Jan..  1878.  John  M. 

Crane,  b.  3  May.  1842  ;  res.  Mendhara.  N.  J. ;  had  ch.,  I.  John 
Samuel,  b.  -25  Feb.,  18S0;  II.  Howard  Clayton,  b.  31  Nov.,  1882. 

IV.  Anna,  b.  29  July.  1850.  m.  William  Ballentine,  b.  6  Dec,  1858;  res.  Irving- 

ton.  N.  J.;  had  ch..  I.  Lena,  b.  16  Aug..  1874;  II.  Jane,  b.  29  Feb., 
1876;  III.  Raymond  Peter,  b.  26  Oct.,  1876,  d.  27  July,  1878;  IV.  Mar. 
garet.  b.  28  May,  1886. 

V.  Ella,  b.  6  Apl.,  1858,  d.  3  June,  1865. 

VI.  John  Walter,  b.  29.  Nov..  1803,  m.  Annie  V.  D.  Fleury,  b.  3  Mch.,  1868; 

res.  Morristown,  N.  J. ;  had  ch..  I.  Victor  Retimond.  b.  30  May.  1887. 

62.  II.    WILLIAM  TENNENT,  res.  Peapack.  N.   J.,   b.  4  Apl..  1821.  m.  8  Dec,  1842, 

Rachel  Ann,  dau.  of  John  Philhower.  of  Peapack,  b.  19  June.  1825.  had 
3  ch.  • 

I.  Harriet  Ann,  b.  13  Dec.  1843,  m.  Jacob  Flomerfelt,  of  Peapack ;  their 
6  ch.  William  T..  b.  12  May,  1807;  Frederick  T..  b.  1871.  d.  1876;  Laura 
.v..  b.28May.  1876;  i}(K7i(ic(  Jf..  b.  21  Jan..  187S;  Jrt?)ies  A,,  b.  21  July. 
1885;  Cyrus  .V.,  b.  1887,  d.  in  infancy. 
n.  Cybus  H.,  res.  Newark,  b.  18  Oct.,  1845.  m.  Sarah,  dau.  of  Zachariah 
Flomerfelt,  of  Peapack;  their  3  ch..  Era,  b.  2  Aug.,  1868;  J.  Walter. 
b.  16  Feb.,  1870:  William  Tennent.  b.  15  Aug.,  1873. 


694      Ch.  of  Wm.  T.,  Ernest  E.,  and  John  V.  Melick. 

III.    Laura  v.,  b.  7  Dec,  1852,  d.  24  Apl',  188-2,  m.  Henry  Savage,  of  Peapack; 
their  1  ch..  J.  Chester,  \>.  i  Nov.,  1878. 
63.    SUSAN  E.,   res.  New  Germantown,  N.  J.,  b.  14  Aug.,  1828.  m.  31  Feb.,  1850.  John 
Lane;  had  6  ch. 
I.    Anna  Lavinia,  b.  27  Jan.,  1850,  ni.  1  June.  1870.  Elias  Miller,  of  Potters- 
yille,  N.  J.;  their  4  ch.,  Lizzie,  d.  in  infancy,    Lillie   Almita;  Emma 
h. ;  Raymond  P. 
n.    Ernest  E.,  res.  Pluckamin,  N.  J„  b.  5  Sept.,  1882,  in.  24  Ocf,  1877,  Abby 
Louisa,  dau.  of  ElishaWaldron,  of  New  Germantown;  their  2  ch., 
Mauil  W.;  Edith  Louisa. 

III.  LoniSA,    M.,   b.  7  July,    1854,  m.  26  Nov.,  187.3,   Peter    V.  Vroom,    of 

Pluckamin;  their  4  ch.,  John  W.,  Margaret  L..  Charles  P.,  Susan 
Bernetta. 

IV.  John  Warren,  b.  1859,  d.  1864. 

V.    Matthew  Baymond,  res.  New  Germantown,  b.  2  Nov.,  1884. 
VI.    Emma  Elizabeth,  b.  4  May,  1867. 
M.    IV.    JANE,  res.  Newark,  N.  J.,  b.  5  Mar.,   1830,  m.  15  Dec.  1849,  Andrew  Smith 
Cole,  of  Peapack,  N.  J.,  who  d.  27  Nov.,  1875;  had  6  ch. 
I.    John  H.,  res.,  Westfleld,  N.  J.,  b.  9  July,  1851,  m.  Dec,  1872,  Ada  Pound; 
their  2  oh.,  Victor,  Beulali. 

II.  LiLLiE  WiLLANA,  b.  27  Nov.,  1853,  m.  1872,  Philetus  Smith,  of  N.  T.  C; 

their  2  ch.,  Clarence;  Harold. 
ni.    Charles  I.,  res.  Newark,  N.  J.,  b.  3  Sept.,  1855,  m.  1881,  Minnie  Benedict, 

their  2  ch.,  Millicent,  Franlc. 
IV.    Alvan,  res.  California,  b.  3  Oct.,  1857,  m.  1885,  Cetha  B.  Martin,  of  Cal.; 
no  ch. 
V.    Andrew  E.,  res.  Newark,  b.  22  Nov.,  1859,  unm. 
VI.    Kate  Frances,  b.  10  Aug.,  1863,  m.  14  Nov.,  1883,  Orlando  W.  Young,  of 

Newark;  no  ch. 
VII.    Jennie  Man.  b.  1869.  d.  1871. 
65.    V,    ERNEST  E.,   res.  New  Germantown,  N.  J.,  b.  30  Jan.,  1832,  m.  2    Mar.,  1854, 
Fannie  T.,  dau.  of  David  T.  Hoffman,  of  Potterstown,    N.  J.,  had 
6ch. 

I.  John  E.  v.,  res.  Springileld,  HI.,  b.  1  Sept.,  1855,  m.  2  Dec,  1879,  Frances 

Althea  Sprague;  no  ch. 

II.  Peter  P.,  res.  Kansas  City,  Mo.,  b.  9  July,  1859,  m.  10  Jan.,  1888,  Jennie 

Cardegan,  of  111.,  b.  10  Sept.,  1864. 

III.  Arten  W.,  b.  26  Sept.,  1865. 

IV.  CAins  Cassics,  res.  New  Germantown,  b.  12  Mar.,  1868. 
V.    Serosa,  b.  18  June,  1873. 

66.    VI.    MARIA  LAVINIA.  b.  6  Feb.,  1834,  m.  14  Feb.,  1856,  Austen  Clark,  of  New 
Germantown,  had  3  ch. 
I.    Samuel,  res.  Morristown,  N.  J.,  ra.  Harriet,  dau.  of  Peter  Apgar,  of 

Peapack,  and  has  1  ch. 
II.    Sallie,  ra.  James  Apgar,  of  Peapack,  and  has  3  ch. 
III.    Magoie. 
67     VII.    JOHN  v.,  res.  New  Germantown,   N.  J.,  b.  35  Nov.,  1836,  ra.  28  Mar.,  1860, 
Margaretta,  dau.  of  John  Craig,  of  New  Germantown,  b.  in  1839;  had 
3ch. 
I.    John  Elmer,  res.  Brooklyn,  L.  I.,  b.  8  Sept.,  1861,  unm. 
II.    Walter  Cameron,  b.  1  Jan.,  1863;  unra. 
III.    EuDORA  Eloise,  b.  23  Jan.,  1865,  unra. 
68.    VIII.    EMELINE,  res.  New  Germantown,  b.  4  May,  1843,  m.  1  Jan.,  1868,  Jacob 

Specht,  b.  1837,  their  1  ch.,  Everetta,  b.  1869 
69.    IX.    SAKAH,  b.  1  April,  1845.  d.  in  infancy. 

.  SIXTH     GENERATION     (C). 

Peter  Melick  (25)  had  4  ch. 
70  I.  MARY  ELIZABETH,  b.  8  Jan.,  18,38,  m.  38  Feb.,  1861,  Adam  Harriman,  b.  17 
Mch.,  1834;  had  11  ch.,  I.  Lily  J.,  b.  23  Sept.,  1801;  II.  Fanny  K.,  b.  6 
Dec  1862.  d.  20  Feb.,  1864;  III.  Charles.  M.  D.,  b.  15  Feb.,  1865;  IV. 
Samuel  E.,  b.  6  Sept.,  1867;  V.  Micha  E.,  b.  7  Jan..  1809;  VI.  Euoene 
O    b   7  Jan.,  1871;  VII.  Ethel  M.,  b.  8  Oct.,  1872;  VIII.  Lizzie  A.,  b. 


Ch.  of  p.  Melick  of  Neb.,  C.  B.  of  N.  J.,  &  M.  M.  of  Ind.    695 

1874.  d.  1  Apl.,  18T8;  IX.  ALEXANDER,  b.  8  Feb.,  1877;  X.  Lulu  M.,  b.  4 
June,  1879;  XI.  Miller,  b.  17  Sept.,  1881.  d.  14  Mob.,  1882. 
■71.    II.    EMMA  J.,   b.  31  Jaa.,  18«.  ra.   IS  Mch.,   1873.  Warren  Hallet,  b.  15  Feb..  18.33; 
had  2ch.,  I.  Maggie  C,  b.  30  Bee,  1875,  d.  26  July,  1880;  II.  Oliver,  b.  8 
Oct.,  1877. 

72.  III.    NICHOLAS  EGBEET.  res.  Davey,  Lancaster  Co.,  Neb.,  b.  25  Aug.,  1847,  m. 

28  Mch..  1873,  Priscllla,  dau.  of  James  M.  Scott,  b.  13  Dec.  1846;  Nicholas 
Eg-bert  was  justice  of  the  peace  tor  6  years  following  1882;  has  had  8 
ch.,  I.  EOBEBT,  b.  23  Mch.,  1873.  d.  in  infancy;  II.  Katie  M.,  b.  9  June, 
1874;  III.  Caroline  M.,  b.  12  Nov.,  187.'5;  IV.  Chas.  Wesley,  b.  20  May, 
1877;  V.  Frank  E.,  b.  2  Dec.  1878;  VI.  Emma  Priscilla.  b.  8  Nov.,  1880; 
VII.  Bertha  Lucilla,  b.  24  June,  1882;  VIII.  Marion  Maod,  b.  5  Nov., 
1883. 

73.  IV.    SAMUEL  M.,  b.  24  Mch.  1850.  res,  Lincoln.  Neb.,  now  (1888)  and  has  been  for 

0  years  sheritt  of  Lancaster  Co. ;  ra.  Jtrst.  25  Feb,,  1869,  Maria  F.,  dau.  of 
Philip  Ogan,  b.  1.  Jan.,  1848.  d.  19  June,  1880;  m.  second,  29  Dec,  1881, 
Mrs.  Catherine  Langdon  Dewey,  dau.  of  Milton  Langdon,  b.  29  Mch.. 
1856;  hadch.  by  first  wife;  I.  Minnie  M..  b.  4  Dec,  1870;  II.  May  E.,  b.  13 
Mch..  1872;  III.  Walter  W..  b.  12  Apl..  1873;  IV.  Samdel  M.  Jr.,  b.  14 
Nov.,  1874,  d.  10  Aug..  1875;  V.  Nellie  J.,  b.  8  Feb.,  1876,  d.  9  Apl.,  1879; 
VI.  Urania  R.,  b.  17  May,  1878,  d.  15  Apl.,  1879. 

SIXTH   GENERATION   iC.) 
Christopher  Backer  Melick  (26)  had  10  ch. 

74.  I.    ELIZABETH,  res.  PIttstown,  N.  J.,  b.  28  Sep.,  1838,  m.  1868,  Martin  Frace;  has 

one  dau. 

75.  II.    ABRAHAM  C.  b.  2  Jan.,  1840,  d.  12  Apl.,  1857. 

76.  IIL    N.  THEODORE,  res.  Clinton.  N.  J.,  b.  5  Aug.,  1841,  m.  19  Dec,  1866,  Cather- 

ine Ann,  dau.  of  Elias  W.  Haver,  of  Lebanon,  N.  J. 

77.  IV.    ELLEN  L..  b.  23  Mch.,  1843.  unm. 

78.  V.    JOHN  WESLEY,  res.  Clinton,  N.  J.,  b.  29  Feb.,  1845,  m.  May,  1868,  Susan  J., 

dau.  of  James  Boss,  of  Clinton. 

79.  VI.    LAURA  ANN,  b.  28  Dec.  1848.  unm. 

80.  VII.    CATHERINE  C.   res.  Pittstown,   N.  J.,  b.  24  June,   18.i2,   in.  6  Dec,   1876, 

David  M.  Bird;  has  3  ch. 

81.  VIIL    WILLIAM  KELLY,  res.  Clinton,  b.  1  Sep.,  1834,  ra.  14  June,  1876.  Minnie 

A.,  dau.  of  Isaac  K.  Demott,  of  Clinton;  she  d.  Mch..  1887. 

82.  IX.    ALICE   EMELINE,   res.  Jutland,   N.   J.,  b.   19  Apl.,  1856,  m.  27  Nov.,   1879, 

Theodore  Housell;  has  one  dau. 

83.  X.    PHCEBE  GAHETTA,  res.  Cherryvllle,  N.  J.,  b.  5  Oct..  1859,  m.  15  Dec,  1880, 

William  K,  Hoffman. 

SIXTH     GENERATION   (C.) 
Martin  Mehl  Melick  (35)  had  8  ch. 

84.  I.    CYNTHIA  A.,  of  Qulncy,  Owen  Co..  Ind..  b.  22  Apl..  1844.  d.  4  Oct..  1885.  m.  18 

Dec,  186,5.  William  H.  Steel;  had  8  ch.,  I.  Adolpuus  M„  res.  Peters- 
burg^, Pike  Co.,  Ind.,  b.  27  Nov.,  1806;  II.  John  S.,  b.  27  Aug.,  1868;  III. 
Margaret  E.,  b.  18  Aug..  1871;  IV.  Bella  M.,  b.  16  July,  1873;  V.  Flos- 
sie M.,  b,  18  Dec.  1875;  VI.  William  J.,  b.  3  Nov.,  1877;  VII.  Dasie,  b. 
8  Aug.,  1881;  VIII.  DoviE  A.,  b.  5  May,  1884. 
86.  II.  WILLIAM  J.,  res.  Cataract,  Owen  Co.,  Ind.,  b.  1  Aug.,  1846,  m.  27  Feb.,  1868, 
Sarah  Ennis;  had8ch..  who  all  d.  in  infancy. 

86.  in.    RUTH  T..  res.  Spencer.  Owen  Co.,  Ind.,  b.  16  Jan.,  1848,  m.  1870,  William  H. 

Medaiis;  ha8  9ch.,  I.  Minnie,  b.  1870;  II.  Charles,  b.  1872;  III.  Lessie 
M.,  b.  15  Apl.,  1873;  IV.  Orie  L.,  b.  30  Sep.,  1874;  V.  Stephen  C,  b.  8 
July,  1875;  VI.  Luther,  b.  3  Feb.,  1877;  VII.  Thomas  E.,  b.  10  Jan.,  1879; 
VIII.  Martha,  b.  15  Mch.,  1882;  IX.  William  R.,  b.  4  Oct.,  1885. 

87.  IV.    MARY  E..  res.   Spencer.  Ind.,  b.   11   Oct.,  18,50,  m.  26  Oct.,   1874,  Ozias  W. 

Evans;  ha8  4ch,.  I.  Oscar,  b.  30  Nov.,  1876,  II.  Luther  J.,  b.  6  Mar.. 
1879;  III.  WiNFiELD  H..  b,  31  May,  1883;  Emmett  E„  b.  9  Mch.,  1887. 

88.  V.    CATHERINE  C,  of  Danville,  Ind.,   b.  26  Nov.,  1854.  d.  19  Dec,  1882,  m.  14 

Dec,  1878,  Levi  H.  Brown;  no  ch. 


696         David  Melick  of  New  Germantowx,  N.  J. 

89.    VI.    EMMA  E.,  res.  Pike  Co.,  Ind.,  b.  6  Mch.,  1856,  m.  18  Dec.,  1879,  Oliver  P. 

Hackathorne;  has  2  ch.,  I.  Ada  L.,  b.  24  Mch.,  1881;  II.  Dalton  H.,  b. 

20  July,  1887. 
00.    VII.    LUTHEH  M.,  res.  Cuba.  Ind.,  b.  25  Nov.,  1S69. 
91.    VIII.    THEODORE  T.,  res.  Cuba,  Ind.,  b.  SB  Aug.,  1863,  m.  12  Feb.,  1885,  Ida  L. 

Corns;  ha32ch.,  I.  Goldie  A.,  b.  34  Nov.,   188.5;  Gladys  G.,  b.  7  Dec, 

1886. 


JOHAN   DAVID   MOELICH   (DAVID   MELICK)   (D). 

of  Hunterdon  Co.,   N.  J.,  and  his  descendants. 

1.  JOHAN  DAVID  MOELICH  was  the  son  of  Hans  Peter  (VIII)  of  Bendorf  on  the 

Rhine,  and  the  grandson  of  Jonas  (V),  who  raitfratedtothat  place  from 
Winningen  on  the  Moselle,  in  16«K.  David  Melick,  as  he  was  known  in 
later  life,  was  born  12  Oct.,  171.5,  in  Bendorf;  with  that  his  record  ends 
in  Germany.  The  date  of  his  emigration  to  America  is  unknown,  but 
he  next  appears  as  a  trustee  in  1749,  of  Zion  liUtheran  church  in  New 
Gerraantown,  in  Lebanon,  now  Tewksbury  township,  Hunterdon  Co., 
N.  J.,  and  in  1757  was  one  of  the  two  church  wardens  of  that  congrega- 
tion. His  wife  was  probably  named  Elizabeth,  as  Elizabeth  Melick,  a 
widow,  stood  sponsor  at  the  baptism  of  David,  the  eldest  child  of  his 
son  Christian.  David's  (1)  eldest  brother  Jonas,  b.  27  July,  1710,  d.  in 
Mch.,  1788,  probably  came  with  himto  America,  as  this  brother  was  also 
a  prominent  member  of  Zion  Lutheran  congregation  at  New  German- 
town,  and  in  1755  was  elected  the  first  constable  of  the  newly  formed 
township  of  Tewksbury.  David  died  about  the  year  1764;  he  certainly 
had  four  children  perhaps  more,  (see  pp.  79,  628.) 

SECOND     GENERATION    (D). 

David  Melick  (i)  had  4  children. 

2.  I.    CHRISTIAN,  often  called  Christopher,  b.  in  1744,  d.  in  1788,  m,  Anna,  dau.  of 

Balthazar  Pickel,  2d,  and  granddau.  of  Balthazar  Pickel,  of  White 
House,  and  of  Zion  Congregation.  New  Germantown.  N.  J.  She  was 
born  9  Apl.,  1749,  d.  in  N.  Y.  city,  23  Jan.,  1823,  as  the  widow  of  Rev. 
William  Graff,  of  New  Germantown,  and  is  buried  at  Lebanon,  N.  J., 
Christian  spent  most  of  his  life  in  Tewksbury  township,  removing 
shortly  before  his  death  to  Woodbridge,  Middlesex  Co.,  where  he  Is 
buried,  his  tombstone  being  marked  Christopher.  For  his  6  ch.  see 
p.  696. 

3.  II.    PETER,  b.  in  1754,  d.  17  Nov.,  1829,  m.  Hannah  Gillespie.    For  his  6  ch.  see 

p.  697. 

4.  III.    LEONARD,  b.  in  1760,  d.  at  Oak  Tree,  near  Plainfleld,  N.  J.,  in  1813,  m.  Mary 

Glaspey,  of  Woodbridge,  N.  J.    For  his  7  ch.  see  p.  (i98. 

5.  IV.    A  DAUGHTER,  who  m.  Peter  Hendershot,  and  who  d.  in  Sept.,  1778,  and 

is  buried  in  the  Lutheran  graveyard  at  New  Germantown. 

THIRD     GENERATION    (D). 

Christian    Melick  (2)  had  6  ch. 

6.  I.    DAVID,  of  New  Gerraantown,  N.  J.,  (sometimes  called  "Captain  David,")  b. 

29  Nov.,  1767,  the  sponsorsat  his  baptism  being  Christian  Sturm  and 
Elizabeth  Melick,  d.  at  res.  of  his  brother  Balthazer,  in  N.  Y.  city,  5 
Nov.,  1825,  buried  at  Lebanon.  N.  J.,  m.  12  Oct.,  1794,  Margaret,  dau. 
of  John  SwoUoff,  of  New  Germantown.    For  his  0  ch.  see  p.  698. 

7.  II,    BALTHAZER,  P.,  of  New  York  city,  b.  26  (Jet.,  1770,  the  sponsors  at  his  bap- 

tism being  Balthazer  Pickel,  and  wife,  d.  20  Nov.,  18;i.5,  unm. ;  at  the  age 
of  thirteen  he  went  to  New  York  carrying  his  worldl.v  effects  upon 
his  back.    Securing  a  situation  in  a  mercantile  house  his  industry 


CwELDSES  OF  Chbistiax  OS  Chkeiofhex  IEbuck.    697 


3K.X 


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.  bL  I  Xeb_  ran  d.  a  Ai^u  K»:  !ni  I  <:&. 

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at  Waits  Soase.  S.  J,  b.  r  %ng-.  HB^  ClSepk.  1 

IS  Xi:n„  :»0.  d.  S  Ocs.  jaO;  «>«~n«  r..  tk.  «  Sor.  1^3.  i.  S  Jolr. 
ffiK^HtaUHk^lSC^IlBrUS  ~   -  :!».  T.; 

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c^s.  $.  r,  va»  m.  s  ]fsr.  nn  Mbbf.  daa.  of  K.  S.  XiO- 

.  Kill  laslcfc.;  ■— ig  ITWwIli  W.  ws. S. T. 

m.   »»=»».■■»»  CKOiHSSzaB.  oC  Sew  r  i\ttwt h.  a  Ok.  ISK.  4.  a. 

*lf»,  ISe:  m.  I  Kh:.  UK  John  P.  S.  : 
■id  Eeft  no  e&. 

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r  AdnBi.  t>^  £i  JnlT.  ^^Sa.  i.  i  aegL,  KB;  turn  Us  n  ch.  see 

HL.    V.    EUOJLBEXH.  aC  S.  T,  t>.  !S  Amc.  r:5S.  tte  : 

BbbuI  ~i  !■■  n  I  jmi  wife.  li.  a  >ot.  isat.  m.  jint.  SDben  i 

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gar<»i£^.  a. .»  Jl.j^  .  :^-n.  m.  -n.  lii^.  Sttmm  Tliec  of  Wwiiwiw  ■Ua.  X.  i. 
"3.  la  rrsi.  i  i  ApL.  ass:  aa  oil. 


TUIKZ    iSNSRATION       D. 


a.    L    ~  A^^     r  _  -  -  -"  nL  Jtiry.  iaa.  jf  Hoc  Eaiuirm.  Harric;:^. 

-tijr?.  >.  J. :  lad  on-?  30£l  wiio  ■!-  in  ijre  -it  il'. 
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rrliijre.  S.  J-    For  "ais  t  >A.  see  p.  iW- 
li.    HX    J'    :  Har  ana.  «Tn 

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T:itT    FB.A3<7as  A.  b.  ?«?.  ^  II9B.  r«&.  Ssiiv^^.  X.  J. 

-."     VI,    X-»^  "    -     ■:    —    --^M.  L  ij  A.aif^  TSez.  m.  *  Dec_  J<^  James  Kaeeiir-  t>.  a. 

.  yov.   sri;  iiAi  ii3L.  L  Fbascss  JLi>si.i.t.  b-S  Jan. 

EL  Hast  Ass^  Ilk  '  Oct-  S*.  m.  ia  BSO 

?i^-".j^  vm^  w  '  ~^  *^— ^  has  3  CD. 


698  Children  of  Leonard  and  David  Melick. 

third    generation    (d). 

Leonard  Melick  (4)  had  7  ch. 

18.  I.    FANNY,  b.  in  1787,  d.  in  Apl.,  18S3. 

19.  II.    NANCY,  b.  in  1789,  d.  i5  Dec,  1838,  m.  William  Adams;  res.  of  her  dau. 

Althea  Hart,  Metuchen,  N.  J. 

20.  III.    JOHN,  b.  in  1791,  d.  8  Aug.,  1856,  m.  Mary  F.  Clarlison,  b.  in  1800,  d.  35  May, 

18.51.    For  6  ch.  see  p.  700. 

21.  IV.    HANNAH,  b.  in  1791.  d.  in  18.59,  m.  Joseph  Bower,  of  N.  Y.  City;  had  2  ch., 

I.    Margaret  Ann,  unm. 

II.  Elizabeth,  m.  Jerry  Yearance. 

22.  V.    DAVID  B.,  of  Kahway,  N.  J.,  b.  in  Hunterdon  Co.,  in  1797,  d.  13  Aug..  1867, 

m.  1829,  Mary  E.,  dau.  of  John  Campbell,  of  Metuchen,  N.  J.,  b.  in  1799, 
d.  31  Oct.,  13.39;  had  4  eh., 
I.    Mary  Elizabeth,  b.  1  Oct.,  1831,  unm. 
II.    John  L.,  b.  1  Feb.,  1833,  unm. 

III.  Henry  C,  b.  18  Jan.,  1835,  unm. 

IV.  Cecelia  Ann,  b.  30  July,  1837,  d.  in  Aug.,  1839.    Mary,  John,  and  Heury 

occupy  a  homestead  farm  adjoining  the  city  of  Plainfleld,  N.  J. 

23.  VL    ISAAC  B.,  of  Plainfleld,  N.  J.,  b.  31  Aug.,  1801,  d.  22  Nov..  1871,  m.  Sarah  M. 

Thorp,  b.  14  Feb.,  1811,  d.  20  Jan.,  1887.    For  his  14  ch.  see  p.  701. 
84.     VII.    ALTHEA,  b.  in  1803,  d.  in  1850,  m.  Randolph  Morris;  res.  of  her  son  Ran- 
dolph Morris.  South  Plainfleld,  N.  J. 

FOURTH     GENERATION     (D.) 

David  Melick    (6)  had  6  ch. 

25.  I.    JOHN  S.,  of  New  Germantown,  b.  3  Nov.,  1793,  d.  in  1865,   m.  Eva  Elizabeth, 

dau.  of  Jacob  Apgar,  of  Cokesburg,  N.  J.,  b.  in  1790,  d.  3  Apl.,  1357.  For 
his  4  ch.  see  p  701. 

26.  II.    CHRISTOPHER,  of  Lambertville.  N.  J.,  b.  3  Aug.,  1797,  d.  in  Feb.,  1864,  m.  in 

1827,  Elizabeth,  dau.  of  Gershora  Lambert,  of  Lambertville,  who  d.  in 
Jan..  1808.    For  his  5  ch.  see  p  701. 

27.  III.    BALTHAZER,  of  Somerville,  N.  J.,  b.  27  Aug.,  1799,  d.  9  Dec  1808,  was  for 

many  years  a  merchant  in  N.  Y.,  m.  first.  Mary  Ann,  dau.  of  Asa  Hall, 
of  N.  Y.,  d.  about  1834,  by  whom  2  ch.;  m.  second,  Charlotte  S.,  'dau.  of 
Asa  Hall,  of  N.  Y.,  b.  26  Jan.,  1809,  d.  14  Sep.,  1S75,  by  whom  5  ch.  For 
his  7  ch.  see  p.  702. 

28.  IV.    WILLIAM  GRAFF,  of  New  Germantown,   b.  9  Feb.,  1801,  d.  in  1857,   m. 

Rebecca  Hunter,  of  New  Germantown,  who  d.  in  Feb.,  1861,  by  whom 
one  ch.,  Sophia,  b.  in  18.32,  d.  2C  Mch.,  1859,  who  ra.  Benjamin  Apgar,  of 
Callfon.  N.  J.,  and  had  2  dau.,  both  of  whom  died  without  ch. 

29.  V.    PETER  KLINE,   of  New  Germantown.  N.  J.,  b.  19  Sep..  1806,  d.  26  Jan.,  1879, 

m,  23  Oct..  1830,  Eliza,  dau.  of  Joachim  Gulick,  of  New  Germantown,  b. 
6  Mch,,  1808,  d.  3  May,  1881,  had  ch. 
I.    Joseph  B.,  b.  10  Aug.,  1831,  d.  28  Oct.,  1849. 

II.    Benjamin  V.  D.,  b.  8  June,  18:34,  d.  5  Sep.,  1873,  m.  Ella,  dau.  of  Free- 
man Smith,  of  N.  Y.,  and  had  no  ch. 

III.  Anna  G.,  res.  NewarK,  N.  J. 

IV.  Elizabeth  C,  who  d.  17  Jan.,  1845,  aged  3. 

V.    Elizabeth,  m.  Martin  Richardson,  res.  Hackettstown,  N.  J.,  and  has 

2  ch.,  Ida  May  and  Benjamin  M. 
VI.    Malvina  M.,  who  d.  22  June,  1880. 

VII.  Frances,  m.  Charles  Eddowes,  res.  Newark,  N.  J.;  had  3  ch.,  Charles 
Frederick,  b.  16  July,  1881,  d.  3  July,  1887,  Miriam  M.,  b.  6  Sep.,  1883, 
and  Helen  Marrjaretta,  b.  14  Nov.,  1888. 

30.  VI.    CHICHESTER,  b.  14  Jan.,  1811,  followed  the  sea  for  many  years,  when  he 

settled  in  California,  marrying  a  widow  with  one  ch.;  whether  he  is 
living  is  unknown. 

FOURTH     GENERATION. 

Jonas  Melick   (g)  had   11   ch. 

31.  I.    CHRISTOPHER,  of  Bound  Valley,  N.  J.,  b.  2  Dec,  1303,  d.  1  Jan.,  1874,   m. 


Children  of  Jonas  &  Peter  B.  Melick.  699 

Sarah,  dau.  of  Abraham  Voorhees,  of  Readington,  N.  J.,  b.  3  Feb.,  1807, 
d.  23  Mch.,  1873;  for  his  8  ch.  see  p.  702. 

32.  II.    JOHN  U.,  b.  11  Mch.,  1805,  d.  19  Sep.,  1809. 

33.  III.    HANNAH  GRAAK.  b.  19  Sept.,  1807.  d.  21  Ma.v.  18G8,  m.  in  Dec,   1829,   John 

H.  Conover,  of  Potterstown,  N.  J.,  b.  16  Mch..  1803,  d.  20  Nov.,  1880;  had 
Ich. 
I.    Garket,  res.  White  House,  N.  J.,  b.  29  Nov.,   1830,  m.  27  Dec,  1856, 
Christiana,  dau.  ol"  Andrew  Emmans,   of  Readington,  N.  J.;  their 
oh.,  GarrH  G.,  b.  .5  Mch.,  1863;  .l»)i(V  R..  b.  13  Feb.,  1865,  m.  3  Nov., 
1870.,  John  W.  Ramsey,  of  Potterstown,  b.  19  Mch.,  1865;  Lizzie  B., 
b.  15  Oct.,  1867,  and  Mary  E.,  b.  3  Nov.,  18To. 
II.    Cathekine.  b.  19  Oct.,  18.3.3.  d.  8  July,  1883. 

III.  Jonas  M.,  res.  Round  Valley,  N.  J.,  m.  Amanda,  dau.  of  Richard  De 
Mott,  of  Stanton,  N.  J.,  their  ch.,  Kate  It.,  b.  4 Oct.,  186.5,  m.  George 
Reger,  of  White  House,  N.  J.;  SiOiard  t>.,  res.  Apgar's  Corner,  N. 
J.,  b.  10  Sept.,  1867,  m.  16  Nov.,  1887,  Annie  B.,  dau.  of  William 
Fulper.  no  ch.;  Jenny  A/.,  b.  4  Oct.,  1871;  Laura  B..  b.  23  July,  187.3; 
Joliii  Jt.,  b.  12  Apl.,  1875;  and  Cora  M.,  b.  16  Nov..  1879. 
IV.  Maboaket.  b.  20  Sept.,  18*3,  m.  9  Nov.,  18()7.  John  R.  Haver,  of  Round 
Valley,  N.  J„  b.  27  Apl.,  1838,  and  has  6  ch..  William  E.,  b.  6  Aug., 
18U9;  Georuiana,  b.  1  Mar.,  1873;  Christopher  B.,  b.  16  Dec,  1874; 
James  A.,  b.  8  Oct.,  1877;  Stella  S.,  b.  15  Mch.,  1880,  and  Ida  May,  b.  24 
Feb.,  1887. 

34.  IV.    MATTHEW  ADAMS,  b.  1.  Sep.,  1809,  d.  In  infancy. 

35.  V.    HANNAH  M.,  of  Brooklyn,  N.  T.,  b.  23  Feb.,  1811,  d,  12  Apl.,  1884. 

36.  VI,    ELIZABETH  CHICHESTER,  b.  7  Mch.,  1818,  d.  29  Mch..  1877.  m.  Philip  Lee. 

of  Newarii.  N.  J.,  has  ch. 
I.    Philip,  unm.;  II.  Jonas  M.,  unro. 
III.    John  P.,  who  is  m.  and  has  1  dau.,  Josephine. 

37.  VII.    SUSAN  SELL,  b.  IV  Dec,  1815,  d.  24  July,  184;i.  m.  John  C.  Wyckoff,  of  Pot- 

terstown, N.  J.,  b.  20  Oct.,  1817,  d.  11  Mch.,  1846;  had  3  ch., 
I.    Geobge,  res.  High  Bridge,  N.  J.,  b.  81  July,  1839,  ra.  22  June,  1861,  Hes-  • 
ter  A.,  dau.  of  Joshua  Henderson,  of  Tcwksbury  tp.,  b.  23  Mch., 
1844;  has  4  ch.,  Wilbur,  b.  26  Jan.,  1804;  Elsie,  b.  14  Aug.,  18C9;  Jenny 
E.,  b.  C  Jan.,  1873,  and  Lewis  G.,  b.  26  Sep.,  1881. 
II.    Susan,  a  twin,  res.  472  Fifth  Ave.,  Brooklyn,  L.  I.,  m.  William  Carlisle; 

has  one  son,  Balthazer. 
III.    Cornelia  Elizabeth,  a  twin,  res.  Gouldsboro  Station.  Pa.,  b.  15  July. 
1845.  m.  .nrst,  35  Nov..  1864,  William  Baker,  b.  30  Apl..  1834;  m.  secoiM, 
John  Wyckoff;  has  3  ch.,  John  W..  b.  in  Mch..  1866;  Jenny,  b.  23  Oct.. 
1867,  and  Martha  J.,  b.  28  Jan.,  1871;  all  m. 

38.  VIII.    BALTHAZER  A„  res.  Lebanon,  N.  J.,   b.  31  Dec,  1S17,   m.  26  Sep.,  1838. 

Williampe  W.,  dau.  of  Lucas  Vorhees,   of  Roui^d  Valley,   N.  J.    For 
his  5  ch.  see  p.  702. 

39.  IX.    JONAS,  of  Rosemont,  N.  J.,  b.  21  Nov.,  1820,  d.  19  Apl.,  1882,  ra.  13  Nov., 

1816,  Elsie  E.,  dau.  of  Joseph  Anderson,  b.  30  Apl.,  1824;  had  one  son. 
I.    Joseph  A.,  res.  Rosemont.  N.  J.,  b.  &  Apl.,  1848,  m.  12  Dec,  1869,  Han- 
nah Elizabeth,  dau.  of  Henry  Wood;  their  son,  Edward  J.,   b.  30 
June.  1873. 

40.  X.    CATHERINE  A.,  of  Potterstown,  N.  J.,  b.  23  Sep.,  1822,  d.  28  June,  1857,  m. 

Nicholas  W.  Apgar,  b.  in  1821,  d.  23  Nov.,  1846;  left  no  ch. 

41.  XL    SARAH  J.,  res.  Round  Valley,  N.  J.,  b.  80  Dec.  1824.  m.  Jacob  T.  Wolfe,  of 

Peapack,  N.  J.,  dec. ;  had  ch. 
I.    Amadee,  res.  Plainfleld,  N.  J.,  m.  first,  Catherine  Somers.  of  Bedmins- 
ter,   N.  J.,   by  whom  3ch..-  Alexander,  Emma  L.,  and  Florence  May, 
m.  Sfcoftd.  Lizzie  Tillman,  of  Plainfleld.   N.  J.,   by  whom  one  ch.. 
Anna  Beulah;  II.  John,  who  m.  Martha  Peer,  of  Fottersville,  N.  J. 

III.  Anna  Augusta. 

IV.  Simon  V. 
V.    William  C. 

FOURTH     GENERATION     (DU 

Peter  B.   Melick   (13)  had  4  ch. 

42.  I.    JOSEPH  MATTISON.  res.  Toledo,  O.,  b.  13  July.   1S29,   m.  1  May.  1851,  Anna 


700         Ch.  of  John,  Dayton  L.,  &  Isaac  B.  Melick. 

Hartley,   dau.  of  Rev.  Wm.  Bryant  Barton,  of  Woodbridge,  N.  J.,  b.  4 
June,  1833,  had:!ch. 
I.    Annie  B..  res.  Woodbridge,  N.  J.,  b.  21  Mch.,  1852.  m.  23  Dec,  18T.3,  Wil- 
lettDenike,  asst.  tl.  S.Atty.  for  N.  T.,  who  d.  7  Dee..  1874;  their  one 
ch.,  \rillett,  b.  1S74. 
II.    William  Barton,  b.  21  June,  13.53,  dec. 
III.    Addie,  res.  N.  Y.  C,  b.  31  June,   1855,   m.  4  Feb.,  1881,   Wethered   B. 
Thomas,   of  N.  Y.;   their  3  ch.,   Eraninn    Wetherea,  b.   1881,   d.  in 
infancy;  Lewiii  Hartley,  b.  188.3;  Bryant  Ellicott.  b.  1884,  d.  1888. 

43.  II.    JOEL,  res.  Woodbridge,   N.  J.,  b.  5  Sep.,  1S39,  m.  24  Oct.,  1860,  Annie  E.,  dau. 

of  Isaac  S.  Payne,  of  Woodbridge,  N.  J.,  b.  7  Oct..  1841;  had  3  ch. 

I.  Elmeb  E..  b.  12  Mch..  1862;  II.  Clara  M.,  b.  9  Aug.,  1864;  III.  Willabd 

P.,  b.  2  Oct.,  1870. 

44.  MARY  F.,  b.  18  Nov.,  18.30,  m.   17  Aug.,   1864,  Charles  O.   Holmes;  has  4  ch..   I. 

Lewla,  b.  6  Oct..  18o6;  II.  Harbv  Grant,  b.  22  Oct.,  1868;  III.  Mart 
Harriott,  b.  8  Sep.,  1874;  IV.  Fanny  Voorhees,  b.  22  Dec,  1877. 

45.  IV.    PETER  BKITTON,  res.  Berwyn,  Chester  Co.,  Pa.,  b.  at  Woodbridge.  N.  J. 

26  May,  1834.  m.  3  Oct,  1853,  Mary  Elizabeth,  dau.  of  Gearge  Hutchings, 
of  Newark,  N.  J. ;  has  3  ch., 
I.    Elizabeeh  Cobiell,  b.  27  Sep.,  1864,  m.  10  Feb.,  1874,  GriiBth  Williams 
Thomas,  of  Phila.;  their  3  ch.,  Mary  Melick,  b.  23  Nov..  1874:  Feler 
Brlttnn.  b.  12  Nov.,  1877;  Griffith  Harrington,,  b.  1  Apl.,  1877. 

II.  Fanny  Harriet,  b.  13  Nov.  1856.  m.  13  Nov.,  1870,  George  A.  Leinau,  of 

Phila.;  their  5  ch..  George  Britton.  b.  8  June,  1877;  Fanny  Williston, 
b.  8  July,  1878;  Malin,  b.  27  May,  1880;  Andreio.  b.  13  Sep.,  1882;  Xor- 
nuin,  b.  3  Jan.,  1886. 
ni.    Edward  L.,  b.  27  Nov.,  1858,  d.  14  May,  1863. 

FOURTH     GENERATION     (D). 

John  Melick   (20)  had  6  ch. 

46.  I.    ISAAC  C,  b.  26  Nov.,  1817,  d.  29  Apl..  188S.  m.  12  Dec.  1855,   Sarah  E..   dau.  of 

Henry  Moore;  had  2  ch. 
I.    Mary  S..  b.  3  July.  1856,  m.  George  W.  Hawes.  and  has  2  ch. 
II.    William  Seward,  res.  Port  Richmond.  S.  I.,  b.  21  May,  1860,  widower, 
no  ch. 

47.  II.    DAYTON  L.,  res.  Plainfield,  N.  J.,  b.  28  JIay.  1819,  is  a  farmer  owning  170 

acres  of  land  just  beyond  the  city  limits,  m.  13  Dec.  1843.  Sarah  Lever, 
of  Plaiufleld.  N.  J.,  b.  6  Sep.,  1831;  had  5  ch., 
I.    William  L.,  b.  20  Ma.v,  IS47,  m.  Lillie,  dau.  of  Marselis  Parks,  of  New 

Brooklyn.  (South  PlainUeld.)  N.  J.,  and  has  one  ch..  Dayton. 
II.    Walter  S..  b.  27  May,  1852,  m.  Harriet,  dau.  of  Meeker  Hetfield,  of 

Dunellen,  N.  J.,  and  hasonech.,  Frederick. 
in.    Sarah  S.,  b.  in  Jan.,  1855,  dec. 

IV.    John.  b.  14  Oct..  1858.  m.  Nellie,  dau.  of  William  Phillips,  of  Brooklyn, 
N.  Y..  and  has  one  ch.,  Lester. 
V.    Leonard,  b.  6  Oct.,  1863,  m.  Josephine,  dau.  of  Frank  Baker,  of  West- 
field.  N.  J. ;  no  ch. 

48.  III.    MELANCTHON,  res.  Menlo  Park,  N.  J.,  m.  first,  Sarah  A.  Randolph;  had 

one  ch., 
I.    Anna.  m.  James  Liddel,  res.  Woodbridge,  N.  J.,  m.  secona,  Caroline 
Flomerfelt,  of  German  Valley,  N.  J.,  by  whom  2  ch..  John  and 
George. 

49.  IV.    ELIZABETH,  d.  in  1841.  m.  John  Haviland.  of  Rahway.  N.  J.;  no  ch. 

60.    V.    SUSAN  F..  m.  Joseph  Brewster,  of  Woodbridge,  N.  J.,  both  dec ;  had  one 
ch., 
I.    Henrietta,  m.  Daniel  Berry,  res.  Plainfleld,  N.  J. 
51.    VI.    JOHN  J.,  res.  Franklin.  Pa.,  widower;  has  4  ch..  2  sons  and  3  daus. 

FOURTH   GENERATION   (D.) 

Isaac  B.,  Melick   (23)   had   14  ch. 

63.  I.  Harriet  l..  b.  in  1829. 

53.    II.    JAMES  T.,  res.  Rahway,  N.  J.,  b.  in  1881,  m.  in  186C,  Rachel  B.  Clarkson,  has 
3  ch..  S.4RAH  C.  Joel  C  and  Charles  R. 


Ch.  ok  John  S.,  Christopher  &  Balthazer  Melick.    701 

64.  III.    LEONAHD,  b.  in  1833,  d.  in  Nov.,  1854,  In  Columbus,  Ga. 

55.  IV.    MARY  A.,  b.  in  1835,  d.  In  March,  1885. 

56.  V.    HULDAH  R.,  b,  in  ia37,  d.  8  Nov.,  1871. 

57.  VI.    SARAH  E.,  b.  in  1839,  m.  William  Van  Nest. 

68.    VII.    SUSAN  F„  res.  Fanwood,  N.  J.,  b.  in  1841,  m.  Thomas  J.  Lee. 

59.  VIII.    WILLIAM  R.,  res,  Eahway,  N.  J.,  b.  in  1843,  m.  Nelly  Clawson,  and  has 

one  ch.,  Nelly. 

60.  IX.    ISAAC  F.  b.  in  1845,  d.   in  1880,   m.  Georg-ie  Parkes;  had  2  ch.,  I.   Letta; 

II.  John  J. 

61.  X.    VIRGINIA,  b.  in  1847,  d.  in  1870. 

62.  XI.    GEORGETTE,  b.  in  1850,  d.  in  1873, 

68.    XII.    ALICE,  res.  Newark,  N.  J.,  b.  in  1852,  unm. 

64.    XIII.    AUGUSTA,  res.  Rahway,  N.  J.,  b.  in  1854,  m.  Lester  Laforg-e. 

66.    XIV.    DORA,  res.  Newark,  N.  J,,  b.  in  1856,  m.  Willliam  Marsell. 

FIFTH     GENERATION     (D.) 
John  S.   Melick  (25)  had  4  ch. 

66.  I.    BALTIS  P.,  res.  Elizabeth,  N.  J.,  who  m.  Nancy  McCord,  of  New  German- 

town.    HisSch. 
I.    J.  Lambert,  res.  Elizabeth,  N.  J. 

II.  Jacob  Runkle,  res.  Hunter's  Point,  L.  I.,  who  m.  twice  and  has  2 
dau's.  by  first  wife,  and  2  sons,  Jo!iii  and  Frederick  Baltis,  by 
second  wife. 

III.  Sarah,  m.  Joseph  Smith,  res.  Elizabeth,  N.  J. ;  has  4  cU. 

IV.  Margaret,  res.  Elizabeth,  N.  J. 

V.    John,  res.  Elizabeth,  N.  J.,  m.  Georgie  Ketcham,  and  has  2  ch.,  John 
Rayriiond  aud  a  dau. 

67.  n.    WILLIAM  A.,  of  New  Hampton   Junction,  N.  J.,  b.   6  June,   1823,   d.   18 

Apl.,  1889,  m.  19  June,  1846,  Charity  C,  dan.  of  John  Apg-ar,  of  Cokes- 
burg,  N.  J„  b.  Sep.,  1827.    For  his  9  ch.  see  p.  703. 

68.  III.    MARGARET  A.,   m.  flrst,  J.  Foley,   of  New  Germantown,  N.  J.,  and  has 

one  son. 
I.    Baltis  P.  Melick,  res.  Lynden,  Kansas,  who  m.  Alice  dau.  of  Samuel 
Schureman,  of  HI.,  and  has  one  son  Braa/ord  W.;  m.  second,  John 
Dilley,  of  New  Genniintown,  N.  J. 

69.  IV.    JACOB  A.,  of  New  Germantown,  N.  J.,  d.  28  Mch.,  1876,  m.  in  1858,  Margaret 

Tharp,  of  New  Germantown,  N.  J.,  had  ch. ;  I.  Anna  Elizabeth,  res. 
Dover,  N.  J.;  IL  Chakles  E.,  res.  New  Germantown,  N.  J.;  III.  Emma 
Augusta,  m.  in  1888,  Seldon  Wildricks,  res.  Dover,  N.  J.;  IV.  Lottie 
B.,  m.  Frank  W.  Lindsley,  res.  Drea  Hook,  N.  J.,  has  2  ch. ;  V.  Laura 
Virginia,  res.  New  Germantown,  N.  J. 

FIFTH     GENERATION     (D.) 
Christopher  Melick  (26)  had    5  ch. 

70.  I.    GERSHOM  LAMBERT,  res.  Larabertville,  N.   J.,  b.  14  Apl.,  1828,  m.  1  Jan., 

1852,  Cornelia  B.,  dau.  of  Hiram  Price,  of  Hunterdon,  b.  25  Mch.,  1831; 
has  2  ch., 
I.    Walter  C,  b.  12  June,  18.59. 

II.  Christopher  P.,  res.  Milford,  Ct.,  b.  10  Oct.,  I860,  m.  in  June.  1888,  Ida 
Bigley,  of  Riegelsville,  Pa. 

71.  n.    MALVINA, 

72.  IIL    HANNAH  A., 

73.  IV.    DAVID,  res.  Huntington,  L.  I.,  m.  Maria  L.  Ketcham,  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.; 

has  ch.,  I.  Raymond  D.  and  II.  Clarence. 

74.  V.    AUGUSTA. 

FIFTH     GENERATION     (D.) 
Balthazer  Melick  (27)  had  2  ch.  by  first  wife. 

75.  I.    MARGARET  ELIZABETH,  m.  Abraham  V.  Melick  (88),  res.  Round  Valley, 

N.  J.;  has  one  ch.,  I.  Charlotte,  m.  Theodore  Hendershot,  of  Round 
Valley,  and  has  no  ch. 

76.  II.    SARAH  ANN. 


702    Ch.  of  Christ.,  Baltus  P.,  &  Balthazee  A.  Meuck. 

Balthazer  Melick  (27)  had  5  ch.  by  second  wife. 

77.  III.    MART  N..  in.  William  J.  Shotwell.  res.  Woodbrldge.  N.  J.;  had  ch.,  I.  Wil- 

liam. II.  H.4TTIE,  III.  Robert,  dec,  and  one  other. 

78.  rv.    SUSAN  v.,  res.  Soraerville,  m.,  flist  John  J.  Jones,  of  N.  Y.,  by  whom  no 

ch.;  second,  Peter  Van  Nest,  of  Somerville,  N.  J.,  b.  17  July,  1841,  d.  15 
Oct.,  1881,  by  whom  one  ch.    I.  Lily  Mat. 

79.  V.    DAVID,  d.  aged  4.  „  „         ^ 

80.  VI.    GARETTA  L.,  res.  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  m.  Robert  S.  Wardell,  of  N.  Y.,  and 

h  *ifl  *^  cli 
81     VII     GILBERT  C,  res.  Somerville,  N.  J.,  m.  Emma,  dau.  of  Leonard  Bunn,  of 
Somerville;  had  ch.,  I.  John  J.,  b.  in  1870,  d.  in  1888;  II.  Leonard  B., 
III.  Annie,  IV.  Alvah,  V.  Grace. 

FIFTH    GENERATION     (D>. 
Christopher  Melick  (31)  had  8  ch, 

82.  I.    JONAS  C,  res.  Peapack,  N.  J.,  b.  3  Feb..  1828,  m.  7  Jan.,  1863,  Sarah  M.  Lane; 

of  Readington,  N.  J.,  b.  14  Au(f.,  1835;  has  3  ch. 
I.    Simon  V.,  b.  23  Oct.,  1863;  II.  Theodore  H.,  b.  18  Nov.,  1866. 

83.  II.  ABRAHAM  VOORHEES,  res.  Round  Valley,  N.  J.,  m.  Margaret  E.,  dau.  of 

Balthazer  Melick  (HT)  had  2  ch. 

I.  Mary  Ann,  b.  28  May,  1855,  d.  1  May,  l«64. 

n.    Charlotte,  who  m,  Theodore  Hendershot,  of  Round  Valley,  N.  J., 

and  has  no  ch. 

84     III     JOHN  v.,  res.  Round  Valley,  N.  J.,  m.  Eleanor  Smith;  had  ch.,  I.  Sarah, 

m.  John  Craft,  of  Round  Valley,  and  has4  ch.;  II.  William  Gilbert, 

b.  12  Oct..  1858,  d.  22  Apl..  1864;  III.  JACOB. 

85.    IV.    JANE,  m.  William  Thompson,  res.   Raritan,  N.   J.;  has  5  ch.,   I.   Annie; 

II.  Christopher;  III.  Hannah;  IV.  Henry;  V.  John. 
86     V     BALTUS  P..   res.  Fairview,  Fulton  Co.,  111.,  b.  1   May  18.36,   m.  21  Nov.,  1856, 
Phebe  Thompson,  of  Readington,  N.  J.,  b.  22  Dec,  1838;  had  4  ch. ; 
1     Henrietta  V.,  b.  21  June,  1868,  m.  26  June,  1875,  Sanford  Westervelt. 
b.  22  Jan.,  1850;  their  2  ch.,  Baltus  M.,  b.  30  July,  1880,  and  Mandela, 
b.  26  May,  1883. 

II.  Jeremiah,  V.  T„  b.  31  Dec,  1861,  m.  23  Aug.,  1885,  Irene  Parks,  b.  25 

Apl.,  1860;  their  1  ch.,  Christopher,  b.  18  Aug.,  1886. 

III.  Elizabeth  N.,  b.  21  July,   1864,  m.  31  Aug.,  1885,  Walter  Parks,   b.   10 

Aug.,  185S. 

IV.  John  S.,  b.  18  July.  1873, 

87.    VI.    SUSAN  v.,  m.  Daniel  Sheets,  dec,  res.  Stanton,  N.  J;  no  ch. 

88     Vli.    HANNAH  W.,  m.  Theodore  Hubbard,  res.  Lebanon,  N.  J. ;  noch. 

89.    Vlli.    WILLIAM,  res.  Round  Valley,  N.  J.,  m.  Sarah  dau.  of  William  Reger,  of 

White  House,  N.  J.;  had  ch.,  I.  AbhahamVoorhees;II.  Sdsan  A. ;III. 

William  R.  ;  IV.  Charlotte. 

FIFTH    GENERATION   (D.) 
Balthazer    A.   Melick    (38)  had  5  ch. 


90. 


»u     I.    CATHERINE  A.,  b.  27  Aug.,  1839,  d.  28  Mch..  1845. 

91.    II.    SIMON  v.,  b.  10  Oct.,  1842,  d.  4  June,  1863,  at  Acquia  Creek,  Virginia,  a  soldier 

of  Co.  A.i  31st  Regt.,  N.  J.  V. 
9"     III     LUCAS  v.,  of  Lebanon,  N.  J.,  b.  80  Oct.,  1844,  d.  18  June,  1881,  m.  I4  Dec,  186,, 

Hettie  Lucretia.  d  au.  of  Nathan  Hoffman,  of  Lebanon ;  had  oh.,  I.  WiL- 

liampe  v.,  and  II.  John  C. 

93  rv     GILBERT  C,  res.  Lebanon,  N.  J.,  b.  4  June,  1848,  m.frst,  3  Feb.,  1874,  Jennie, 

dau.  of  Martin  Wyckotf,  of  White  House,  N.  J.,  b.  21  July.  1852,  d.  5 
July,  1881;  m.  second,  21  Nov.,  1883,  Annie,  dau.  of  William  Fleming,  of 
Lebanon,  N.  J.;  no  ch.  „.  .^ 

94  V.    SUSAN  M.,  b.  1  Aug.,  18.)4,   ra.  20  Oct.,   1874,  John  D.   Bonnel,   res.    White 

House,  N.  J.;  has  ch.,  I.  Gilbert  C,  and  II.  Marion. 


Ch.  of  William  A.  .Melk  k,  of  New  Hami-tox,  N.  J.  703 

SIXTH     GENERATION     (D.) 

William   A.    Melick,  (67)  had  g  ch. 

96.  I.  MARY  E..  res.  Elmira.  N.  T.,  b.  7  Mch.,  184'.  m.  14  Sep.,  Is64,  Oliver  Elraeu- 
dorf.  of  Rahway.  N.  J.,  b.  26  Mch.,  1841;  he  served  throughout  the  Civil 
War  in  a  N.  Y.  reg-t. ;  has  2  ch.,  I.  William  M.,  b.  17  Oct.,  1865;  II.  Ber- 
tha, b.  23  June,  1870. 

96.  11.    JAMES  S.,  res.  Dover,  N.  J.,  b.  18  Nov.,   1851,  m.  Susan  Vanatta,   of  Glen 

Gardner.  N.  J. ;  has  been  clerk  of  Randolph  tp.  4  years,  assessor  for  4 
years,  and  was  appointed  postmaster  of  Dover  by  Pres.  Cleveland,  22 
June,  1888;  has  2  ch.,  I.  Nettie  and  II.  James. 

97.  III.    GAHETTA,   res.  988  Atlantic  Av.,  Brooklyn,  m.  Sam'l  P.  Hodgklss;  he 

served  in  Civil  War  in  a  Mass.  Heg't.;  bas2ch.,  I.  Samuel;  II.  Henry. 

98.  IV.    JOHN  W.,  res.  Asbury  Park.  N.  J.,  b.  3  Nov..  1855.  m.  20  Feb..  1877,   Jessie 

Lowe,  b.  28  July,  1866;  no  ch. 

99.  V.    GEORGIANNA,  res.  Dover,  N.  J.,  b.  18  Dec,  1858,  m.  28  July,  1878,  John  P. 

Egen,  b.  26  Dec,  18M;  has  5  ch.,  I.  Nellie,  b.  10  Sept..  1879;  II.  George. 
b.  24  Dec.  1880;  III.  David,  b.  27  Aug.,  1882;  IV.  Jenny,  b.  28  Feb.,  1884; 
V.  John  P.,  b.  10  Nov..  1888. 

100.  VI.    EMMA  LEONORA,  res.  Dover,  b.  9  June.  1861.  m.  12  Nov..  1878.  Joseph  H. 

Buchanan,  b.  8  Sept.,  1849;  has  4  ch..  I.  William,  b.  1  July,  1879;  II. 
Frederick,  b.  3  Feb.,  188I;  IIL  Emory  V.,  b.  S3  Mch..  1883;  IV.  Joseph 
R.,  b.  4  Sept.,  1685. 

101.  VII.    NELLY  A,,  res.  Dover,  b.  21  Sept.,  1804,  m.  30  Aug-..  1882.  Fred'k.   H.   Diek- 

erson.  b.  8  ApL,  I860;  no  ch. 

102.  Vni.    KITTIE  G.,  b.  18  Dec.  1865. 

103.  IX.    FRANK  Z..  b.  22  July,  1868. 


JOHAN  PETER  MOELXCH   (E). 

Peter  Melick,  of  Columbia  Co.,  Pennsylvania,  and  his  descendants. 

.  I.  JOHAN  PETER  MOELICH  (E).  was  the  son  of  Hans  Peter  (VIIL),  of  Ben- 
dorf  on  the  Rhine,  Germany,  and  the  grandson  of  Jonas  (V).  who 
migrated  to  that  place  from  Winningen  on  the  Moselle  in  1688.  He 
was  a  brother  of  David  (D)  and  Johan  Jonas  (XV.)  both  of  whom 
emigrated  to  America  (see  pp.  79,696).  Peter  Melick,  as  he  was  known 
in  later  life,  was  born  12  Oct..  1715  in  Bendorf;  with  that  his  record 
ends  in  Germany.  The  date  of  his  immigration  is  unknown,  but  it 
is  probable  that  he  came  with  his  l)rothers  to  America.  As  neither 
his  nor  their  names  appear  among  those  of  the  Palatine  arrivals  in 
Pennsylvania,  they  must  have  landed  at  New  Y'ork.  Unfortunately 
that  colony  did  not  require  arriving  immigrants  to  register  their 
names  with  the  provincial  secretary.  Peter  is  said  to  have  remained 
with  his  brothers  for  some  time  in  New  Jersey,  and  then  migrated  to 
Pennsylvania,  taking  up  land  in  the  vicinitj'  of  where  is  now  the  vil- 
lage of  Espy,  in  Columbia  County.  Here  he  cleared  the  ground  of  its 
primitive  forests  and  engaged  in  farming,  and  here  many  of  his 
descendants  are  still  living. 

SECOND     GENERATION     (E.) 

Peter  Melick  (ii    had  7  ch. 

I.  JOHN,  first  settled  in  Northumberland  Co..  Pa.,  removing  from  there  in 

1800  to  the  vicinity  of  Northeast.  Erie  Co.,  Pa.;  m.  Catherine  SchoUer. 
He  and  his  descendants  spell  their  name  Malick.  For  his  8  ch.  see  p.  704. 

II.  PETER,  b.  18  ApL.  1752,  d.  11  Feb.,  1830,  ra.  Rachel,  dan.  of  John  M.  Clingman 

and  granddau.  of  Jacob  Klingemaun,  a  German  emigrant,  b.  3  Apl.. 
1759.  d.  2  Sep..  1841.    Peter  lived  on  his  father's  land  near  Espy,  in  Col- 


704         Ch.  ok  Peter  Melick  of  Collmbia  Co.,  Pa. 

umbia  Co.,  Pa.,  until  1V78  when  his  house  was  destroyed  by  the  Indians 
in  return  for  his  activity  in  repelling  predatory  invasions  of  the  sav- 
ages. He  and  his  family  escaped  to  Fort  Wheeler  near  by,  then  com- 
manded by  the  celebrated  Moses  Van  Campen.  He  then  built  a  house 
on  land  he  had  bought  in  177i  from  John  and  Thomas  Penn,  proprie- 
tors of  the  Province  of  Penna,  located  midway  between  Light-Street 
and  Bloomsburg  in  the  same  county.  Here  he  lived  until  his  death 
the  property  still  being  in  the  possession  of  his  descendants.  During 
the  Revolution  he  served  in  the  Continental  army  and  spent  the 
winter  of  1777-8  with  the  array  at  Valley  Forge.  He  is  said  to  have 
gained  the  thanks  of  General  Washington  at  this  time  because  of 
making  a  tour  through  the  state  and  securing  for  the  army  a  large 
supply  of  grain  which  was  ground  in  the  old  mill  (still  standing)  at 
Valley  Forge.  Throughout  his  life  he  was  an  active  member  of  the 
Methodist  Church.    For  ch.  see  p.  704. 

4.  III.  DAVID,  m.  a  Conrad;  settled  first  at  the  mouth  of  Fishing  creek  in  North- 
urab.,  now  Col..  Co. ;  in  1772  removed  to  Augusta,  now  Roekafeller  tp. 
near  Sunbury,  taking  up  six  hundred  acres  of  land,  building  a  stone 
house  in  which  he  lived  until  his  death  in  1836.  He  had  several  daugh- 
ters and  at  least  six  sons,  viz. :  John,  George,  Jacob,  David,  Peter, 
and  Henry.  Peter  the  5th  son  b.  1790,  d.  9  Aug.,  186.3,  m.  Mary  Keeser, 
b.  1796,  d.  14  >fov.,  1872;  their  —  ch.,  I.  WiLLi.iM,  dec,  m.  a  Heilman  and 
had5ch.;  II.  Simon  P.,  res.  Sunbury;  III.  Hiram,  dec;  IV.  David  R., 
res.  Sunbury;  V.  Harriet,  res.  Sunbury,  m.  Sam.  Keefer;  VI.  Maria, 
res.  Sunbury,  m.  Sara.  Woolf;  VII.  John  R. ;  VIII.  Peter,  dec;  IX. 
Samuel,  dec;  X.Jeremiah;  probably  other  ch.  (No  certainty  is  felt 
as  to  the  correctness  of  this  record). 

6.    IV.    HENRY,  m.  Julia  Alstot;  for  ch.  see  p  707. 

6.  V.    MICHAEL,  b.  in  Col.  Co.,  Pa.,  in  1706,  d.  in  Phila.  in  1818,  m.  about  1780  Cathe- 

rine Christian,  b.  in  N.  J.  in  1768,  d.  In  Phila.,  12  Nov.,  1834;  he  served  In 
war  of  1812;  tor  ch.  see  p.  708. 

7.  VI.    CHARITY,  m.  a  Mr.  Folselle;  descendants  living  in  Canada. 

8.  VII.    MARGARET,  ra.  Metsinger;  descendants  living  in  Ohio. 

THIRD     GENERATION     (E.) 
John   Malick   (2)  had  8  ch. 

9.  I.    GEORGE  lived  and  died  in  Ohio,  m.  and  had  several  ch. 

10.  n.    HENRY,  b.  15  Mch.,  1797,  d.  26  Oct.,  187.5,  m.  23  Aug.,  1825,  Elizabeth,  dau.  of 

Peter  Musselman,  of  Canada,  b.  5  June,  1800,  d.  9  Oct.,  1871.  Lived  for 
the  raost  of  his  life  at  West  Mill  Creek,  Erie  Co.,  Pa.,  but  d.  at  the  res. 
of  his  son  Henry  P.,  (45)  Girard,  Pa. ;  for  5  ch.  see  p.  709. 

11.  III.    DAVID,  lived  and  died  in  Indiana. 

12.  IV.    ANDREW,  his  son  David  now  living  at  North  East,  Pa. 

13.  V.     PETER. 

14.  VI.    JACOB. 
13.     Vn.     JOHN. 

16.  VIII.    SAMUEL,  res.  Unionville.   Ashtabula  Co.,  O.,  b.  in  Pa.  9  June,  1809,  m. 

29  Oct.,  1829,  Polly  Lull,  b.  in  Oct.,  1806,  d.  2  Jan.,  1887;  moved  to  Ohio 
in  1865;  no  ch. 

THIRD     GENERATION     (Ej. 

Peter  Melick    (3)  had  11    ch. 

17.  I.    JOHN,  d.  when  5  years  old. 

18.  II.    DAVID,  d.  near  Geneva,  New  York,  leaving  at  least  3  ch. ;  a  married  dau., 

res.  Reading,  Pa. ;  another  dau.,  res.  Philadelphia,  and  an  only  son, 
Peter,  who  served  in  war  of  Rebellion,  and  since  then  has  been  miss- 
ing. 

19.  III.    JACOB,  b.  19  Apl.,  1799,  d.  19  Aug.,  1886,  m.  10  May,  1827,  Elizabeth,  dau.  of 

Peter  Willet,  of  near  Light-Street,  Penna.,  b.  27  Aug.,  1807,  on  the  farm 
of  her  father,  almost  within  sight  of  where  she  died,  3  Mch.,  1888. 
Throughout  Jacob  Melick's  lite  he  was  distinguished  for  his  business 
activity,  for  zeal  in  doing  good,  and  as  being  a  leading  and  valued 


Ch.  of  Peter  Melick  and  Baltis  Api'lemax.        705 

member  of  the  Methodist  church  of  his  vicinity.  Up  to  the  time  of 
his  death  for  21  years  religious  meetings  of  members  of  that  com- 
munion were  held  in  one  of  his  houses  on  each  Tuesday  afternoon. 
He  travelled  extensively  in  Europe  and  America,  and  engaged  in 
many  important  business  enterprises,  including  that  of  tanning, 
store-keeping,  mining  iron  ore.  and  operating  a  blast  furnace.  He 
made  his  home  in  Light -Street  for  5!)  years,  living  on  the  homestead 
where  he  died  since  1S27.  So  large  was  the  attendance  of  neighbors 
and  friends  at  his  funeral  that  the  sermon  was  preached  in  a  grove 
near  his  residence.  Mrs.  Melicli.  familiarly  known  as  Aunt  Betsy, 
was  greatly  beloved  for  her  piety  and  good  works.  Possessed  of  a 
rarely  beautiful  nature  in  whicli  strength  and  gentleness  equally 
blended,  her  daily  wallc  and  conversation  were  considered  a  model  in 
all  that  was  best  of  womanhood.  For  13  ch.  see  p.  709. 
20.  IV.  PETER,  b.  21  Feb.  1794,  d.  in  Aug.,  1867,  m.  in  1H17,  Margaret,  dau.  of  Jacob 
Best,  b.  27  June,  1801,  d,  in  1882.  He  was  a  farmer  at  Light-Street  in 
Columbia  Co.,  Pa.,  and  a  member',  an  olBcer  and  a  class  leader  of  the 
Methodist  church.  For  13  ch.  seep.  710. 
21.'5  V.    JOHN,  d.  when  4  years  old. 

22    VI.    NANCY,  b.  15  Oct.,  1778,  m.  William  Eichart,  a  farmer  of  Columbia  Co.,  Pa., 
had  7  ch. 
I.    EOBEiiT,  b.  10  Dec,  1806,  d.  21  Mch.,   1S79,   m,  .31  July,   1830,  Elizabeth, 
dau.  of  Daniel  Kase,  b.  1  May,  1809.  hud  one  son  WiUiinn  C,  whose 
res.  is  Kupert,  Col.  Co.,  Pa.,  his  7  ch.  Elizabeth,  b.  3  Dec,  1863.  Mary 
F.,  b.  28  Feb.,  1865,  Charles  H.,  b.  22  Nov.,  1806,  Infant  dau.,  twin  to 
Chas.,  d.  at  birth;  Wilson  G.,  b.  19  Oct.,  1868,  d.  21  Nov.,   1879;  Annie 
B.,  b.  12  June,  1870,  and  Hattie  J.,  b.  7  Oct.,  1872. 
II.    Hachel.  b.  8  Mch..  1809. 
IIL    Peter,  b.  17  Feb,,  1811. 
IV.    Cathebine. 
V.    John  S.\iith,  b.  1  May,  1819,  d.  in  infancy. 
23.    VII.    MARY,  b.  10  Feb.,  1781,  d.  29  Mav,  1842,  m.  12  May,  1801  Baltis  Appleman,  b. 
10  Apl.,  1778,  d.  9  June,  1854,  a  farmer  of  Hemlock  tp..   Col.  Co..  Pa., 
had  8  ch. 
I.    Rachel,  b.  12  Feb.,  1802,  d.  16  Ma.v,  1837,  m.  2  Nov..  1824,  James  Childs,  b. 
16  June,   1793.   d.   1"  Jan.;  1871,  a  farmer  of  Valley  tp..  Col.  Co.,  Pa., 
and  had  6  ch.,  Jnines  H..  res.  Hudson,  St.  Croi.\  Co.,   Wis.,  b.  7  Oct.. 
1825;  John  P.,  b.  20  May.  1827,   d.  in  1850;  Baltis  A.,  b.  21  Nov.,  1829; 
Cordelia,  b.  9  Dec,  1831,  m.  in  1871  to  Mr.  Smith,  and  lives  at  Kal- 
amazoo. Mich.,  (Uox  224);  Oscar,  b.  7  Jan.,  1834,  and  Anna  M.,  b.  20 
June,  1835. 
II.    Elizabeth,  b.  20  Mch..  1804,  m.  1  Nov.,   1822,  David  Harris,  b.  29  May, 
1798,   d.  19  Mch.,  1877.  and  had  11  ch.,  Marii  Ann,  b.  14  Jan.,  1825,  d.  in 
May,   188G,   m.   Abrara  Cramer,   res.  Hudson,    Linawee  Co.,  Mich.; 
John,  b.  29  July,  1826,  dec.  leaving  a  wife.  Mary,  who  lives  at  Wake- 
man,   Huron  Co.,    Ohio;  Lucincla,  b.  9  Apl.,  1828,  m.  Jesse  Rhoades, 
and  lives  at  Mt.  Pleasant,  Isabella  Co.,  Mich.;  Cal(fb,  b.  6  Sep.,  1831, 
m.  Ollie  Ostrander.  res.  Jackson,  Jackson  Co.,  Mich.;,/.  Washington, 
whereabouts  unknown,   m.    Melissa   Rhenbottom,   who    lives   at 
Union  City.   Branch  Co.,  Mich.;  Harriet,  b.  2  Dec,  1832,  m.  and  d.  13 
Aug.,   1806;  JoO    »:,   b.   1  Feb.,   1836;  Elizabetlt.  b.  7  Nov.,  1838,  d.  in 
1840;  .^arah  E.,   b.  23  May,  1842,  d.  in  1877,  m.  Frank  Henderson,  who 
lives  in  Lansing.   Mich.;  Hannah,   b.  .30  Oct.,   1843,   m.  George  W. 
Waight,  res.  Colwell,  Isabella  Co.,  Mich.;  .4!('Cf.  b.  15  Sep.,   1846,   m. 
Alfred  Phillips,  res.  Oscoda,  Joseo  Co..  Mich. 

III.  Peter,  b.  2  Sep.,   1806,   m.  flrst,  in  1824,  Hannah  Eishel,  and  had  6  ch. ; 

she  d.  7  Aug.,  1837,  he  m.  second  in  Feb.,  1840,  Catherine  Evans,  and 
had  one  ch. 

IV.  Matthias,  b.  13  Jan.,  1807,  d.  16  Apl.,   18.37,   m.  in  1828,   Sarah,  dau.  o^ 

Daniel  Roat,  d.  in  Oct.,  1858;  their  ch.,  Lewis,  b.  in  1831,  d.  in  1861,  m. 
in  1859,  Mary  E,  Rishel;  Phiebe  Jane,  b.  in  1834,   m.  in  1851,  Baltis 
White,  res.  Light-Street,  Col.  Co.,  Pa.;  Mary  Elizabeth,  b.  in  1836 
dec,  m.  in  1859,  George  White. 
V.    Baltis,  b.  22  June,  1809,  d.  16  Dec,  1859,  m.  in  1841,  Margaret  Aikman, 

45 


706  Ch.  of  p.  Melick,  H.  Tradgh,  J.  C.  Buck  &  J.  Williams. 

dec. ;  their  ch.,  riant  A.,  b.  10  Feb.,  1845,  m.  in  186«,  Arthur  Brandon, 
and  has  2  dan's.,  Mary  and  Anna,  res.  Danville,  Pa. ;  Emma.  m. 
Wilson,  res.  Bloomsburg,  Pa.;  and  Ivo  other  dan's. 

VI,  Caleb,  b.  22  Apl.,  1812,   d.  20  Apl.,   18s8,   m.   in  18.30,   Mary  Magdalene 

Rishel.  b,  15  June,  1810;  their  ch.,  Elmira,  b.  26  Aug.,  1832,  d.  1  Nov.. 
1866,  tn.  first,  in  1850,  John  Carr,  sevoaa.  in  1858,  George  Carr;  Sally 
Ann.  b.  16  July,  183.5,  m.  in  1868,  Charles  A.  Rentz,  res.  Muncy  Station, 
Lycoming  Co.,  Pa.;  Agnes,  b.  21  Jan.,  1837,  m.  in  1870,  James  Vander- 
venter,  res.  Danville,  Pa.;  Mary  E..  b.  11  Dec,  1838,  m.  in  1866,  John 
C.  Patterson,  and  has  2  ch.,  res.  Danville,  Pa. ;  Margaret  J.,  b.  IG  Jan., 
1841,  m.  in  1871,  Jesse  C.  Amerman,  res.  Danville,  Pa.;  Amos  B.,  b.  19 
Nov.,  1842,  res.  Danville,  Va.;  Harrlft,  b.  15  Nov.,  1844.  m.  in  18(18, 
Peter  E.  Kentz,  res.  Muncy  Station,  Pa. ;  Eli.  b.  7  Feb.,  1847,  m.  in  1871, 
Theresa  Dildine,  res.  Danville.  Pa.;  Caroline,  b.  2  Sept.,  1849,  m.  in 
1871,  George  Gilmore,  res.  Linden,  Pa. ;  franklin  P..  b.  11  Sept.,  1852, 
m.  in  1877,  Mary  J.  Hendricks,  res.  Danville,  Pa. 

VII.  Abby  M.,  b.  7  Aug.,   1H15,   d.  13  Aug.,  1847,  m.  20  Jan.,  1837,  George  W. 

Drisbauch,  a  miller,  and  bad  one  son,  Elisha  B..  res.  Montgomery 
Station,  Lycoming  Co.,  Pa.,  and  3  dan's. 
Vin.    Sally  Ann,  b.  2(j  Mch.,  1817,  m.  31  Jan.,  1830,  Arthur  Buss.  res.  McEw- 
insville.  Ohio;  no  ch. 

24.  vni.    ELIZABETH,  ra.  William  Bobbins,  res.  Huntington.  Pa. ;  no  ch. 

25.  IX.    RACHEL,  b.  10  Oct.,  1785,  d.  16  Dec,  1849,  ra.  first,  in  180.5.   Henry  Traugh, 

b.  26  Sep.,  1705,  d.  10  Dec,  1834;  m.  second,  in  1836,  Abraham  Townsend; 
no  ch.  by  last  marriage;  by  Henry  Traugh  had  9  ch., 
I.    SnsAN,  b.  4  Sep.,  1808,  m.  Solomon  Probst,  a  desc  of  Philip  Probst,  who 
emigrated  in  1693  from  Probstzell,   near  Saalteld,   Saxony;  their 
ch.,   Barbara  Ann.   ra.  first.   Abraham  Bernard  Block,  a  native  of 
France;  m.  second.  Peter  A.  Kimburg,  and  now  lives  at  Columbia, 
Lancaster  Co.,  Pa.;  her  son  is  Colonel  Williard  T.  Block,  of  Dea 
Moines,  Iowa,  b.  in  Jan.,  1853,  who  for  21  years  has  been  prominent 
in  railroad  circles  of  Penna.  and  the  West,  and  has  twice  been  ap- 
pointed to  the  staff  of  the  Governor  of  Iowa;  Henry  Clay.  anotLer 
son  of  Susan  Probst,  lives  at  Minneapolis,  Kansas;  .Samuel  McL.  at 
Hastings,   Neb.,  and  Isidor,  her  dau.,  m.  George  Brockway,   and 
lives  at  Indianapolis,  Iowa. 
II.    Henry,  b.  11  Feb.,  1811,  dec. ;  his  widow  Rachellives at  Berwick,  Col. 
Co.,  Pa. 
m.    Peter,  b.  31  July,  1812,  dec.    His  dau.  Mrs.  Alice  Brown,  lives  at  West 

PittstoM,  Luzerne  Co.,  Pa. 
IV.    Lewis,  b.  26  Nov.,  1815,  d.  5  Nov.,  1850,  ra.  7  Dec,  1842,  Mary  Ann,  dau. 
of  Samuel  Adams,  of  Briar  Creek,  Pa.;  their  ch.,  Rachel  Arabelle, 
b.  31  Jan.,  1844,  m.  in  1873,  Dillwyn  S.   Stein,  res.  Hazleton,  Luzerne 
Co.,  Pa.;  no  ch. ;  Williard  .Sand.  b.  25  Mch..  1848,  killed  on  the  rail- 
road at  Weatherly,  Pa.,   26  June,   1872;  Mary  Fraiwes.  b.   24  Dec, 
1850,  m.  in  1863,  Capt.  Samuel  Simpson,  of  Jeansville,   Pa.,  b.  30 
Nov.,  1844;  has  2  ch.    Capt.  Simpson  enlisted  in  Co.  F.,   143rd  Regt. 
Pa.  Vols.,  served  3  years  taking  part  in  battles  of  Chancellorsville, 
Gettysburg.  Wilderness,  Spottsylvania,  North  Anna,  and  others, 
commissioned  captain  by  Governor  Curtin  for  meritorious  ser- 
vices and  served  as  captain  of  militia  during  the  strikes  in  the 
coal  region. 
V.    Washington,  b.  5  Mch.,  1817,  d.  24  July,  18.38,  unm. 
VI.    Ann  Eliza,  b.  18  Mch.,  1819,  d.  21  Sep.,  1840  unm. 

VII,  Olivia  Eve,  b.  14  Oct.,  1822,  m.  Jesse  C.  Buck,  res.  Nescopeck,  Col.  Co., 

Pa.,  b.  12  July,  1816;  their  4 ch.,  Mary  Alice,  b.  in  1849,  d.  in  1853; 
Charles  B..  b.  in  1850,  d.  in  1853;  Henry  T..  b.  3  June.  1854,  res.  2545 
Reese  St.,  Phila. ;  Jacot)  L.,  b.  2T  Oct.,  1855,  m.  in  1870,  Phoebe  Van 
Horn,  and  has  4  ch. 

VIII.  Rachel,  b.  25  July.  1823,  m.  in  1848,  John  Williams,  b.  23  May,  1821;  their 

ch.,  Milton  F.,  a  merchant  and  justice  of  peace  at  Nescopeck,  Col. 
Co.,  Pa.,  b.  26  Mar.,  1849.  m.  in  1873,  Alice  S.  Adams,  b.  25  Sep., 
1850,  and  has  5  ch. ;  Husan  Elizabeth,  b.  24  Sep.,  1850,  m.  in  1872, 
Oliver  E.  Yohey.  and  has  2  ch.;  Henry  Clay.  b.  23  Dec,  1851,  m. 
Susan  Smith;  Harriet    Maria,   b.  23  May,  1853,  m.  Eber  H.   Koth; 


V 


Ch.  of  Philip  Leidy  and  Henry  Melick.        707 

John    Wesley,   b.   6   Aug-.,   1855,  m.    Frankie  Creasy;  William  L.,   a 
teacher,  b.  15  Feb.,  1S6B. 
IX.    Nancy,  b.  15  Mch.,  1827,  d.  in  infancy. 

26.  X.    MARGARET,  m.  George  Wirtz,  of  Columbia  Co.,  Pa. 

27.  XI.    CATHERINE,   b.  in  Col.  Co..  Pa.,  27  Jan.,  1790,  d.  in  Phlla.,  28  May,  1825,  m. 

Philip,   son  of  Jacob  and  Catherine  Leldy,  b.  in  Hatfield  tp.,  Montgo- 
mery Co.,  Pa.,  5  Dec.,  1791,  d.  in  Phila.,  9  Oct.,  1862;  had  ch. 
I.    Peter,  b.  28  Dec.,  1819,  d.  29  Aufr.,  1820. 
II.    Catherine,  b.  7  Aug.,  1821,  d.  20  Nov.,  1822. 

III.  Joseph,  b.  9  Sep.,   1823,  m.  Anna,  dau.  of  Robert  Hai^en,  dec. ;  no  ch. 

M.    D.,  1844,   Univ.   Pa.;  LL.   D,   1886,    ITiiiv.   Harvard.      Prosector 

Anat.,  Prof.  Anat.  1853,  Univ.  Pa. . ;  Director  and  Prof.  Zoology 

and  Compar,  Anat.  Biological  Dept.  1884,  Univ.  Pa. . ;  Prof.  Nat. 

Hist.  Swarthmore  Coll.  1871-85;  P.  Faculty  Wagner  Free  Instit.  So. 
1885;  Demonstrator  Anat.  Franklin  Med.  Coll.  1847-52.  Memb. 
Acad.  Nat.  Sc.  Philad.  July.  1845,  P.  1882;  Amer.  Philos.  Soc.  Oct. 
1*49;  Amer.  Med.  Assoc.  1854;  Philad.  Co.  Med.  Soc;  Boston  Soc. 
Nat.  Hist.  1845;  New  York  Acad.  Sc.  1848;  Hesse  Nat.  Hist.  Soc.  1S48; 
Amer.  Acad.  Arts  and  Sc.  1849;  Biological  Soc.  Paris,  1851;  Moscow, 
Soc.  Naturalists.  1852;  Mons.  Soc.  Sc.  1854;  Elliot  Soc.  Nat.  Hist. 
Charleston,  S.  C.  18.55;  St.  Louis  Acad.  Sc.  1&56;  London  Zoological 
Soc.  1857;  Leopold  Carol.  Acad.  Sc,  Bonn,  1857;  Munich  Acad.  Sc. 
1858;  Prague  Bohem.  Acad.  Sc.  1860;  Zoological  and  Botan.  Soc. 
Vienna,  1861;  Econom.  Agricult.  Acad.  Florence,  1861;  Geological 
Soc.  London,  1863;  Nat.  Hist.  Soc.  Dublin.  1863;  National  Acad.  Sc. 
U.  S.  1863;  Ksse.x  Instit.  Salem.  Mass.  I8O6;  Linnoan  Soc.  London, 
1872;  Anthropological  Soc.  London,  1872;  Cherbourg  Soc.  Nat.  Sc. 
1873;  Nat.  Hist.  Soc.  Mexico,  1874;  Liverpool  Lit.  and  Philos.  Soo. 
1877;  Washington  Biological  Soc.  1884;  Copenhagen  Soc.  Sc.  1886. 
Pathologist  St.  Joseph's  Hosp.  1852;  Contract.  Surg.  U,  S.  A.  Gen- 
eral Hosp.  Philad.  1802-65.  Fellow  of  the  College  of  Physicians 
Philada.,  1851;  res.  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

IV.  Thomas,  b.  21  May,  1825,  d.  20  Apl.,  1870,  m.  13  Sep..   1849,  Rebecca,   dau. 

Joseph  Johns,  d.  in  1853. 

THIRD     GENERATION     (E.) 
Henry    Melick  (5)  had  7   ch. 

28.  I.    MARY,  b.  2  Aug.,  1790,  d.  0  May.  ISGO,  m.  2  Nov.,  1814,  Henry  Martin  Trembley, 

b.  25  Jan.,  1767,  d.  8  Jul.v,  1837;  had  5  ch. 
I.    John,  b.  24  July,  181.5,  d.  29  June.  1871.  had  4  daus.  and  4  sons,  all  dec. 
but  EUis  C.  res.  Council  Grove,  Morris  Co.,  Kansas,  and  William  A., 
res.  Alton,  Columbia  Co.,  Pa. 
II.    Henby,  b.  2  Dec,  1810,  d.  12  Feb.,  1878,  and  had  2  sons  and  4  daus.,  of 
which  are  living,   Elisha  P.,  Mary  B.,  Sarah  C,  who  m.  P.  Jacob!, 
res.  Afton,  Col.  Co..  Pa.,  and  Bernetta,  who  in.  G.  Mills,  res.  Afton, 
Col.  Co.,  Pa. 
m.    Sarah,  b.  14  Aug.,  1819,  d.  2  Sept..  1S37.  • 

rv.    William,  b.  9  Dec,  1822,  d.  25  Sept.,  1853,  m.,  no  ch. 

V.  Harriet,  b.  25  Mch.,  1825,  m.  24  Feb.,  1847,  David  Whitmlre,  who  lives  at 
Espy,  Col.  Co.,  Pa.,  and  was  b.  9  Nov.,  1820;  their  ch.,  Mary  Ellen,  b. 
24  Oct.,  1850,  m.  30  May,  1872;  William  B.  Dietliclc,  who  lives  at  Espy, 
Col.  Co.,  Pa.,  and  was  b.  28  Feb.,  1849;  Anna  Clara,  b.  28  Nov.,  1853,  d. 
in  infancy;  Myrtilla  6.,  b.  6  Aug.,  1857,  d.  in  infancy. 

29.  II.    SAMUEL,  b.  10  Feb.,  1796,  d.  13  Jan.,  1887,  ra.  first,  in  Feb.,  1820,  Sarah  Brown. 

b.  2  Feb.,  1795,  d.  6  Nov.,  1861;  m.  second,  in  1863,  Lavinia  Mosteller;  for 
5  ch.  see  p.  7ii. 

30.  III.    JOHN,  of  Light-Street,  Pa.,  b.  22  Jan.,   1799,   d.  11  Oct.,   1875,  m.  Martha 

Creveling,  b.  1  Feb.,  1799,  d.  2  Dec,  1853.    For  8  ch.  see  p.  711. 

31.  IV.    SUSAN,  m.  George  B.  Sloan,  of  Briar  Creek,  Col.  Co.,  Pa.,  b.  28  Aug.,  1802, 

d.  in  1858;  had  4  ch., 
I.    Samuel,  b.  26  Aug.,  1820,  d.  in  1843  by  being  drowned  in  the  Pa.  canal; 
he  was  a  merchant  at  Light-Street,  Pa. 
II.    Maby  Jane,  b.  in  1861,  m.  Joseph  Robblns,  who  lives  at  Greenwood, 
Pa. 


708  Ch.  of  G.  B.  Sloan,  Chester  Smith  &  Michael  Melick. 

in.  Margaret  B.,  m.  12  Oct.,  185.3,  Isaiah  Melick.  (60)  res.  Dixon,  lU.;  he 
was  born  0  Mch.,  18S4;  for  7  ch  see  p.  713. 

IV.  Martha  Elizabeth,  b.  13  Mch.,  18.35,  m.  8  Jan..  1858,  Henry  Wesley 
Creasy,  b.  »  Oct.,  183.5.  d.  30  Oct.,  1868;  her  res.  Bloomsburg,  Pa.; 
their  5  ch.,  Mary  Ellis,  b.  26  Mch.,  1859,  d.  in  infancy;  Wilbur  Fislc, 
twin,  b.  26  Mch.,  1859,  a.  in  infancy;  Sa))j«ei  «!/(o;i,  a  lumber  mer- 
chant of  Bloomsburg,  Pa.,  b.  21  Nov.,  1860;  Magyie  A.,  b.  IT  Feb., 
1867,  d.  9  Nov.,  1871;  George  Erlwiii,  b.  29  May,  1868,  d.  23  Sep.,  1868. 

32.  V.    RACHEL,  b.  6  Nov.,  1794,  d.  19  Sep.,  1875,  m.  Chester  Smith,  b.  30  Sep.,  1794,  d 

19  Aug.,  1805;  had  5  ch., 
I.    Miriam,  b.  3  Nov.,  I8r33,  m.  John  Kitgus,  res.  HuntersvlUe,  Lycoming 

Co.,  Pa. 
II.    Clarissa,  b.  11  June,  1825,  m.  John  Edgar,  res.  Trenton,  Col.  Co.,  Pa. 

III.  Martha,  b.  1  Sep.,  1826,  d.  1  Sep.,  1884,  m.  Jacob  Christian,  res.  Derrs, 

Col.  Co.,  Pa.,  and  has  7  sons  and  2  daus. 

IV.  Theodore  W.,  res.  Derrs,  Col.  Co.,  Pa.,  b.  30  May,  1821,  m.  12  Oct.,  1865, 

and  had  one  ch.,  Julia,  b.  5  Nov.,  1829,  unm.,  res.  Derrs,  Col.  Co., 
Pa. 
V.  Thomas  F.,  res.  Clifton,  Munro  Co..  N.  Y..  b.  21  July.  1833.  m.  12  May, 
1869.  Euphemia  Curtis,  dau.  of  Nathan  Tyler,  of  Sullivan  Co.,  N. 
Y. ;  a  clergyman,  graduated  in  1866  at  Lewisburg  University,  Pa.; 
and  has  2  ch. 

33.  VI.    DANIEL,  b.  1  Jan.,  1806,  m.  14  May,  1827,  Sarah,  dau.  of  John  Hazelett,  of 

N.  J.,  b.  in  1807,  d.  in  June,  1S6S.    For  8  ch.  see  p.  712. 

34.  VII.  SARAH,  m.  Asa  Evered. 

THIRD    GENERATION     (Ej. 

Michael  Melick    (6)    had  6  ch. 

35.  I.    MAKIE,  b.  10  Jan.,  1785,  d.  10  Aug.,  1870,  m.jJj'sr,  Captain,  afterwards  Com- 

modore Burbank,  of  the  U.  S.  Navy,  who  d.  at  Buenos  Ayres,  S.  A., 
about  1820;  he  was  an  officer  of  the  American  frigate  "Constitution" 
at  the  time  of  her  fight  with  the  British  ship  "Guerrier;"  she  m.  second, 
Jacob  Coats,  of  England;  no  ch. 

36.  II.    JOHANNES,  b.  20  May,  1787,  d.  in  Oct.,  1843,  m.  in  1819,  Julianna,  dau.  of  John 

Myers;  he  served  in  war  of  1812;  had  ch. 
I.    Christiana,  b.  20  Oct.,  1821.  dec,  m.  James  Croramie;  their  son  John's 

address  is  13  North  Tenth  Street,  Phila. 
II.    Catherine,  b.  2  Nov.,  1820,  m.  9  July,  1846,  Thomas  A.  Ward;  res.  244 
Juniper  Street,  Phila.,  b.  IT  Mch.,  1828;  has  one  ch.    Henry,  b.  2T 
May,  1851,  is  married  and  has  one  son. 

III.  Henry,  b.  16  July,  1829,  unm.,  res.  244  Juniper  St.,  Phila. 

IV.  Emma,  b.  2  Feb.,  1839,  m.  a  Mr.  Bryan;  res.  1743  North  13th  St.,  Phila.' 
3T.    III.    PETEK,  b.  28  Mch.,  1789,  d.  T  Mch..  1820,  m.  in  1815,  Susannah,  dau.  of  John 

Myers,  b.  in  1758,  d.  in  1833;  he  served  in  war  of  1812;  had  ch. 
I.    Catherine,  b.  18  June,  1810,  d.  in  infancy. 
II.  *Mary  Ann,  b.  3  Nov.,  1818,  d.  in  Infancy. 

III.    Juliana,  b.  IT  Jan.,  1820,  m.  James  Lee,  b.  in  1822,  d.  in  1883;  her  res. 
Too  South  15th  St.,  Phila. 

38.  IV.    AMELIA,  b.  13  Jan.,  1791,  d.  in  infancy. 

39.  V.    SAMUEL,  b.  about  1794.  d.  unm.,  final  audit  of  his  estate  was  dated  2d  July, 

182T;  served  in  war  of  1812. 

40.  VI.    CHRISTIANA,  b.  29  July,  1797,  d.   6  Jan.,  1881,   m.,  as  second  wife  (see  27), 

25  May,  1836,  Philip  Leidy,  b.  5  Dec,  1791,  d.  in  Phila.,  9  Oct.,  1862,  served 
in  war  of  1812;  had  ch. 
I.    Christiana  Taliana,  b.  22  Feb.,  1837,  d.  24  Oct.,  1878,  ra.  4  June,  1849, 
James     Cyrus    Umberger,    b.    in    1817,    d.     18     Sep.,    1855  ;    their 
2   ch.,  Caroline   Julia   who  m.    a  Mr.  Parker  and  lives    at    71T 
Spruce  St.,  Phila.,  James  Horace,  \}.  1852,  d.  in  1884;  res.  of  widow 
1636  North  8tb  St.,  Phila. 
n.    Francis,  b  14  Dec,  1828,  d.  3  June,  1856.  unm. 

HI.  Asher,  h.  3  July,  1830,  d.  6  July,  1878,  m.  14  ApL,  1851,  Almira,  dau.  of 
Henry  Lechler;  he  was  colonel  of  99th  Pa.  Hegt.,  Kearneys  Bri- 
gade, and  Brevet  Brigadier  General,  seriously  wounded  at  Fred- 


Ch.  of  Philip  Leidy  and  Henry  Malick.  709 

ericksburg.  Va.,  Dec,  1802;  their  2  ch.,  Philip  Henry,  h.  25  Oct.. 
1853;  Francis  James,  b.  14  Dec,  1856;  d.  in  1864. 

IV.    Helen,  b.  30  Sep.,  1333,  d.  3  Dec.  1839. 
V.    Catherine  Meligk.  b.  2«  Mch.,  1837,  d.  12  Aug.,  1839. 

VI.  Philip,  res.  526  Marshall  St.,  Phila.,  b.  29  Dec,  1838,  m.  IB  Feb.,  1865, 
Penelope  Maury,  dau.  of  Robert  Isaac  Watts  Polk,  of  Winchester, 
Va.  Philip  Leld.v  received  degree  of  M.D.  1859,  Univ.  Pa.  Memb. 
Medico-Chirurgical  Soc  P.  1868;  Amer.  Med.  Assoc  1670;  Philad. 
Co.  Med.  Soc.  18T6;  Med.  Soc  State  Pa.  1878;  Juniata  Valley  Med. 
Soc.  1882;  Med.  Jurisprudence  Soc.  Philad.  1883;  Neurological  Soc 
Philad.  1886;  Northern  Med.  Soc  Philad.  P.  1885.  Resid.  Phys. 
Philad.  Hosp.  1SJ9-61;  Surg-.  U.  S.  Vol.  1861-65;  U.  S.  Exam.  Surg,  for 
Pensions  1866-70;  Port  Phys.  Philad.  1874-83;  Consult.  Phys.  Home 
for  Incurables  1875-78;  Consult.  Phys.  Odd  Fellows'  Home  1878-87; 
Phys.  in  Chief,  Philad.  Hosp.  Insane  Dept.,  1886;  Consult.  Phya. 
Philad.  Hosp.  for  the  Insane,  1887;  Memb.  (Sectional)  Board  of 
Education.  Fellow  of  the  College  of  Physicians  of  Philada.,  Con- 
sultinir  Physician  Masonic  Home.  Odd  Fellows'  Orphanage.  Medi- 
cal Directors,  Dept.  of  Shenandoah,  Va.,  1864.  Member  of  the 
Military  Order  of  the  Loyal  Legion  of  the  United  States  and 
Grand  Array  of  the  Republic,  Soc.  Army  of  Potomac,  etc.,  etc,, 
etc.;  their  ch.,  Joseph,  b.  U  Apl.,  1806;  .James  Fontaine  Polk,  b.  10 
Jan..  1869,  d.  in  infancy;  Clarence  Maury,  b.  38  June.  1873;  Gertrude 
ffarioooa.  b.  31  Oct.,  1879.;  katherine  Meliclc.  b.  2  May,  1882. 

FOURTH   GENERATION   (E). 

Henry  Malick  (lo)  had  5  ch. 

41.  I.    SOPHIA  JANE.  b.  35  Apl..  1827,  d.  25  Aug.,  18*3. 

42.  II.    CATHERINE,  b.  29  Dec,  1828,  d.  26  Mch.,  18o7,  m.  Luther  Wright,  of  West 

Mill  Creek;  had  3  ch., 
I.    Henky,  lives  at  Battle  Creek,  Mich. 

43.  III.    SAMUEL  BARRIS.  b.  13  Sep.,  1830,  d.  in  California  30  June.  1871.  just  after 

his  marriage;  no  ch. 

44.  IV.    JOHN  WESLEY,   res.  Platea,   Erie  Co.,  Pa.,  b.  27  May,  1134,  m.  7  Sep.,  1854, 

Eraeline  Johnson,  of  Springfield,  Pa. ;  has  5  ch., 
I.    Ida,  d.  when  27  years  old. 
[I.    Samuel  W..  of  Huntington,  W.  Virginia. 

III.  Frank,  b.  9  Apl.,  1867.  m.  12  May,  1888,  Mary,  dau.  of  Michael  B.  Bain, 

of  ConneautviUe,  Pa.,  b.  in  1850. 

IV.  Maud. 
V.    George. 

45.  V.    HENRY  PRESTON,  b.  23  Aug..  1837,   d.  4  Nov.,   1888,  m.  24  Dec,   1861,  Lucy, 

dau.  of  Ethan  Loveridge,  of  Girard,  Pa.,  where  she  now  resides,  b.  11 
Jan.,  18:K;  hadSch.. 
I.    C-4.ROLINE  Elizabeth,  b.  6  Feb.,  1864. 
II.    Grace  Adelia,  b.  19  Feb.,  1865. 
III.  Herbert  Preston,  b,  31  July,  1866. 

FOURTH     GENERATION     (E.) 

Jacob  Melick  (ig)  had   13  ch. 

46.  I.    NORMAN  L.,  b.  20  Feb.,  1838,  d.  16  July,  18.32. 

47.  II.    BEBNETTA.  b.  39  July,  1839,  d.  15  Oct.,  1880,  m.  10  May,  1848,  George,  son  of 

Rev'd  George  Boyd,   D.  D.,  of  Phila.,  b.  16  Nov.,   1S26,  d.  17  Nov.,  1885; 
had  9  ch., 
I.    George  Jacob,  b.  28  Apl., 18  49,  a.  16  Mch.,  1850. 
II.    Elizabeth  Livingston,  b.  8  Oct..  I860,  d.  5  Dec,  1S55. 

III.  WiLLET  Livingston,  res.  309  North  Water  St.,  Phila..  b.  20  Feb.,  1856, 

m.  20  May,  I8811,  Sophia,  dau.  of  James  C.  Allen,  of  Phila..  and  have 
3  ch.,  Catherine  Allen,  b.  38  Dec,  1882;  Livingston,  b.  6  June,  1887,  d. 
in  infancy,  and  Bernetta,  b.  10  Aug.,  1888.* 

IV.  George  Melick,  M.  D..  b.  11  .\ug.,  1861,  res.  1702  N.  10  St.,  Pliila.;  grad- 

uated in  1882  at  the  University  of  Pa. ;  now  practicing  medicine. 


710     Ch.  of  Jacob  and  P.  Melick  of  Light-Street,  Pa. 

V.    Robert  Thomas,  b.  22  May,  1863,  res.  1702  N.  16  St.,  Phila. 
VI.    Agses  Ellis,  b.  17  July.  1865. 
VII.    Sarah  Smdckeb,  b.  11  June,  1868. 
VIII.    Jacob  Melick.  b.  6  Jan..  1870. 
IX     Bersetta  Clingman,  b.  19  June.  1875.  d.  3  Feb.,  1888. 

48.  m.    CAMPASPA.  b.  in  Nov.,   18.30,   d.  8  July,  1876,  m.  In  May.  1849,  George  H. 

Ha^enbuch,  res.  Williamsport,  Pa.,  b.  25  June.  1825;  had  7  ch. 
I     Aletha  E.,  b.  6  Jan..  1851,  m.  27  Nov.,  1877,  Ellis  H.  Masters,  res.  East 
Orange,  N.  J.,  b.  30  Oct.,  1846,   and  has  2  ch.,  George  LaRue,  b.  24 
June,  1880.  and  Mabel  b.  20  Sep.,  1883. 
II.    As  infant  son,  b.  in  1852,  d.  in  18S4. 

ni     Martha  M.,  b.  16  Feb..  1837,  m.  6  June,  1878,  Charles  W.  Hiles,  res., 
■Williamsport,  Pa.,  b.  24  Apl.,  1843,  and  hasl  ch.,  Miriam  b.  2  Aug.,  1879. 
IV.    Clotilda  B.,  b.  31  Jan.,  1859. 
V.    Caroline  M.,  b.  1  July,  1865. 
VI.    Kathbcs,  b.  17  Oct.,  1868. 
Vn.    Nettie,  b.  7  Apl.,  1873,  d.  in  infancy. 

49.  IV.    MIHANDA,  b.  13  Sep.,  18-32,  d.  S2  Dec,  1835. 
60.    V.    LUTHEK.  b.  13  Dec.,  1S34,  d.  2  Dec,  1835, 

61     VI.    ELIZABETH  SARAH,  b.  5  Oct..  18-36,  d.  31  Mar.,  1877,  m.  7  May,  1856,  Solomon 
Sraucker,  res.  Phila.,  b.  22  June,  1830;  had6ch. 
I.    Edwin  M.,  b.  19  Feb.,  18.37,  m.  Emma,  dau.  of  Charles  Scott,  of  Phila.. 

res.  1811  Hart  St.,  Phila. 
n.    John  B.,  b.  8  July,  1859, 
m.    Bessie,  b.  21  Nov.,  1861. 

IV.    BENETT.i.  b.  24  Nov.,  1870,  and  2  oh.  d.  In  Infancy. 
52.    vn.    WILHELMINA,  b.  20  Apl.,  1839,  d.  23  Jan.,  1S42. 

5.3.    Vm.    SAMANIHA,  b.  22  Jan.,  1841,  m.  21  Apl.,  1864,  Darlington,  I.  Brown,  res. 
Light-Street,  Pa.,  and  has  2  ch. 
I.    Mary  Ella,  b.  14  July,  1868. 
IL    Jacob  Melick,  b.  8  Oct.,  1870. 

54.  IX.    PULASKI,  res.  Lipht-Street,  Col.  Co.,  Pa.,  b.  2  Mch.,  1843.  m.  6  Dec,  1866, 

Cecilia,  dau.  of  Benjamin  Thornton,  b.  13  Sep.,  1844;  had  one  child,  I. 
WiLLET  S„  b.  18  June,  1868 

55.  X.    ORION,  res.  Light-Street,  Col.  Co.,   Pa.,  b.  21  Mch.,  1845,  m.  7  June,  1831, 

Sarah,  dau.  of  James  Backman,  b.  16  Sep.,  1867;  no  ch, 

56.  XI.    QUITIMA,  b.  in  1847,  d.  in  infancy. 

57.  XII.    LEONI,  counsellor-at-law,  of  Phila.,  b.  5  May,  1851,  unm. 

58.  XIII.    RACHEL,  b.  in  1853,  d.  in  infancy. 

FOURTH     GENERATION    (E). 
Peter  Melick    (20)    had    13    ch. 

59.  I.    JACOB  B.,  res.  Lyons.  Iowa,  b.  7  Oct.,  1820,  m.  Jlrst  16  June  1842,  Mary,  dau 

of  Adam  Hilliard,  who  d.  21  Sep.,  1831;  second,  1  Feb.,  18-52,  Martha,  dau. 
of  Benjamin  F.  Keeser;  for  5  ch.  see  p.  713. 

60.  IL    ISAIAH  S.,  res.  Dixon,  111.,  b.  6  Mch.,  1824,  m.  12  Oct.,  1853,   Margaret  B. 

Sloan;  for  7  ch.  see  p.  713. 

61.  III.    DELILAH,  b.  21  Nov.,  1825,  d.  in  Feb.,  1865,  m.  7  Apl.,  1847,   Andrew  Best, 

of  Col.  Co.,  Pa.,  his  present  res.  Lock  Haven,  Pa.,  had  ch. 
I.    Mary  M.,  b.  in  Clinton  Co.,  Pa.,  in  August,  1848,  m.  in  Dec,  18te,  G.  W. 
Macdonald.  of  same  Co.,  b.  5   Sep.,  1845,  res.   Atchison,   Kansas; 
their  ch.,  AUason  A.,  b.  in  July,  187.3.  and  George,  b.  in  Apl.,  1880. 
IL    Peter  Melick.  les.  Kansas  City,  Mo.,  b.  in  Clinton  Co.,  Pa.,  24  July. 
1852,  m.  22  June,  1887,  EUa  M.  Cole,  dau.  of  H.  C.  Cole,  of  Lawrence. 
Kansas,  b.  in  Charlestown,  Mass.;  has  one  ch.,  EUa  M.,b.  24  Bee. 
1888. 
rtL    Bernetta  Bachael.  b.  in  Clinton  Co.,  Pa.,  14  Dec,  1854,  d.  7  May,  1877, 
in    Kansas    City.   Mo.,  m.  to  George  Robinson,  b.  i  n  Maine,  d. 
in  Mo.  31  Dec,  1849;  tbey  left  one  ch.  George. 
rv.    Lloyd  Byron,  res.  Ogdea,  Utah  Terr.,  b.  4  Sep.,  1856,  unm. 
V.    Lily  Ellek.  b.  in  Clinton  Co.,  Pa.,  9  Jan.,  1863,  m.  31  Dec.  1835,  in  Mo.. 
D.  L.  M.  Reanes,  b.  in  1859,  res.  Kansas  City,  Mo.,  has  one  ch.,  Ruth 
Jelilan.  b.  31  Oct.,  1886. 


Ch.  of  Samuel  and  John  Melkk.  711 

62.  IV,    PETEH  B..  res.  Lock  Haven,  Pa.,  b.  28  July,  1827,  m.  H  June,  1862,  Mary  Eliza- 

beth dau.  of  Judsfe  John  J.  Dentler;  bad  ch., 

I.  Nellie  G.,  b.  5  Apl.,  1863. 

II.    Mary,  b.  24  Nov.,  1866,  d.  29  Jan.,  1867. 
III.    Blanche,  b.  3  Nov.,  1868.  d.  1  Aug.,  1863. 

63.  V.    RACHEL  B.,  b.  26  Apl.,  1820,  m.  Kev.  E.  H.   Waring,   res.  Oskaloosa.  Iowa. 

had  two  ch.,  Edmnna,  who  is  deceased,  and  Raclii'l  B. 

64.  VI.    CHARLES  FOREST,  b.  31  Jan.,  1831,  d.  3Mch.,  1854,  at  Moscow,  Virginia,  by 

the  explosion  of  a  cannon. 

65.  Vn.    HIRAM  B.,  b.  2T  Feb.,  18.3.3,  res.  Wllliamsport,  Pa. 

66.  VIII.    ANNA  MARGARET,  b.  26  Aug.,  1835,  m.  Dauiel  Shane,  res.  Burns.  La 

Cross  Co    Wis 

67.  IX.    PHEBE  S.,  b.  8  Mch.,  1837,  ra.  23  Feb..  1860,   Zeboth  Oman,  res.  Burr  Oak, 

Michigan,  li.  5  Jan.,  1835;  had  ch., 
1.    Ella  Margaret,  b.  6  Aug.,  1861,  m.  29  May,  1883,   Freemont  Burk- 
holder,  res.  Goshen,  Indiana,  b.  7  Dec.  1856. 
II.    Alta  Catherine,  b.  13  Nov.,  1863,  m.  7  Oct..  1884.  Delzon  Crooks,  res. 
Goshen,  Indiana,  b.  5  July.  1854. 

III.  Mary  Dell,  b.  6  Oct..  1865. 

IV.  Ada  Rachel,  b.  12  Oct..  1867. 
V.    Samuel  Willis,  b.  8  Feb.,  1870. 

VI.    Mabel  May,  b.  27  May.  1878. 

68.  X.    ABNER  D.,  res.  Los  Angeles,  Cal.,  b.  2  Dec,  1838,  unm. 

69.  XI.    LA  VINA  I.,  b.  6  Nov..  184i>.  ra.  1  Jan.,  1870,  Dr.  Henry  Adam  Hendrix,  res. 

New  Freedom,  York  Co.,  Pa.,  b.  2.>  Jan.,  1828. 

70.  XII.    WILSON  D.,  res.  Sunbury,  Pa.,   b.  19  Oct.,   1S42,   ra.  28  Mch..   1867.   Sarah 

Josephine,  dau.  of  Joseph  Brlttaln.  of  Luzerne  Co.,  Pa.;  had  ch.,  I. 
Olive  Logan,  b.  20  Nov.,  1868;  II.  Ralph  Lashell,  b.  in  Jan.,  1872; 
III.  Charles  Forest,  b.  10  Oct.,  1874;  IV.  Anna  Mauqaret,  b.  24  May. 
1876;  V.  Hauhy  Vincent,  b.  8  June,  1880;  VL  George  Ottis,  b.  30 
Jan.,  1885. 

71.  XIII.    MARY  CATHERINE,  b.  18  Aug..  1844.  d.  in  1857. 

FOURTH    GENERATION     (E). 
Samuel   Melick   (29)  had  5  ch. 

72.  I.    JULIA  A.,  b.  8  Apl..  1821,  m.  12  Dec,  1842,  Joseph  E.  Barkley ;  had  3  ch.. 

I.    Sarah,  b.  23  Feb..  1844,  m.  in  1869,  Chester  S.  Ferman. 

II.  Gloveina,  b.  9  Jan.,  1848,  ra.  in  1870,  Ellas  R.  Ferman. 
III.    Clara  J.,  b.  21  Jan.,  1860,  d.  23  Sep.,  1880. 

73.  II.    ALMIRA.  b.  17  Feb.,  1827,  m.  23  Jan..  1850.  John  A.  Funston,  now  prea.  of  the 

Bloomsburg  Banking  Co„   of  Columbia  Co..  Pa.,   b.  9  Feb..  1820;  had  3 
ch.. 
I.    Miretta  Sarah,  b.  17  Jan..  1851,  m.  1  Jan..  1878,   Paul  E.  Wirt;  their 
ch.,  Karl  F.,  b.  11  Oct.,  1878;  Pauline,  b.  24  Apl..  1881.  and  Max  Es- 
terly.  b.  9  Nov..  1885.  d.  in  infancy. 
II.    EvA  Lilian,  b.  26  June.  1855,  m.  24  Nov.,  1880,  H.  O.  Bodgers.  res.  Haz- 
leton.  Pa.;  their  ch..  Estella,  b.  in  July.  1887.   and  Kenneth  F.,  b.  11 
Sep..  1888. 
III.    Charles  Wesley,  b.  10  Jan.,  1859,  unm. 

74.  III.    JAMES  D..  res.  2219  South  Broad  St.,  Phlla.,  b.  12  Sep.,  1829,  m.  in  1851,  Har- 

riet Bettle,  of  Wilkes-Barra.  Pa.,  and  has  4  ch. 

75.  IV.    WESLEY',  a  physician  of  Osage,  Vernon  Co.,  Mo.,  b.  13  Nov.,  1831,  m.  8  June, 

1859,  Mary,  dau.  of  Leonard  Dodge,  b.  24  Sep.,  1840;  had  9  ch., 
I.    Anna  B..  b.  29  Aug..  18C0.  m.  Confetantine  T.  Whitfield,  and  has  3  ch. : 
II.  Leonard,   b.  in  1862;  III.  Victor,  b.  In  1867;  IV.  Prince,  b.  in 
1869  ;  V.  Ida,  b.  in  1871;  VI.  Laila,  b.  in  1874;  VII.  Unis.  b.  in  1876; 
VIII.  Effie,  b.  in  1878;  IX.,  Beula,  b.  in  1881 

76.  V.    WILLIAM  B.,  b.  17  Apl.,  1835,  m.  Mary  Bracken,  of  Phlla. 

FOURTH     GENERATION     (E). 
John  Melick  (30)  had  8  ch. 

77.  I.    JUSTUS  A.  (Rev.),  born  at  Light-Street,  Pa.,  11  March.  1323,  d.  at  Harriaburg. 

22  March,  1880,  m.  jtrst,  29  Oct..  1851,  Emeline  E.,  dau.  of  John  Patchin, 


712  Ch.  of  Rev.  Justus  and  Daniel  Melick. 

of  Clearfield  Co.,  Pa.,  d,  5  Aug.,  1862;  m.  second,  22  June,  1864,  Ann 
Duiiraire,  of  McVeytown.  Pa.,  who  lives  at  800  Elder  street,  Harris- 
burg,  Pa.  After  being  educated  at  Harford,  Pa.,  Academy,  and  at 
Genessee  Wesleyan  Seminary,  at  Lima.  N.  Y.,  he  in  1848  entered  the 
Methodist  ministry,  supplying  successive  pulpits  in  Pa.  and  N.  J. 
until  1877,  when  he  was  incapacitated  by  ill  health  from  further  work 
•  in  the  itinerancy.  All  testimony  concurs  in  naming  Mr.  Melick's 
ministry  as  being  of  great  value  and  helpfulness  to  his  several 
charges.  His  biographer  mentions  hira  as  a  mighty  exhorter  who 
had  wonderful  fervency  and  liberty  in  prayer,  and  says  that  his  char- 
acter was  built  upon  solid  pillars  of  integrity  and  domed  over  with 
a  cheerful,  constant  faith  in  God.  "  While  he  was  broad  enough  to 
appreciate  and  admire  with  fraternal  regard  tUe  character  and  work 
of  other  denominations,  he  was  a  thorough  Methodist.  He  loved  the 
doctrines  and  enjoyed  the  experience,  and  glorified  the  polity  and 
emulated  the  heroic  examples  which  have  given  distinction  to 
Methodism.  Living  a  quiet,  peaceful  life  in  all  godliness  and  hon- 
esty, fulfilling  his  ministry  amid  the  toils  of  the  itinerancy  with  zeal 
and  effectiveness,  never  striving  for  place  or  power,  unpretentious, 
genuine  and  true,  our  brother  has  left  behind  him  an  influence  and  a 
name  which  will  not  soon  be  forgotten."  Had  ch. 
I.    Mary,  b.  13  Dec,  1856,  m.  27  Apl.,  1885,  George  B.  Dunmire,  M.  D.,  res. 

1116  Arch  St.,  Phlla.,  Pa. ;  no  ch. 
II.    John  P..  res.  802  North  Second  St.,  Harrisburg,  Pa.,  Deputy  Prothon- 
otary  and  Clerk  of  Courts,  b.  18  Aug.,   1868.  m.  20  Oct.,   1887,  Eliza- 
beth K.,  dan.  of  Joseph  M.  Black,  of  Harrisburg,  Pa. 
III.    Emma,  b.  31  Jan.,  1861.  res.  800  Elder  St.,  Harrisburg,  Pa. 

78.  II.    HAKRIET,  b.  32  Aug.,  182.5,  m.  in  1SS.3,  James  W.  Sankey,  b.  in  1833,  res.  253 

Boas  St.,  Harrisburg,  Pa.,  and  has  one  ch.,  Emma,  b.  in  1861. 

79.  III.    HENRY,  res.  Atalissa,  Muscatine  Co.,  Iowa,  b.  20  Sep.,  1827,  m.  16  Oct.,  1851, 

Martha  A.,  dau.  of  George  Wirt,  b.  2  Oct.,  1831;  had  1  ch., 
I.    Millard  Fillmore,  b.  5  Nov.,  185.3,  m.  20  Dec,  1877,  Nina  M,  Barka- 

low. 
II.    John  Warren,  b.  5  Sep.,  1855,  ra.  5  Sep.,  1870,  Mollie  A.  Croxcn. 

III.  Justus  A.,  b.  5  Sep.,  1857,  m.  23  Dec,  1886,  Eva  Kline. 

IV.  Tanta  B.,  b.  15  July,  1864. 

80.  IV.    CHARITY  LOUISA,  b.  27  Aug.,  1829,  d.  13  June,  1349, 

81.  V.    JOHN  NELSON,  res.  Miner's  Run,  Clinton  Co.,  Pa.,  b.  23  Dec,  1832,  ra.  and 

has  3  ch. 

82.  VI.    MARTHA  JANE,  b.  2  Oct.,  1834,  d.  in  March,  1879,  m.  a  Mr.  Mead,  and  had 

one  ch..  Bertha,  who  ra.  John  Barnet.  a  merchant  of  Schickshiny. 

83.  VII.    MARGARET  EMILY,  b.  2  Apl..  1836,  d.  17  Jan.,  1842, 

84.  VIII.    EMMA,  b.  15  Feb.,  1844,  m.  30  Jan.,   1807,   Joiin  M.  C.  Ranck,  lawyer,  res. 

Light-Street,  Col.  Co.,  Pa.,  b.  19  April,  1831 ;  had  4  ch. 
I.    Harriet   Alwilda,    b,   17    Oct.,    1868,    II.  Horatio    Pierce,    b.    8 
Dec,    1870;  III.   John  Handley,    b.   9   Dec,    1879;   IV.    Edward 
Melick,  b.  10  May,  1885. 

FOURTH     GENERATION. 

Daniel  Melick  {33)  had  8ch. 

85.  I,    HARVEY,  res.  Shlloh,  Ohio,  b.  5  June,  1829,  m.  16  Sep.,   1852.  Elizabeth,  dan. 

of  Frederic  Smalley,  of  Cumberland  Co.,  Pa. ;  had  one  dau.,  b.  22  Mch., 
1854,  who  is  married  ar^d  has  2  ch. 

86.  II.    MARY,  b.  27  Aug.,  1831,  unm. 

87.  III.    AMANDA,  b.  25  July,  1830. 

88.  IV.    ARAMINTA,  b.  5  Jan.,  18:38,   m.  18  Dec,   1860,   Jacob  Kaylor;  res.   Shiloh, 

Ohio;  had  4ch.;3  sons  and  1  dau. 

89.  V.    VIRGINIA,  b.  8  Nov.,  1840,  m,  17  Sep.,  1868,  William  Baldwin,  res.  Shiloh, 

Ohio. 

90.  VI.    BENSON,  b.  5  Mar.,  1843,  d.  in  the  Union  Army  3  Sep.,  1864. 

91.  VII.    ALVERNON,   b.  28  Feb.,  1846,  m.  21  Sep.,  1860,  Orville  Squires,  res.  Green. 

wich,  Huron  Co..  Ohio,  b.  27  Mch..  133",  in  Steuben  Co..  N.  Y.;  had  ch.; 
I.  Wilbur  B.,  b.  11  June,  1872;  II.  Roy  S.,  b.  25  July,  1876,  res. 
Ganges,  Ohio. 


Ch.  of  Jacob  B.  and  Isaiah  Melick.  713 

92.  VIII.    SARAH,  res.  Ganeres,  C,  b.  24  Oct.,  1864,  m.  31  Dec,  188S,  Joseph  Hlsey,  b. 

10  June,  1833;  their  Ich.,  Beulah,  b.  27  Jan.,  1887. 

FIFTH      GENERATION     (E.) 

Jacob  B.   Melick  (59)  had  3  ch  by  first  wife. 

93.  I.    STEWAKT  PIERCE,  res.  Dallas  Center,  Iowa,  b.  0  Aug.,  1R44,  ra.  25  Feb.,  1869, 

Augusta  H.,  dau.  of  Charles  P.  Partridge,  of  De  Kalb  Co.,  III. ;  had  ch. 
I.    Mary  Alice,  b.  14  Oct.,  1870,  d.  33  Dec,  1872. 
II.    LODIS  Earle,  b.  27  Dec.  1871. 

III.  Jay  B.,  b.  G  Sep..  187.3,  d.  In  infancy. 

IV.  Martha  Augusta,  b.  5  May,  1876. 
V.    Charles  Stewart,  b.  3, Feb.,  1879. 

94.  II.    SARAH  E.,  b.  7  Oct.,  1846,  ra.  16  June,  1870,  WiUlard  Ives  Tripp,  of  Water- 

town,  N.  Y.,  present  res.  1622  South  11th  St.,  Omaha,  Neb.,  b.  25  June, 
1842;  had  0  ch. 
I.    Frank  S.,  b.  36  May.  1871,  d.  In  infancy. 
II.    Robert  B.,  b.  8  Sep.,  1873. 
ni.    George  W.,  b.  19  July,  1875. 
IV.    Nelly  May,  b.  28  Aug-..  1878,  d.  In  infancy. 
V.    Albert  Lee,  b.  34  May.  1«81,  d.  in  infancy. 
VI.    Lewis  E.,  b.  21  Aug.,  1883. 

95.  in.    JOLILA,  b.  7  Dec,  1849,  d.  18  Sep.,  1831. 

Jacob  B.,  (59)  had  2  ch.  by  second  wife. 

96.  I.    EDGAR  B.,  b.  2  Jan.,  1854'  d.  21  July,  1885, 

97.  II.    LULU  M..  b.  6  June,  1858,  ra.  3  Jan.,  1888,  Stephen  Porter  Harlan,  of  Cecil 

Co.,  Md.,  present  rea.  Rincou,  New  Mexico,  where  he  Is  supt.  of  bridges 
and  buildings  of  A.  T.  and  S.  F.  R.  R.,  b.  2  Dec,  1848;  had  one  ch. 
I.    Jacob  Melick,  b.  17  Oct.,  1888. 

FIFTH     GENERATION     (E.) 

Isaiah  Melick  (60)  had  7  ch. 

98.  I.    BYRON,  b.  21  Feb.,  1854,  d.  In  Aug.,  1856. 

99.  n.    OTTIS.  res.   Adrian,   Minnesota,  b.   16  Nov.,  1855,    ni.  in   Mch.,  1886,  Emma 

Keese,  ot  Dodgeville,  Wis. 

100.  III.    LILLIE,  b.  28  June,  1859.  d.  In  Chicago,  where  she  held  a  position  as  teacher 

and  stenographer,  24  Oct..  1855. 

101.  IV.    ABRO  P.,  b.  G  Sept..  1800,  d.  12  Dec,  18C1. 

102.  V.    WALTER  SCOTT,  res.  Neenach.  Los  Angeles  Co.,  Cal.,  b.  13  Mch..  1863,  grad- 

uated at  Northern  Illinois  Normal  College,  and  Is  now  In  the  Stocky 
Bond,  and  Real  Estate  business  in  Los  Angeles, 

103.  VI.    MATTIE  E.,  b.  Vi  Mch.,  1866,  d,  20  Jan.,  1853. 
10*.    VII.    CLYDE  M.,  b.  29  Nov.,  1669. 


ADDENDA. 


The  monument  to  be  seen  in  the  foreground  of  the  illustration  of  the  Evangelical 
Head  Church  at  Bendorf  onthe  Rhine  (page  92)  was  erected  by  the  municipality  in 
honor  of  soldiers  from  that  place,  who  served  in  the  war  of  1770-71  against  France. 
A  marble  tablet  records  that  among  others  whom  the  shaft  Is  Intended  to  honor  is 
Carl  MOllch  of  the  3d  HohenzoUern  Regiment,  who,  being  wounded  at  the  bloody 
battles  of  Gorze  and  Metz,  on  the  fourteenth  and  eighteenth  of  August,  1870,  died 
on  the  eighth  of  October,  at  the  military  hospital  in  the  Castle  of  Engers. 


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':Si^MSm^^4i 


INDEX. 


ABEL  ANDREAS.  Senr.,  90 
Aberdeen,  Earl  of,  131 

Adams.  John,  letter  to  Gtn.  Lee.  339:  protests 
against  liquor  selling-.  620 

Achter  Koll.  193 

Addison,  as  a  friond  of  Gov.  Robt.  Hunter,  44 

Agricultural  implements  of  last  century,  235 

Affriculture  in  las^t  century,  231 

Ahanderbamock.  184 

AlbigenBes.  24 

Alcide.  arrival  of  pbip.  204 

Alexander,  James.  ICO.  186 

Alexander.  Marj-.  93 

Alexander,  William,  160;  (see  Lord  Stirling) 

Allen,  Bill,  tavern-keeper,  3 

Allen,  Judge  George,  661 

Allen,  Lt.  Col.  Isaac.  558 

Allen,  Robert  and  Joseph.  263.  269 

Allen.  William,  267.  268 

Allied  armies  in  N.  J.,  535 

Altenkirchen.  68 

American  landscapes,  15 

American  Society  for  the  promotion  of  tem- 
perance, 623 

Amnesty  offered  by  British,  327, 328 

Amsterdam,  classis  of,  252 

Amusements.  239.  429,  432 

Anburey.  Lieut.  Thomas,  357,  367 

Anchor-chains,  when  invented,  50 

Anderson,  John,  173 

Anderson,  Thomas.  562 

Andre,  Major  John.  527 

Andross,  Gov.  Edmund,  M8 

Anhalt,  Zerbest.  troops  from  3»4,  356 

Annapolis  Convention, 551 

Anndriessen  Lourens,  118, 191 

Anne,  Queen,  connection  with  German  Emi- 
gration. 38.  40,  44 ;  charters  St.  James' 
church,  Piscataway,  198;  encourages  slave 
trade,  220 

Annin,  Samuel.  595 

Anspa«h,  its  political  history,  68 

Anspach-Beyreuth,  troops  from.  351.  353,  3M, 
356 

Appelman,  John,  of  ZionCh.,  87;  will  of.  93; 
of  St.  Paul's  Ch.,  91 ;  summoned  by  Council 
of  safety.  430 

46 


Appelman,  Tice,  430 

.\pple-jack  introduced  in  N.  J..  615 

Architectui-e.  Colonial,  the  old  stone  house 
16.  153;  Phila.  dwellings  in  1735.  54;  State- 
house  and  Christ  church,  Phila.,  55,  56; 
Karitau  dwellings  in  1752.  175;  Low  Man- 
sion at  Raritan  Landing,  l^O;  op  de  Mill- 
stone Church  in  1752.  181;  Ross  Hall,  189; 
Perth  .\mboy  examples.  210.  211.  First  Bed- 
minster  Ch.  265. 

ArmaMd's  Light-corps.  367 

Arwis  and  Accoutrements  in  Revolution.  332, 

333.  335.  311.  405 

Armstrong,  Major  Pvichard.  503.  508 

Ainistrong,  Rev.,  445 

Armj',  BurgojTie's,  German  contingent  of  .^7 ; 
Hesse  Hanan  Artillery.  364:  at  Cambridge, 
367;  Lincoln  at  capture  of,  411;  surrender 
of,  449;  artillerj-  taken  with,  454 

Army.  Clinton's,  retreat  from  Phila.,  450; 
embarks  at  Sandy  Hook,  451 :  march 
through  Elizabeth  in  1780.  521,  523;  evacu- 
ates N.  J  ,525:  provincial  officers  in.  557 

Army.  French,  arrival  of  in  1780.  526;  in  West- 
chester in  1781,  534 ;  across  X.  J.  to  Virginia 
536-40;  iiniforms.  536;  appearance  of.  5'J8 

Army,  Howe's   arrives   in    N.   Y.  harbor   in 

1776.  312;  at  battle  of  Long  Island.  315;  at 
Dobbs  Ferry  in  1776.317;  first  occupies  N 
J.,  319:  in  Piscataway,  323  ;  thieving  and 
outrages  of,  322,  324,  327.  365.  493:  strength 
at  Head  of  Elk.  368;  strength  at  Assunpint, 
372;  at  Bound  Brook  in  1777,  408;  in  Somer- 
set in  June,  1777.  416;  evacuates  New  Jersey 
in  1777,  422;  enters  Virginia  Capes  in  '77 
427:  provincial  officers  in.  557 

Army.  Lee's.  332,  334.  340, 343. 

Army,  Washington's,  strength  of,  at  Cam- 
bridge. 291:  strength  of,  in  Aug..  1776.  313; 
at  battle  of  Long  Island.  315;  enters  N,  J. 
in  1776.  318;  retreat  through  N.  J..  319  to 
322;  strength  of  in  Dec.  1776.  322;  entering 
Phila.  in  1777. 333:  strength  20  Dec.  1776,347; 
march  from   Trenton    to  Morristown   in 

1777,  371:  at  Assunpink,  372;  at  battle  of 
Princeton,  377;  at  Valley  Forge,  374;  march- 
ing down  the  Millstone,  381.  3«2;  in  Plucka- 


722 


Ikdex. 


min  after  Princeton,  383;  at  MorristowTi  in 
lin.  390,  392:  different  poBta  in  spring  of  1777, 
401 ;  condition  in  Feb.  1777,  404 ;  receives  new 
arms  in  April.  1777,  4(fi:  strength  of.  May. 
1777,414;  at  Middlebrook  in  I777.'416-422:eat 
Quibbletown.  420;  in  a  rainstorra.  423; 
marching  down  the  Delaware  in  1777,  427; 
elf ect  of  campaign,  448 ;  at  New  Bninswlck. 
July.  1778.  452 :  at  Camp  Middlebrook  in 
1779.  4.54-492;  condition  in  1779.  457;  at 
Morriatown  in  1780,  612-624;  itfl  extremity 
in  1780,  514 ;  executions,  489.  520. 531 ;  strength 
in  May  and  June.  1780,  521 ;  winter  quarters 
of  1781.  528,  mutmies  of.  529,  531,  548;  com- 
bines with  French  army  in  Westchester, 
534;  across  N.  J.  to  Virginia,  635;  at  York- 
town.  MO;  disbanding:  of.  547 

Arnold.  Benedict.  368.  527.  532 

Arrosmith,  Nicholas.  597 

Arrosmith.  William,  611 

Araold.  Capt.  Jacob.  394 

Arthur.  Rev.  Thomas,  193 

Artillery,  attempted  capture  of  at  King's 
Ferry.  454 

Artillery  Brigade  uniforms.  462 

Asgill.  Capt..  543-6 

Ashdore,  Henry.  366 

Assunpiak,  battle  of.  372,  395. 444. 557 

Astor,  John  Jacob.  367 

Atrocities  of  British  during  Revolution,  320. 

322-327.  365.  382,  495 
Auckersz.  Jacobus.  191 
Aui^burg  Confession.  86 
Augsburg,  league  of.  33 
Aunt  Ann.  251 
AxtelL  Charles  F..  136 
Axtell.  Daniel,  buys  the  Winder  tract,  130; 

buys  portion  of  Peapack  patent.  133 
Axtell.  Daniel,  the  regicide,  133, 135 
Axtell  Family  in  N.  J..  136 
Axtell.  Samuel  B.,  136,  513 
Axtell  tract,  the,  134 
Axtell.  AVilliam,  135, 161,249 
Ayras,  Enos.  tavern.  592 
Ayres  &  Freeman.  5<^6 
Ayres.  Jacob.  Reuben,  and  Samuel,  324 
Ayres,  John,  160 
AjTes.  Mrs.  Obadiah,  murdered  at  Amboy, 

226 
Ayres,  Obadiah.  Amboy  tavern  of.  228 
Ayres,  Obadiah,  of  Baskine  Ridge.  IGO 
AsTes,  Obadiah,  settles  at  Woodl)ridge,  108; 

John  Pike's  bequest  to,  109 

BACON,  Dr.  LEONARD,  618 
Bailey,  James,  Jinny  and  Peggy,  273 
Bailey  John,  106 
Bailey,  Saixuel  478 
Balding,  John.  187 
Bald\\in.  Rev.  Bun*,  440 
Baltimore,  681 
Baltimore,  Lord,  105 
Bancroft.  George,  221,  353.  356,  373.  483 
Bank  of  N.  J.,  581 
Bankof  N.  Y.,681 
Banks,  first  in  N.  J.,  581 


Banta.  Jacob,  263 

Baptist  Churches,  Piscataway,  196, 197 

Barbarossa,  24 

Barker,  Thomas.  112,  120 

Barber,  Lt,  CoL  Francis,  on  Indian  cam- 
paign. 491;  at  Yorktown.  632;  record  and 
death  of,  533;  celebrates  Am.  Independence, 
622. 

Barber  and  Howe,  119 

Barclay.  John.  124, 178 

Barclay,  Robert,  112;  first  gov.  under  props,, 
119. 

Barclay's  Recollections  of  the  Re  vol.  W.,  363 

Bard.  Lt.  Col.  John,;558     _- 

Barnes,  Major  Jolin.  557 

Bamet.  Surgeon  Wm.  M..  410 

Bamett.  Oliver,  602.  604 

Bamett  Hall.  604,  688 

Barnhardt,  Saml..  of  Zion  Church,  82,  91 

Bartles.  Mr.,  of  Zion  Church,  84 

Bartow.  Revd.  John.  141 

Bartow.  Thomas.  141,  209 

Basking  Ridge,  first  settled,  159;  first  church 
114,  160;  Lord  Stirling's  house  and  park' 
307.  402.  493;  General  Lee  at,  336.  342,  Mil 
captured  at,  342;  General  Greene  at  in  1777, 
401;  society  at  in  1777,  402;  the  wedding  Of 
Lady  Kitty  Stirling,  493;  decay  of  the  Stir- 
ling mansion.  494;  French  army  at.  538 

Basse,  Gov  Jeremiah,  120, 121 

Bayles.  Capt.  Piatt,  ^13 

Beach.  Rev.  Dr.  Abraham.  330 

Beacon  posts.  513 

Bedminster  R.  D.  Church,  the  present  build- 
ing. 6;  Sunday  morning  at  in  1860,  6:  build- 
ing the  first  ch..  263;  appearance  of,  265; 
first  service  in.  265;  borrows  money  from 
John  Van  der  Veer.  276 ;  disciplining  a  mem- 
ber of,  432:  Sunday  morning  at  in  1778,  434; 
Simday  booths  at.  437 ;  refuses  a  grave  to 
Knox's  child.  470;  John  Duryea's  salary 
receipts,  593 

Bedminster  township,  line  of.  4;  Indians  of, 
99;  appearance  of.  in  1762. 156;  condition  in 
1763.  249;  Com.  of  Observation  and  Inspec- 
tion. 286;  Com.  of  Correspondence,  287; 
Lee's  army  in,  332,  335,  343;  Muhlenburg 
marches  through  in  1777,  424;  Lafayette's 
march  through,  in  1781,  533;  paupers  of,  596 
to  599. 

Bedminster  village,  stage  arrives  at.  8;  store 
and  school-houfe.  9  and  10;  first  house  in, 
304 ;  Lee's  encampment  night  of  his  capture, 
343;  Muhlenburg  marches  through  in  1777^ 
424;  Lafayette's  march  through  in  1781,  533; 
first  tavern  in.  565 ;  Captain  Fulkerson  as 
tavern-keeper,  579, 

Beecher,  Dr.  Lyman,  618.  621 

Belcher,  Gov.  Jonathan,  arrival  of,  203;  his 
portrait  stolen,  495;  names  Nassau  Hall  at 
Princeton,  496 

Bellona.  the  steamboat,  588,  589 

Bellona  Hall.  589 

Bendorf.  description  of.  23,  628:  in  1745,  66; 
transferred  to  Anspacb,  66.  68;  political 
history  of,  68;   news    of  in  1749,  72;   New 


Index. 


723 


Jersey  citizens  from,  91;  news  of  in  1Y60, 
aifi;  news  of  in  1769,  278;  furnishes  Eng- 
land with  troops.  353 

Benediction,  an  Indian's,  102 

Bennet,  Adrian,  and  .\nK-enietje,  189 

Bennett,  Abraham.  187. 189 

Bergen  Co..  first  inhabitants,  103.  106.  118; 
origin  of  name,  119;  slavery  statistics,  227 

Bergen.  George  I.,  682 

Bergen.  John  B.,  &82 

Bergen-op-Zoom,  119 

Bergen  Point.  602.  587 

Berger  Caspar,  147. 14ft.  264 

Berger,  Charles  and  Catherine.  697 

Berkeley,  Lord  John,  receives  patent  for  N. 
J..  104:  sells  his  half  of  N.  J..  110 

Bernard,  Gov.  Francis.  101,  204 

Bernards  township  first  settled,  159;  French 
army  in,  537 

Bernards\ille.  the  night  of  Lee's  capture, 
343;  Pa.  mutineers  at,  530;  Bullion's  tavern 
at.  537 

Berry.  Gideon.  697 

Bertaut,  General.  141 

Bertholf,  Rev.  Guillaume.  252,  253 

Biblioto-aphy,  714 

Beverages  of  last  century,  207, 237,  615 

Biddle,  Col.  Clement.  415 

Billings.  Edward.  110.  ill,  112 

Billings.  Captain,  529 

Billop.  Christopher.  188. 198 

Billop's  Point,  188.  503 

Bishop,  Abigail.  481 

Bishop.  James,  585 

Black  Bear  Tavern.  514 

Blacliheath,  emigrants  encamped  on,  40 

Black  Horse  Tavern.  2.=il 

Blair,  Joluj,  579 

Blair.  Robert.  478 

Blanchard,  Claude.  537 

Blanchard.  Lieut.,  643 

Blauvelt.  Rev.  W.  W.,  500 

Bleeding.  572 

Blodget,  Maior.  395 

Bloomfield.  Joseph.  219.  577 

Bloomfield.  Thomas.  108  and  109 

Blue  .\nchor  Tavern.  60,  228 

Board  of  Proprietoi-s  of  East  N.  J.,  113, 121 

Boardman.  Rev.  F.  W..446 

Bond.  Benjamin,  106 

Bonham.  Hezekiah.  197 

Bonham.  Nicholas,  194, 199 

Bonhamtown,  199 

Bonnell.  Benjamin,  478 

Boone.  Gov  Thomas,  204 

Boston,  evacuated  by  British,  312 

Boston  Port  Bill.  283 

Boudinot.  Elias.  copper  mine  of,  193:  at  Bask- 
ing Ridge  in  1777.  402;  his  daughter"!  mar- 
riage, 403:  church  connection.  443;  at  Prince- 
ton in  1783,  496 

Boudinot,  Elisha,  219 

Bound  Brook,  pres,  ch,  at,  114.  171;  Johannes' 
first  visit  to.  166;  in  1752.  168:  origin  of 
name,  169:  Jacob  de  Groofs  vault,  180: 
stages  to,  230:  Gen'l  Lincoln  at  in  '77.  401; 


Lincoln  surprised  at,  408;  Steuben's  quar- 
ters in  1779,  472:  Simcoe  at,  603,  505;  allied 
armies  at,  535;  wagon  traffic  through,  684 

Bourbonnais  regt.,  536 

Bontekoe.  arrival  of  ship.  190 

Bows  and  Arro^vs,  333 

Boylan.  Dr..  410 

Boylan.  John.  163.  384.  681,  682 

Boylston,  Dr.  Zabdiel.  673 

Bradford,  Andrew,  his  newipaper.  H 

Bradford,  William,  att.-gen'l.  403 

Brain,  James.  112 

Brandywine.  Battle  of.  333.  334,  428,  466,634 

Branford,  Conn.,  109 

Brew-houses.  57, 176 

Bries,  Hendrik.  185 

Bronson.  E.  Vantine.  253 

Brook.  Rev.  John,  4«7 

Brooklyn,  condition  of  in  1776.  303 

Brooks.  Rev.  Mr..  198 

Brunswick.  Duko  of,  troops  from.  353.  356 

Brush.  Sarah.  &S3 

Bryant,  Eleanor,  617 

Bryzelius,  Rev.  Paul,  of  Zion  Church.  82 

Buck's  Co.  Light  Dragoons.  503.  605 

Biidd,  Barnabas.  576 

Bullion,  Capt.  163 

Bullion's  Tavern.  110. 5:i7 

Bunker  Hill,  battle  of.  291,  477 

Bunn,  Martin.  565 

Burd.  John.  90, 161 

Burlingt<in.  assemblyraoeta  at.  110;  founding 
of.  110:  a  P.  O.  in  1752. 156 

Burnet,  Gov.  William.  201 

Burnet,  Robert,  buys  and  sella  Haywoods.  N. 
J.  interests.  121 

Burr.  Major  Aaron.  301.  400.  500 

Burr.  Rev.  Aaron.  499 

Burroughs.  John.  275 

BuBchurch.  Rev.,  of  Phila..  85 

Buskirk.  Capt,  Abraham.  558 

Buskirk.  Capt.  John,  558 

Buskirk.  Capt.  Lawrence,  558 

Buskirk,  Lt.  Col.  Abraham.  658 

Butler.  Col.  of  Pa.  line,  530 

CABOTS,  Voyages  of.  103 
Cade.  Jack.  40 
Cadwalader.  Col.  Lambert..  282.  350 
Csear's  death  sentence.  225 
Caldwell.  Mrs,  James,  death  of,  522 
Caldwell.  Rev.  James.  431.  442.443,  622 
Calvin.  Bartholomew  S.,  102 
Calvin.  John.  442 
Camden,  battle  of.  407.  620,  632 
Campbell,  Archibald.  171 
Campbell.  Charles,  171 
Campbell,  John.  171 
Campbell.  Lewis.  478 
Campbell.  Lord  Neal.  as  dep.  gov.,  119,  126; 

his  Raritan  plantation.  170;    his  son  John^ 

219 
Camp-field.  458 
Carey.  Thomas.  598 
Carey's  museum.  SI'S 
Carl  Wilhelm  Friedrich.  Margrave  of  Ans- 

pach.  68;  his  wickednesses,  69 


724 


Index. 


Carleton,  Sir  tiuy,  in  1776  retreats  from  Ti- 

conderog-a,  341;  breaks  up  Board  of  Loyal- 
ists. 545 
Carleton's  legion.  558 
Carmen.  Lewis.  190 
Carpenter.  Sam'l,  of  Phila.,  60 
Carriajfe  tax,  595 
Carroll.  Charles.  296 

Carteret.  Gov.  l^hilip.  Ms  arrival  and  mar- 
riage in  166.5.  105;  buys  portion  of  E'to\\-n 

grant.  106;  buys  land  at  Bound  Brook.  169 
Cartaret.  Lady  Elizabeth.  106. 112 
Carteret,  Sir  George,  receives  patent  for  N. 

J..  104;  death  and  w-ill  of,  112 
Castner.  Abrah.am.  430 
Castner.  Elizabeth.  596 
Castner.  Jacob.  430 
Castner.  John.  173.  430 
Castner.  Margaret.  164 
Cessation  of  Hostilities.  547 
Charles  I.  Axtell.  at  trial  of.  133 
diaries  II,  patents  N.  J.  to  Duke  of  York. 

10! :  return  of,  133 
Charles  VII.  358 
Charles   Alexander,  Margrave  of  Anspach, 

352 
Charles  .\ugTistus  of  Saxe  Weimar,  353 
Charleston.  British  repulsed  at.  291 ;  fall  of. 

in  1780,  521 
Chastellux,  Marquis  de.  365 
Chatham.  N.  J.,  53.5.  541,  545 
Chatham.  N.  Y..  547 
Chatham.  Earl  of.  283 
Cheasman.  William,  188 
Chingarora,  183 

Christ  Church,  New  Brunswick,  lottery  for 
benefit  of.  174 :  feTave  of  Dr.  Alexander  Ross. 
189;  in  1752, 193:  during  Revolution,  330 
Christ  Church.  Phila..  .57.  58.  370 
Christian  AugTistus,  of  Sweden.  540 
Church  of  England  in  Revolution.  329 
Clandenin.  Thomas.  26T 

Clarke.  .A.brahan».  443.  625 

Clarke.  Benjamin.  177. 194 

Clarke.  Mrs.  Thomas,  361 

Clarke.  Rev.  Jonas.  287 

Claj-ton's  History  of  Union  Co..  523 

Clearing  N.  J.  lands.  234 

Clermont,  the  steamboat.  587 

Clinton.  Genl.  George.  535 

Clinton,  Sir  Henry,  at  Charleston.  291.  312; 
departure  from  N.  Y.  in  1782.  360;  retreat, 
from  Phila.,  368;  takes  command.  449; 
opinion  of  Queen's  Rangers.  502;  at  Charles- 
ton in  1780,  521 ;  reinforces  Knj-phausen  in 
N.  J..  624:  sends  agents  to  Pa.  mutineers. 
530:  deluded  by  Washington  in  1781  534.  540 

Clover-seed  first  used  in  Somerset.  235 

Coates  Point.  543 

Coblentz.  22 

Cochran.  Dr..  516 

Cocks.  William.  506 

Codrlngton.  Thomas.  170 

Coens.  Eev.  Henricus.  ISO 

Colchester.  Lord.  569 

Coldstream  guards,  the.  521 


Cold  winter  of  nai.  511 
Coleman  Jacob.  6i 
Coleman.  John.  103 
Coles.  George  W..  "6 
Colfax.  Capt.  WilUam,  477 
College  of  New  Jersey,  educates  Shawriskhe- 
kung.  102;  lottery  for  benefit  of.  174;  Jona- 
than Edwards'    presidency.    214;    Wither- 
siioon's  presidency.  296;  at  battle  of  Prince- 
ton. 378.  495;  the  Commencement  of  1779, 
495;  during  Revolution.  495;  Gov.  Belcher's 
library.  496;    naming    Nassau    Hall,  496; 
founding  of  college.  497 :  removal  to  Prince- 
ton. 497 ;  studies  in  last  century.  500 ;  confers 
degree  on  Nathan  Strong.  619 
Collier.  Sir  George.  315. 359 
Colonial  currency.  134 
Colonial  farm  life.  233 
Colts  Neck.  542 

Committee  of  Correspondence,  first  meeting 
of,  283;  state  convention  of,  284;  meeting 
of  .May,  1775,  287 
Committee  of  Observation  and  Inspection, 
of  Bedminster,  who  composed,  and  min- 
utes, 286,  289,  290,  291 
Committee  of  Safety.  292.  429 
Committee  to  depose  Gov.  Franklin.  300 
Concessions   and  agreements  of  the  Lords 

prop'rs.  107 
Concessions  and  agreements  of  the  24  prop.. 

113 
Condit,  Eev.  Dr.  Ira.  260,  262 
Confederation.  The.  549 
Congress,  continental  meeting  of  first.  285; 

meeting  of  second.  294 
CongreBs  (U.  8.)  after  the  Revolution.  550 
Connecticut  Farm.  Pres.  Church  destroyed 

at.  433,  523:  fighting  at.  522 
Constables  Hook.  3  British  troops  Bn.  318 
Constitution  of  N.  J.  adopted.  298 
Constitution  ratified  by  N.  J..  553 
Constitutional  Convention,  561.  552 
Constitutional  Courant.  282 
Convention.  .\rmy.  357.  361,  367 
Convention  of  the  State  of  N.  J..  298 
Cook.  Governor,  324 
Cook,  William,  225 
Cooper,  Benjamin.  674 
Cooper.  Robert.  225 
Cooper.  Thomas.  112,  120 
Copley,  the  artist.  221 
Coriell.  Jane.  56.5,  633 
Corle'6  Mills,  171 

Combury  Lord  first  gov.  under  crown,  121 ; 
opposed  by  Thomas  Farmar,  188;  character 
of,  201 
Cornwallis.  Lord,  pursues  Washington's 
army  across  N.  J..  319,  322;  his  expedition  to 
capture  Lee.  345;  .^ssunpink.  372 ;  at  battle 
of  Princeton.  380;  attacks  Bound  Brook. 
408;  fights  at  Woodhridge  and  Plainfield, 
421 ;  in  Virginia  in  1781. 632. 534 ;  sun-ender  of, 

365.  367.  541 

Cor>'ell's  Ferry.  424 

Cosby,  Gov.  WUliam.  202 

Costumes  in  18th  century,  in  1735.  59;  in  1752, 


Index. 


725 


194,  218:  of  a  king'8  councillor.  217;  In  court, 
219;  in  farm  families.  241;  at  Bedminiter 
church  in  1778.  4:i5;  on  yrand  stand  at 
Bound  Brook  Review.  484 

Council  of  Safety,  292,  429 

Council  of  the  ProprB..l26 

Country  merchants.  582.  586.  692 

Courten.  Stephen,  190 

Courtland  Parker.  104 

Coi\-pens.  battle  of.  407,  532 

Cox.  William.  188 

Coxe.  William.  282 

Cradle,  introduction  of.  235 

Crai^,  Aaron,  430 

Crooked  Billet  Tavern  and  \N'harf,  60,  228 

CroBe,  Chri8toj)her,  560 

Cross.  Rev.  John.  212 

Crow.  Justice,  504 

Crusade,  the  third.  24 

CuUoden.  Battle  of.  29C 

Cummans.  Christian.  B60 

Cummins.  William.  611 

Cunningham.  Provost  Marshall,  316.  317 

Currency  depreciation.  98.  491,  494,  515.  519 

Cushetunk  Mountain.  79 

Cussart,  Georg-e.  170 

Custer.  Gen.  Georg-e  A.,  367 

Custine,  Count  de,  640 

Custis.  G.  W.  P.,  362 

D ALLEY.  JOHN.  188.  229 
Dartmouth.  Earl  of.  220 

Davenport,  Richard.  543 

Davison.  Jud^'e  David,  660 

Day,  Jacob,  439 

Daj-ton,  Gen.  Elias.  443,  521.  523.  545,  M6,  622 

Dayton,  Gen.  Jonathan.  443.  625.  611 

Declaration  of  Independence,  adoption  of, 
295;  when  si^ed,  296;  N.  J.  sitOierB,  326.  625; 
anniversary  celebrations  of.  350,  463,  622 

Deed,  first,  of  N.  J  land.  118 

Deerfield.  Mass..  617 

DeGroot.  Jacob.  170, 173.  180 

DeGroot,  John.  173 

DeHaas.  General,  414 

DeHart,  Major.  310 

DeKalb.  General.  532 

Demarest,  Rev.  William,  259 

Demun,  Peter.  158 

Demund.  John,  597 

DePeyster.  Abraham.  135 

Derr.  John.  636 

Deshler.  Chas.  D.,  326 

Despatch,  ship,  arrival  of,  122 

De  Stael,  Madame,  132 

Dick  and  Nance.  604-9 

Dickinson,  Genl,  Philemon,  at  battle  of 
Princeton,  377;  fl^ht  at  Weston.  399;  at 
Millstone  in  1717.401 ;  follows  Clinton's  army 
in  1778,  450 

Dickinson.  Rev.  Jonathan,  dau.  of  283:  effect 
of  preach iny.  431 ;  first  president  of  Prince- 
ton. 496  :  character  and  death  of.  407-8-9: 
toddy  at  installation  of,  618 

Diet  of  farm  families, 237 

Dillon.  Capt.  and  Major.  539 

Dillon.  William.  643 


Dipple,  Lucas.  94 

DiaaHection  in  1776.  327-329 

Disbrow.  Griften.  141 

Division  between  E.  and  W.  Jersey.  Ill 

Dochlar,  John  Conrad.  367 

Dodd,  Lebbeus,  291 

Dogi*  as  meat  roasters.  54 

Donation  visits,  239 

Dongun.  Gov.,  177.  187 

Donop.  Count  von.  death  of,  360;  at  Mount 
Holly,  363:  at  Assunpink,  372:  at  Bound 
Brook  in  1777,  408 

Dover  litrht  infantrj'.  374.  381,  396 

Drake.  Geor!?e.  194.  196 

Drake.  John,  196, 196 

Drinking  habits,  in  Phila.  in  1735,  67;  Raritan 
valley  in  1752. 176;  flip.  207 ;  tavern  rates  for 
in  174S.  228;  various  tipples.  237;  at  cessa- 
tion of  hostilities.  547 ;  tavern  customs.  565; 
at  trainings.  578;  the  habit  at  present,  613; 
in  Pav'an  times,  614;  in  the  I8th  century, 
614-623 

Druramond.  Evan,  188 

Di-ummond.  John.  112 

Drummond.  Major  Robert,  65« 

Duchess,  tract  known  as  the,  131 

Duer,  William.  467.  493. 495 

Dunham.  Azariah,  324 

Dunham,  .^zerial,  197 

Dunham,  Benajah,  194. 197 

Dunham.  Capt.  Jehu.  592 

Dunham,  David,  of  Bedminster.  290 

Dunham.  David,  of  Piscataway,  324 

Dunham.  Dorothj',  Dinah,  Jane.  Marj'.  and 
Phcebe.  197 

Dimham.  Edmund.  194,  197 

Dunham.  Ehsha.  John,  and  Josiah,  324 

Dunham.  Ephraim,  197 

Dunham.  John.  197 

Dunham.  Jonathan,  settles  at  Woodbridge, 

108,  197.  324 

Dunlap.  William.  210, 218,  323, 392 

Dunn.  Capt.  Hugh.  325 

Dunn.  Elizabeth.  Esther,  Hester'  and 
Rebecca.  197 

Dunn.  Hugh,  settles  in  Piscataway.  107,  194; 
settles  in  Woodbridge.  108, 197 

Dimn.  Hugh.  Jr..  197 

Dunn.  Jeremiah.  Daniel  and  Justus  325 

Dunn.  Major  John.  309,325 

Dunn.  Jonathan,  197 

Dunn,  Lieut.  Col..  Micajah,  325 

Dunn.  Micajah.  197 

Dunn.  Samuel.  Jr.,  197 

Duponceau.  Capt.  Pet«r  S.,  473.  487,  537 

Duryea,  Rev.  John.  593.  594 

Dutch,  early  emigration  to  America,  27;  in 
Raritan  Valley  in  1703.  169,  176.  191.  229;  in 
New  Brunswick  in  1684.  184 ;  on  the  King's 
highway  in  1748,  186;  in  New  Brunswick  in 
1730.  185, 192:  of  Long  Island.  229 

Dutch  migration  to  N.  J.,  168. 176. 183.  185.  229 

Dutch  Refonned  Churches.  Bedminster,  6; 
263-266.  431,  435.  437,  593;  New  Brunswick, 
185,  190.  193.  254;  Three  Mile  Run,  185.  252; 
Op   de    Millstone,    180.    &t;    Raritan,  251;: 


726 


Index. 


North  Branch.  261;  Six  Mile  Bun.  252.  25i; 

Harling-fn.  180.  254;    Sunday   observances 

and  customs.  435,  437 ;  Sin^ng  by  note  in. 

436:  Dutch  preaching.  437 
Dutch  Trail.  184 
Duval  Claude.  40 

EASTERN  BATTERY  of  STATE  TROOPS, 
376 
East  .Jersey,  set  oCf  from  W.  J..  Ill ;  sold  to  24 
proprietors.  112:   condition  in  1682.114-117; 
government  tfd.  to  Crown.  120 
Easton.  Indian  Conference  at  101 
Eating  in  last  century,  237 
Eaton.  Benjamin,  478 
EddiB,  Edward,  letters  from  America.  149 
Edwards.  Rev.  Jonathan.  214,  253.  431.  499 
Eelking.  Max  von.  322.  358.  363.  366.  36« 
Egbertaen.  Hendrick.  191 
Egt'leston.  Edward,  his  German  emigration 

researches.  3,5,  46:  Pluckamin.  165 
Ehrenbreitstein.  22 

Elizabethtown  and  Somerville  Railroad.  230 
Elizabethtown  hill  in  chancery.  106.  130.  131. 

134, 141 
Elizabethtown.  Firat   Pres.  Church  of.  433. 

443.  496.  499.  516.  618 
Elizabethtown.  founding  of  and  origin  of 
name.  105:  first  English  settlement.  106;  first 
assembly  meets  at,  110:  condition  in  1682. 
117:  lottery  for  benetit  of.  175:  iu  1776.  303: 
First  Pres.  Church  of.  433.  443,  496,  499,  516, 
618:  surprised  by  British  in  1779.  490:  collei^e 
of  N.  J.  at.  497:  religious  condition  in  1717. 
498:  surprised  by  Col.  BusWrli.  in  1780.  516: 
British  march  through  in  1780.  521.  523 
Elizabethtown.  St.  John's  Epis.  Church.  444. 

497,  498 
Ellets*  Domestic  History,  361,  396 
Elmer.  Lieut.  Ebenczer.  623 
El  Mora.  522 
Embury,  Philip,  331 

Emigration,  German,  26-49,  80, 186, 187,216,  233; 
Scotch,  27.  114,  126:  Dutch,  27:  Swedish,  27; 
French.  27.  33:  English.  27 
Eott'.  Christian.  163 
Eoff.  Jacob.  Jun'r,  430 

EoBf,  Jacob,  Sen'r,  subscribes  to  St.  Paul's 
Ch.,  93,  94;  buys  site  of  Pluckamin.  140,  162; 
histavern,  164,  384:  summoned  by  Council 
of  Safety,  430 
Eoff,  Sarah,  163 

Episcopacy  in  N.  J.,  441.  497.  498 
EF>iscopalians  in  Revolution.  329,  331 
Equipage,  at  Bedminster  Church,  6:  Phila.. 
in  1735.  61;  in  Amboy  in  1752.  202;  in  New 
York  in   1775.  281;   tax  on.    695.  at  Aaron 
Malick's  funeral,  610 
Ernest,  Duke  of  Saxe-Gotha,  3.53 
Erskine.  Lord.  468 
Essex  Co..  first  inhabitants.  103 
Establishment.  First.  N.   J.  Line,  organiza- 
tion of.  307 :  uniform  and  pay.  333 
Establishment.  Second.  N.  J.  Line,  organiza- 
tion, uniform  and  pay.  333 
Eta-beta-pi  Club.  456 
Eutaw  Springs,  battle  of.  532.  541 


Evangelical  Head-Church.  Bendorf.  23;  sup- 
plies Zion  Ch.  New  Germantown  \\ith  mem- 
bers. 91.  628:  its  monument.  713 

Evil-doer.^,  a  parade  of,  55 

Ewing,  General.  3.50 

Executions  in  Continental  Army,  489.  520,  531 

FABRICS  now  obsolete.  242 
Fac  similes.  143.  582,  598.  602 
Faesch,  Herr,  278 
Falrlie.  Captain  James.  487 
Fairs.  206 

Falkenberger.  Christopher  and  Margaret,  75 
Falkirk,  battle  of.  29G 
Fai-mar.  Thomas.  187. 188 
Farmers,  colonial,  industries  of.  239 
Farmers  of  last  century.  234 
Fashion.  N.  J.  mare.  420    ^ 
Fassbenders.  of  Bendorf.  91.  630. 632 
Fassbender,  Jacob,  of  New  Germantown,  91 
Father  Matthew's  Socy..  623 
Feather  Bed  Lane.  5 
Fein.  Gottfried,  of  Zion  Ch..  87 
Fenner.  John.  Junr..  163.  383 
Fenton.  John.  478 
Feuwicke,  John,  110 
Fermoy,  Gen.  de  372 
Fersen,  Count  Jean  Axel  de,  540 
Field,  Benjamin,  172 
Field  Family.  176 
Field.  Jeremiah.  172. 178 
Field.  John,  his  Raritan  purchase   in  1695, 

176. 
Field,  Michael,  172 
Field,  Richard  I..  178 
Fine  John,  of  New  Germantown,  88 
Fine.  John  and  Philip.  636.  671 
First  Delaware  Hegt..  375:  First  Establish- 
ment. N.  J.  Line.  307;  First  Presb.  Ch..  of 
Elizabethtown,  433,  443,  496,  199,  516,  618. 
First  R.  D.  Ch..  of  Somerville.  252 
Fisher.  George  H..  504 
Fisher.  Hendrick.  2«7.  292.  293.  294 
Fisher.  Isaac  J..  173 
Fiske.  Prof.  John.  30.5. 
Fitch.  Daniel.  IBS 
Fitz-Randolph.  194, 196 
Flatbush.  229 
Flax  and  its  uses.  242 
Flemington.230 
Flip.  207 

Flowers  of  last  century,  236 
Fljing  machines,  590 
Folkers,  John,  179 
Folly,  The,  269 
Footstoves,  265 
Ford,  Col.  Jacob.  Jr.,  395 
Ford.  Jacob,  Senr..  396 
Ford  Mansion.  395.  512 
Ford,  the  counterfeiter.  675 
Fort  Washington,  fall  of.  316 
Fort  Lee.  318,  319 
Fossey,  John,  430 
Foulke,  Joseph,  198 

Franklin,  Benjamin,  testifies  in  1766  as  to 
German  Emigration.  49;  dines  at  Crooked 
Billet  Tavern,  50:  his  newspaper,  54;  his 


Index. 


■description  of  Phila.  constables.  55;  supplies 
Braddocks  army  with  watcous,  62;  voyage  to 
Aml)oy.  230;  prote.sts  ajcainst  unjust  taxa- 
tion. 281 ;  in  London  in  1765,  282 :  his  illegiti- 
mate son.  299;  letters  to  Lee  in '76.  333,  339; 
objecta  to  inoculation.  573;  temperance  ap- 
peal, 620 

"Franklin.  Gov. 'William,  his  arrival  in  N.  J  , 
205;  address  reKardinj?  roads.  231;  opposes 
the  Revolution.  284,  297;  character  and 
record  of,  298;  is  deposed  from  ollioe.  300;  as 
Pres.  of  Board  of  Loyalists,  543 

Franklin  tp.  Tax  List,  175, 190 

Franklin.  William  Temple,  299 

Frederick  Augustus  of  Saxony,  353 

Frederi(?k  II,  Elector  Palatine,  41 

Frederick  III,  Elector  Palatine.  41 

Frederick  the  Great,  M:  in  1745.  67:  example 
of  on  rulers.  68;  father  of.  69.  Ti:  in  1747 
over-runs  Holland,  257;  coudnmns  furnish- 
ing England  with  soldiera,  353;  military 
opinions  of,  373 

Frederick.  William,  the  great  elector,  32 

Freehold.  364,  365 

Freeman,  Matthew,  585 

Free-^^-Ulers,  149 

Trelinghuysen,  Frederick,  petitions  against 
wearing  gowns  in  court,  219;  tribute  to,  255. 
288;  asst.  sec'y  to  Prov'l  Conifress,  288; 
Com.  of  Safety,  292;  members  of  Prov'l  and 
Contl.  congresses  of  1776,297:  his  bro's-in- 
law,  327:  capt.  of  Eastern  battery,  376;  at 
battle  of  Pi-inceton,  377 

Frelinghuyaen.  Rev.  Johannes  Henricus,  253 

Frelinghuysen,  Rev.  John.  251,  255.  258 

Frebnghuysen,  Rev.  Theodorus  Jacobus,  253, 
431 

Frelinghuysen  tavern.  504 

French  alliance,  news  of,  449;  first  anniver- 
sary of.  466 

French  army  (see  army  Fi-ench) 

French  fleet,  arrival  at  R.  I.  in  1780.  526;  at 
Virginia  Capes,  5:i3,  534 

French  Revolution,  eftect  upon  America,  623 

French  and  English  Ware,  569 

French.  Philip,  185. 193 

Freusburg.  68 

Friedewald.  68 

Fruit  of  last  centurj',  236 

Frurer,  Ensign  Carle,  368 

Fuk.Toth  Adam,  of  Zion  Cli..  91 

Fulkfi-Hou,  Lieut.  Wm.,  677,  579 

Fultou,  Robert.  587 

Funerals  in  the  olden  time,  609.  617 

Furniture  of  last  century,  18,  54.  241 

Fussle,  Jacob,  430 

GAIANT.M.de.343 
Galloway,  Samuel,  328,  454 
Gannett.  Kehoboth,  194 
Garden .  the  old.  18 

Garretson.  origin  of  name,  118,  191,  192 
Garrets,  John  F.,  sells  land  to  Johannes.  74 
Garrisb,  Michael,  585 
Garrison,  origin  of  name,  118,  191.  192 
Gasler.  ftlichael.  560 
Gaston,  Joseph,  564 


Gaston,  Margaret.  564 

Gaston,  Robert,  598;  genealogy,  635 

Gatenois  regiment,  538 

Gates,  Gen.  Horatio,  341.  458.  532 

Gayarre.  History  of  Louisiana.  48 

Genealogj-.  627 

General  Training,  578,  607 

Generals  as  shoemakers,  239 

Gentry  in  Colonial  times,  216 

George  I.  charters  Amboy  Ferr>',  122 

George  II,  hates  music  and  poetry,  184;  char- 
tei-s  New  Bruns\vick.  187;  employs  Hessians, 
358 

George  III.  in  1767  charters  St.  Paul's  Ch..  94; 
obtains  troops  from  Germany.  353 

Gerard.  M..  betting  on  Mrs.  Jay's  complex- 
ion. 477;  reaches  Camp  Middlebrook  in  1779. 
482:  at  Bound  Brook  Review,  486;  enter- 
tained by  Steuben,  487 

German  Emigration  before  1735,  26;  original 
cause  of.  28:  the  growth  of.  33;  present 
yearly  exodus,  35;  Germans  now  in  Amer- 
ica, 35;  in  the  Netherlands,  on  Massachu- 
setts Bay  and  the  Delaware.  35;  to  Penn- 
sylvania, 36-49;  to  New  Jersey.  37;  to  New- 
burg,  38;  to  London  in  1709,39;  to  In^land, 
41;  to  Virginia  and  Carolina,  43-44;  to  New 
York  with  Governor  Hunter  in  1710,  44;  to 
Louisiana  in  1722,  48;  Prof.  Homes' paper 
on,  39:  emigrants  a  religious  people,  80; 
immigrants  on  the  King's  Highway,  186-187; 
thrift.  216.  233 

German  farmers,  233 

German  Interior,  a.  277 

Gennan  newspapers,  first  in  America  63 

Germans  and  Irish  mutually  repugnant,  238 

German  thrift,  216.  2:« 

Germantown.  battle  of.  334.  369.  428.  466 

Germantown,  Columbia  Co.,  N.  Y..  Palatines 
at.  46 

Gei-mantou-n,  Pa.,  foimded.  36:  King  of 
Prussia  Inn,  61;  Johannes  starts  for,  62; 
appearance  in  1735.  63 

German  Valley.  N.  J.,  settlement  of.  37 

Germany,  in  the  18th  Century,  28;  Treaty  of 
Westphalia.  31;  other  wars  of  the  I7th 
centurj-.  33:  condition  in  1745.  67:  a  patch- 
work of  large  and  small  governments,  28, 
68,  73;  condition  in  1749.  73 

Gerritsen,  Gerrit.  118, 192 

Gerritsen.  Hendrick,  191 

Gibbons,  Thomas,  588 

Gibbs,  Barbara  Margaret.  573 

Gibson,  Elder  William.  197 

Gibson  William.  112 

GUman,  Charles,  settles  in  Piscataway,  107, 
194 

Gloucester  Landing.  319 

Gluck.  John,  Amboy  tavern  of,  228 

Goelet,  Captain.  253 

Goelet.  Peter,  188 

Goethe,  353 

Gordon,  Catherine.  Duchess,  of.  131. 132 

Gordon.  Charles,  177 

Gordon,  Major.  544,  546 


728 


Index. 


Gordon  Patrick,  dep.  gov.  of  Pa.,  receives  the 
the  immijfrants,  56;  his  coach,  61 

Gordon,  Robert,  a  proprietor  of  East,  N.  J., 
112:  propriety  interests.  120 

Gordon,  Thomas,  120. 124, 125 

Gordon,  Thomas,  of  Trenton,  U3 

Gordon,  Tliomas,  F..  313 

Gordon's  Hist,  of  N.  J..  44 

Gottingen,  University  of.  80 

Gonvemeur.  Johanna.  IRQ 

Governor's  Island,  Palatines  encamp  on,  4S 

Governors  under  the  cro\\Ti,  201 

Governors  under  the  proprietors.  119-121 

Graduations,  early  college.  500 

Grafe,  Comet  August,  362 

Graft",  Rev.  "William  A.,  of  Zion  Ch.,  his  aiTi- 
val  in  1775.  86;  appearance  and  character, 
89:  death.  90:  various  spellini^s  of  name,  95; 
at  Daniel  Cooper's  weddins-.  574;  at  Aaron 
Maliek'a  funeral,  609 

Graffenried,  Christopher  de,  43 

Graham,  Captain  Sam'l,  406 

Graham,  Ennis,  504 

Graham,  James,  203 

Grant,  Gen'I,  323,  408 

Grasse.  Count  de,  534,  538 

Grave,  first  white  man's  in  N.  J.,  103 

Gravelly  Point.  M2,  543 

Graydon's  Memoirs.  361 

Great  Raritan  Road.  167 

Green,  Rev.  Aehbel,  Sunday  in  his  boyhood, 
438:  as  orderly  sergeant,  445;  his  estimate 
of  "Washington,  469;  as  Princeton  valedic- 
torian, 496;  as  a  physician.  572 

Green.  Rev.  Jacob  G.,  438,  619 

Greene.  Col.  Christopher,  360 

Greene,  Gen.  Nathanael,  at  Foit  Lee  In  1776, 
.318;  his  opinion  of  tories.  323;  letter  in  1776 
as  to  Howe's  ravages,  324 ;  at  battle  of  Tren- 
ton. 349;  letter  to  John  Adams  in  1777,  368: 
at  Pluckamin  in  1777,  385;  at  Morristown  in 
1777,  395;  record  of.  401:  uuarters  at  Lord 
Stirling's  inl777,  402;  opinion  of  Gov.  Liv- 
ington's  daughters,  403:  marches  to  Lin- 
coln's support  in  1777,  409;  reconnaisance 
in  1777,  410;  lays  out  camp  Middlebrook, 
415;  at  the  Van  Veghten  house  in  1779,  458, 
4.59,  474;  Washington's  eulogy  of  459;  de- 
scribes Mr.  and  Mrs.  Knox,  464 ;  desciibea 
the  Lott  Family,  475;  at  Bound  Brook 
Review,  485;  orders  inhabitants  to  fight 
snowdrifts,  514;  at  battle  of  Springfield, 
525;  transferred  to  southern  dept.,  532; 
staff-officers  395,  475,  533 

Greene,  Mrs.,  at  the  Van  Veghten  House,  469; 
at  Washington's  levees,  460;  at  Pluckamin 
Fete,  469;   gives  a  dance  at  Middlebrook, 
474;  her  friendship  for  Lee,  479;  her  Georgia 
home  and  grave.   479;    at   Bound    Brook 
Review,  484 ;  at  Morristown  in  1780.  516 
Greene,  Prof.  George  W.,  5ie 
Greenman,  Rev.  Nehemiah,  446 
Greenwich,  Eng.,  German  emigrants  at,  40 
Gressen,  University  of,  86 
Griftin,  ship,  arrival  of,  110 

■  Griggs,  Benjamin,  179 


Groom,  Samuel,  112 
Gninstadt,  Bavaria,  86 
Guest.  Capt.  Moses,  506 
Gustavus,  Adolphus,  36 

HACKENBERG,  66,  68 
Hacker,  Ludwig,  439 

Hackettstown,  origin  of  name,  203;  sunday- 
schools  introduced  at,  439 

Hagaman.  Adrian.  Denyse,  and  Liurstia,  190 

Hagaman,  Dolis.  187, 190 

Hager,  Johannes  Georg,  his  letter  of  1745,  65; 
appearance  of,  277,  letter  of  1769,  278 

Haines,  Samuel.  575 

Halberstadt.  emigration  from,  37 

Hale,  Edward  Everett,  455 

Hale,  Nathan,  317 

Hall.  Dr.  John,  618 

Hallara's  theatrical  co.,  218 

Halliday,  Rev.  Mr.,  123,  198,  498 

Halsey.  Rev.  Jeremiah,  441 

Hamilton,  Alexander  at  Hopewell  Council, 
450;  character  and  appearance,  475,  476;  ap- 
pointed aide-de-camp.  476;  at  the  Bound 
BiTiok  Review.  486;  meets  Elizabeth  Schuy- 
ler, 617;  aids  in  forming  Constitution,  551-2; 
leniency  towards  loyahsts,  558;  passes  loy- 
alist disfranchising  act,  550 

Hamilton,  Mrs.  Alexander.  402,  469,  517 

Hamilton,  Andrew,  gov.  under  props.,  119. 
120,121, 126.  i:n 

Hamilton.  John.  120,  202 

Hampshire,  ship,  arrival  of,  82 

Hancock,  John,  extols  N.  J.  militia.  311 

Hand,  Col.  Edward,  388 

Harcourt,  Lt.-Col.  "Wm..  345 

Hardenbcrgh,  Johannes,  25.T 

Hardenbergh.  Jufvrouw,  her  friend  Alche 
Van  Doren.  2.50;  marries  John  Frelinghuy- 
st^n.  2.>4,  258;  Hardenbergli's  wooing  and 
marriage,  255.  259;  character  of.  256-260; 
journal  of.  257;  lettei-s  to  Dr.  Livingston, 
261;  in  Bedminster,  263:  death  of,  262 

Hardenbergh,  Kev.  Jacob  H..  birth  and  par- 
entage, 25.S:  vvooing  and  marriage.  256,259; 
installed  pastor  of  Raritan  Churches.  2.56; 
removal  to  New  Brunswick  and  death.  261; 
member  Prov'l  Congress.  297;  Revolution- 
ary record  of.  431;  at  Bedminster  Ch.  in 
1778.  435;  his  letters  to  Washington  at 
Camp  Middlebrook,  489;  resigns  from  Bed- 
minster Ch.,  594 

Hardy,  Gov.  Josiah,  204 

HarUngen,  181 

Harlingen  Church,  180. 254 

Harpending,  Peter,  604 

Harris.  Benjamin,  331 

Harris.  William,  172 

HaiTiHon.  John.  124, 12-5. 160 

Harrisonburg.  Va..  Germans  at,  43 

Hart,  John,  2W 

Hart,  Thomas.  112 

Hartshome,  Hugh,  112 

Hartwick,  Rev.  John  C.  81 

Harvesting  in  last  century,  235 

Haslet.  CoL  William.  375 

Hastier,  John,  612 


Index. 


729 


Hatfield.  Capt.  John.  502 

Haverhill.  Mass.,  108 

Hawdon,  Michael.  130 

Hawkins.  Sir  John  222 

Hazelius,  Dr.  of  Zion  Church,  82 

Hazen.  Jud^fj  Thomas,  661 

Hazen,  Col.  and  Qenl.  Moses,  535,  544. 

Headley,  James  T..  ^41 

Heard.  Nathaniel,  Col.audBrig.-ifen..300.309. 
313 

Heath,  Daniel.  178 

Heath,  General,  "WilUam,  317 

Heerbrand,  Capt.,  150 

Heeringen,  Col.  von,  366 

Heidelberg.  42 

HeiBter,  Genl.  de,  at  battle  of  L.  I..  ^8.  359, 
360 

Henry  and  Francis  ship.  126, 127. 189 

Henry,  Capt.  George,  374,  381 

Henry,  Dr.  Robert,  59^ 

Henry,  Patrick,  at  tirst  Continental  Congress, 
285;  hunts  with  Muhlenburg  aud  Wash- 
ington, 413;  leniency  towards  loyalists,  560 

Herbert,  John.  480 

Herbert's  Island,  171 

Herkimer  Genl.,  Rnttenburgh's  eulog>'  of.  38 

Hesse-Hanau,  troop.s  from.  353 

Hesse-Cassel,  troops  from,  353 

Hesse,  village  ot  190 

Hessians,  8000  ifach  N.  Y.  in  1776,  312,  in  Pis- 
cataway  325 :  at  Trenton  and  Borden- 
to\\Ti,348:  captured  at  Trenton,  349:  just  a 
little  in  their  favor,  3.'>2;  troops  in  America, 
353:  Schiller's  testimony,  355;  uniforms  of 
Siss.  417 :  courtesy  of  officers,  360,  362 :  at  Read- 
ing, Pa.,  in  1778,  361;  good  behavior  of 
362,  365;  at  Yorktown  capitulation.  36.^;  at 
battle  of  L.  I..  365:  desertions.  366-369:  at 
Bound  Brook  in  1777,  408 

Hettield.  Stephen,  478 

Heywood.  Jolm.  112. 120. 121 

Hillsborough,  166 

Hillyer.  Rev.  Asa,  445 

Himroth.  Simon  Ludewig,(Himrod)  277-279, 656 

Hinaersheidt,  Pastor,  of  Zion  Church,  91 

Hitchcock,  Col.  Daniel.  395 

Hixson,  Joseph.  560 

Hoagland,  Christopher.  381 

Hoagland,  Wm..  97, 158. 161 

Hogback.  The.  268 

Hohenfriedbcrg.  battle  of,  67 

Holcomb,  Samuel.  585 

Homes,  Prof.  H.  A.,  paper  of.  on  German  emi- 
gration. 39.  41;  as  to  Hudson  River  Pala- 
tines, 46 

Hope  Express  Co..  230 

Hopewell  Council  of  "War,  450 

Hopp.  Dr.  Emeat  Otto,  150,  152 

Hombaker,  Joseph,  of  Zion  Church,  82-91. 

Horse- racing,  429 

Horticulture  in  last  century,  236 

Houston,  William  C,  552 

Howard,  Dr.  Charles  A..  189 

Howe,  Gen.  Sir  William,  character  of,  322; 
von  Eelking's  estimate  of,  322 ;  departure  of, 
449  (see  Army,  Howe's) 
47 


Howe,  Lord,  confers  ^^ith  Franklin,  Adams 
and  Rutlege.  188;  offers  amnesty,  328 

Howell,  Richard.  219,  57" 

Huddy,  Capt.  Joshua,  502,  542,  544 

Hude,  Adam,  189 

Hude,  James,  187, 189 

Hudson  Co  ,  first  inhabitants,  103 

Hudson  Hendrick  at  Newburg,  in  1609,  38; 
lands  in  Monmouth  Co.,  102 

Hughes,  Thomas,  562 

Hull,  Benjamin,  IW,  195 

Hull,  Hopewell,  settles  in  Piacataway.  107,  194' 
196 

Hull's  Tavern,  193, 194, 195 

Hunt,  Abraham,  349,  618 

Hunt.  John.  583 

Hunt,  Marmaduke,  331 

Hunt,  Stephen,  buys  mills  on  Peapack 
Brook,  269;  member  of  Com.  of  Observa- 
tion and  Inspection,  286,  289,  290;  Col.  lat 
Somerset  Batt.,308;  Col.  Provisional  N.  J. 
Regt..  313 

Hunter.  Governor  Ttobt.  in  N.  Y  .  38;  charac- 
ter of.  44;  his  residence  at  Perth  Amboy,  45, 
201 :  brings  fleet  of  German  emigrants  to 
N.  Y.,  45;  condemns  Mr.  HalUday,  123 

Hutchinson,  Capt.  William,  561 

Hutchinson,  Duncan,  187 

INDENTED  servants.  149 
India  King  Tavern.  Phila,,  57 

Indians,  Massacre  of  Germans  by  Tuscaroros, 
44,  99;  in  State  House  Square.  Phila..  56 
Delawares,  or  Lenni  Lenape,  57,  98;  Six 
Nations  of  N.  Y..  57.  98;  Walking  Treaty, 
57;  Narraticongs,  98;  Raritan  Indians,  99; 
traces  of,  on  Old  Farm,  100;  Eastou  confer- 
ence, 101;  New  Jersey's  fair  treatment  of, 
ini;  On  the  Raritan  in  IteO.  169;  Paths 
across  N.  J..  108.  125,  182,183:  at  Amboy  in 
1752,  215;  Sulh  van's  campaign  against,  in 
1779,  490;  Captain  Voorhees  in  campaign, 
407 

Indian  i>aths.  from  E'town  to  Delaware.  108, 
182;  Peapack  path.  125;  Minisink  path.  183; 
Somerset  path,  183:  through  Burlington 
Co.,  185 

Industries  of  farm  families,  239 

lughs,  Charles,  454 

Idians  Ferry,  184, 186 

Inians,  John.  184 

Inoculation,  573 

Inquisition  against  loyalists.  560 

Insley,  Lt.  Christopher,  558 

Installation  balls,  446 

Ireland,  Palatinates  settled  in,  41 

Irish  and  Germans  mutually  repugnant,  238 

Ir\'ine,  General,  516,  528 

Irving,  Washington,  44 

JACOBS,  ANTHONY  I.,  290 
Janse.  Auke,  191 
Jansen,  Michael,  118 
Jaques,  Henry,  108 
Jay.  John.  404 
Jay.  Mrs.  John.  404,  477 
Jefl'erson,  Thomas,  introduces  plough  shares. 


730 


Index. 


235;  Declaration  of  Independence,  295; 
presidency  of,  595 

Jenny,  ship.  602 

Jersey  Blues,  333 

Jersey  City,  first  settlement,  118:  in  1776.  303 

Jersey,  Island  of  104,  \05 

Jersey  Line,  First  and  second  establisments 
of,  307,  3b3,  uniforms  of  333;  at  Brandy  wine 
and  Germantown.  334;  uniforms  in  1779, 
463;  surprised  at  Elizabethtown  in  1779, 
490;  starts  on  Sullivan's  Indian  campaign, 
491;  station  ia  1780,  621;  at  Connecticut 
Farms  and  Spring^eld,  .523:  march  to  Vir- 
ginia, 535:  at  Chatham  in  1782,  Ml 

Jersey,  orit^in  of  name,  105 

Jinny  Hole,  the,  273 

Johan  Frederick,  Marprave  of  Anspach,  68 

Job.  Georg-e  I.,  Duke  of  Sach sen-Eisenach,  Ofl 

Johnes.  Rev.  Timothy.  394,  432 

Johnson,  Alfred.  304 

Johnson,  Coart,  560 

Johnson,  David,  560 

Johnson,  Dr.  Sam,  331 

Johnson,  Thomas  P.,  ."iflS 

Johnston,  Col.  Philip,  313,  314 

Johnston,  Gen.  Jeremiah,  314 

Johnstone.  Andrew,  120,  209 

Johnstone,  Dr.  Lewis,  140 

Johnstone,  Euphemia.  137 

Johnstone,  John,  Indian  purchase,  100;  com- 
plains of  mosijuitofl,  114;  propriety  inter- 
ests. 120;  buys  Peapack  patent,  126,  137: 
marriaffe  of  127:  Amboy  residence,  127,  210: 
daughters  of  137:  death  of  and  will,  139; 
sentences  a  nejo'o,  225 

Johnstone.  Mary,  140 

Jones.  Judye,  354.  3fi6,  441 

KALM.  Prof.  Peter,  hie  account  of  the  Hud- 
son River  Palatines,  47;  His  lodging 
expenses  in  Phila..  67;  arrival  and  fellow- 
passt!ngerB  of.  150.  describes  New  Bruns- 
wick, 186:  opinion  of  the  Dutch, 192;  describes 
Trenton  in  1748.229:  tells  of  a  N.  J.  wedding, 
244:  at  Princeton,  499;  mentions  women 
doctors,  667  (see  errata) 

Kapp,  Frederick,  356 

Kean,  John,  302 

Keith,  George,  178 

Kellcy,  Jost-ph,  430 

Kelsey,  Enos,  292 

Kemper,  Mr.  and  Mrs.,  638 

Kennedy,  Capt.  W  .  600 

Kennedy,  Rev.  Samuel,  159,  402 

Kent,  ship,  arrival  of,  110 

Kettledrums  at  Pluckamin  Camp.  465 

Keyport,  183 

Kiehiner,  Dr.,  456 

Kieft,  Gov.  William,  177 

Killing  frolics.  239 

Kill  von  Kull.  183 

Kimball  Hill.  512-626,  52R 

Kimball,  Richard,  815 

King,  Charles,  181 

Kin^.  C.  L.,  181 

Kinff,  David,  93,  94 

King  George,  arrival  of  ship.  253 


King,  Marcus,  276 

King,  Marcus  of  Zion  Ch.,  87,  93 

King,  Maria  and  Magdalena,  276 

King's  Councillor,  the,  at  Amboy,  217 

King's  Highway,  185, 186, 193 

Kingsland.  Isaac,  118 

King's  Rangers,  501 

King  St.,  (New  Germantown)  78  * 

Kingston,  321 

Kippold,  Preceptor,  70 

Kirberger,  Andreas,  66,  71,  632 

Kirbergcr,  Anton,  curator,  66,  71;  a  letter 
from,  72:  death  of,  278,  633 

Kirberg-er,  Ehrenreich,  Aaron  Malick's  god" 
father,  71,630 

Kirberger,  Gottfried,  Burgomaster  of  Ben- 
dorf,  25;  his  two  wives  and  children,  71,  631« 
632 

Kirberger,  Joh.  Geo.,  246 

Kirberger,  Joh.  Heinrich,  Burgomaster  of 
Hochstenbach,  66,  71 ;  letter  of  1760,  246 

Kirberger,  Joh.  Wilhelm,  71.  632 

Kirberger,  Veronica  Gerdrutta,  marries  Otto, 
65:  herdeath,  66.  70;  her  birth,  71 

Klein,  Christian,  of  Bendorf,  91,  683 

Kieinsmith.  Ensign,  368 

Klincken,  Arents,  36 

Kline,  Godfrey,  of  Hunterdon  Co.,  91,  630, 683 

Kline,  Jacob,  marries  Johannes'  daughter 
Veronica  Gerdrutta,  75:  his  home  and  tan- 
nery in  1750.  75:  Warden  of  Zion  Church, 
New  Genuantown.  82,  91:  birth  of,  95; 
granddaughter,  Marj\  178;  first  tastes 
sugar,  238;  old  age  crowds  urxm,  6.54;  sells  a 
slave  to  Aaron  Malick,  603;  buys  slave-boy 
Joe.  611 :  genealogy.  631,  632,  648 

Kline,  John,  of  Readington,  75 

Kline,  John  William,  95 

Kline,  Mary,  178 

Klines,  Mills,  1(>4 

Knebel,  Gottfried.  66,  70 

Knox.  General  Henry,  at  Phcenix  tavern,  290; 
at  .\ssunpink,  372:  at  battle  of  Princeton, 
378;  .\aron  Malick's  description  of  385; 
marching  Irom  Trenton  to  Morristown,  3H9; 
his  artilltjry  train  in  1779,  454;  orders  a  new 
uniform,  4(i2;  at  Pluckamin  in  1779.  463; 
deathof  childof,  470;  at  Bound  Brook  Re- 
view. 485 

Knox,  Mrs.  Henry,  reaches  Morristown  camp 
in  1777.  395;  at  Pluckamin  in  1779,  464;  at 
the  French  alliance  fete,  467:  death  of  her 
7  children,  470:  character  and  appearance, 
464:  at  Bound  Brook  Review,  484;  at  Mor- 
ristown in  1780,  516 

Knox,  John,  442 

Knox.  Peter,  465 

Knox.  William,  462 

Knyphausen,  Genl.  von,  character  of,  359; 
hangs  a  deserter,  368;  enters  N.  J.  in  1780, 
521.  624 

Kockerthal,  Joshua,  his  colony,  38, :» 

Kohl,  a  German  traveller,  41 

Krafl,  von  Charles,  Phihp,  3&4.  365.  368 

Kuntz,  Rev.,  of  Phila.,  85 

Kurtz,  Rev.,  of  Zion  Church,  84 


Index. 


731 


LAFAYETTE.  Genl..  532.  533.  Ml 
Laferty  House,  the.  4 

Lambertson,  Lawrence,  560 

LambertTille.  230 

lamb's  Artillery  Reift.,  377 

Lamb,  Mrs.  Martha  J..  Hist,  of  City  of  N.  Y., 
135,360 

Lamington,  Pres.  Ch.,  Founding-  of.  114,158; 
Synod  meets  at,  in  1778,  4M ;  durin{?  the 
Revolution,  441:  communion  Sunday  at, 
445;  Betty  McCoy  446;  minister  treats 
elders,  447 

Lancaster.  Pa..  544 

Landar.  Labau,  47S 

Lane,  Comeliup.  263 

Lane,  Matthias,  286 

Lane.  Matthew,  163.  286,  383 

Lane,  origin  of  name,  192 

Lanen,  Matthys  Janz  Van  Pelt,  192 

Langendorf .  36 

Lang^taff,  John.  194 

La  Monte.  Georg-e,  170 

LaTourette,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cornelius  W..  472 

LaTrappe,  Pa..  81 

Laurens,  Col.  John.  452 

Laurens,  Henry.  467 

Lauzun-Biron,  Due  de,  539 

Lauzun's  legion,  539 

Lawrence.  Capt.  Wm  .  105 

LawTence,  Eliiisha,  557 

Lawrence,  Elizabeth.  105 

Lawrence,  Thos..  Mayor  of  Phila.,  1735,  52 

Lffwrie.  Gawen,  buys  share  in  N.  J..  110.  112; 
as  deputy  gov.,  119:  calls  Benjamin  Clarke 
a"di\-il.'M78 

Laws,  odd  colonial,  208 

Lawyer's  bill. 599 

Lead,  a  precious  metal,  291 

Lee,  Captain  Joseph,  658 

Lee.  David,  188 

Lee.  Genl.  Charles,  his  burial,  60;  at  New- 
castle in  1776,  318;  ordered  to  join  main 
army,  319.  321 :  his  aniiy  encamps  on  Peter 
Melick's  land,  332,  335,  343;  at  Basking 
Ridge,  336.  341;  character  and  record,  337; 
marches  to  N.  Y.  in  1776,  339;  at  Charleston, 
S40:  captured  by  the  British,  342,  M4;  ^rill 
of.  346:  court-martial  of,  453 

Lee.  Henrj',  (Litrht-horse  Harry,)  appearance 
and  record.  479;  quarters  of .  at  Camp  Mid- 
dlebrook,  480;  at  Boimd  Brook  Review,  485; 
attacks  Powles  Hook,  492;  his  graduation, 
500:  opinion  of  Simcoe,  504;  at  battle  of 
Springfield,  525 

Lee,  Richard  Henry,  294 

Lee,  Robert  E..  485 

Lee.'SVilliam,  488 

Lee's  Legion,  uniform  of.  463 

Leume,  Johann  Gottfried,  356 

Lenni-Lenape,  or  Delaware  Indians,  98.  99 
Lenni  Wihlttuck,  Indian  name  for  Delawar<  f 

98 
Leslie,    Capt.   William,    record,   death    and 

burial  of  378.  385 
Leslie,  Genl..  372,  380 
Leslie  George,  as  Willock's  heir,   137;  buys 


Bedminster  land,  138:  limits  of  his  tract, 
140:  sells  the  old  farm  to  Johannes  Moelich, 

96,  141 

Leslie's  brook.  76 

Leslie's  ridge,  75,  76 

Lesser  Cross  Roads,  appearance  of  in  1860,1,8; 
store  and  school  house,  9-10;  first  house 
in,  304;  Lee's  army  at  334 

Letters,  their  subtle  charm,  70 

Letters  from  Bendorf,  Preceptor  Hager,  65, 
27H;  Anton  Kirberger.  72 ;  H.  Kirberger,  246 

Leven,  Earl  of,  378,  379,  386.  387 

Lexington,  battle  of .  287 

Leydt.  Rev.  John.  193.  250.  254 

Liberty  Hall,  302,  4(B.  404 

Life  Guard,  Washington's,  its  flag,  352,  uni- 
form of,  463;  ai)pearances  and  uses,  478 

Lillie,  Captain.  464-465 

Lime,  intro<iuction  of,  234-235 

Lincoln,  Genl.  Benjamin,  quarters  of  at 
Bound  Brook  in  1777,  401 ;  surprised  by 
Cornwalhs,  408;  character  and  record  of, 
4U;  at  Charleston  in  1780,  521;  march  to 
Virginia,  635 

Linn,  James.  93,  219,  297.  469 

Lippencott,  Capt.  Richard,  502, 644,  545 

Literature,  value  of  in  17th  century,  109 

Little  Egg  Harbor  Inlet,  Ul 

Livingston,  Betsy.  404,  477.  617 

Livingpton.  Capt..  475 

Livingston.  John,  404 

Li\ing^ton.  John  K.,  687 

Livingston,  Kitty,  404,  477.517 

Livingston  Manor  Patent,  46 

Livingston.  Philip,  fil? 

Li\'ingston.  Rev.  Dr.  John  H.,  261,  500 

Livingston.  Robert.  265 

Livingston.  Robt.  James,  587 

Livingston,  Robt.  R..  6m7 

Livingston,  Sarah,  marries  John  Jay,  404;  at 
Camp  Middlebrook  in  1779,  477 

Livingston,  Susan,  plants  a  tree  at  Liberty 
Hall,  302:  at  the  Stirling  mansion  in  1777, 
403:  her  cleverness  and  humor.  404;  at  Mor- 
ristown  review,  617 

Livingrston,  William,  committee  to  depose 
Gov.  Franklin,  300;  appointed  Gov.  of  N.  J., 
301:  record  and  residence  of,  302;  testifies  as 
to  British  atrocities  in  1776.  323;  at  Parsip- 
pany  in  1777,  403;  Family  of,  403;  church 
connections,  443;  correspondence  with 
Washington  in  1779,457:  Simcoe  tries  to  cap- 
ture. 503;  at  Morristown  review, 517:  Mas- 
wells  letter  to,  in  1780.  523:  aids  in  forming- 
constitution,  551,  5.52;  pardons  17  loyalists, 
556 

Lowantica  Valley,  392 

Logan,  WilUam,  158 

Log-house,  building-  the,  145 

London,  arrival  of  German  emigrants  in  1709 

39 
Long  Ferry,  137.  206 
Long  Ferry  Tavern,  206 
Longfield,  Henry,  188 

Long  Island,  battle  of,  314,  316,  357,  358,  365, 
375,  46G 


732 


Index. 


Long'  Island,  minute  men  on,  and  political 
aspect  of,  in  177G.  310;  ^'ashinglon's  retreat 
from,  317 

Lords- Proprietors.  107 

LosBbura:,  Col.,  von.  366 

Losain^,  Benson  J..  368,  469,  473 

Lott,  Abraham,  475 

Lott,  Cornelia,  il5 

Lott,  Cornelius,  506 

Lotteries,  171. 173.  690 

Lowell,  Edward  K..  353.  357 

Louisiana,  Gayarre's  history  of.  48 

Louis  XIV.  in  Germany  and  Holland,  33;  de- 
stroys Heidelberg,  42 

LouisXV.  intriijuea  with  N.  J.  Indians,  101; 
in  1747  over-runs  Holland,  257 

Louis  XVI..  132,  541 

Love  Grove,  205 

Lovelace,  Lord,  yov.  under  crown.  38,  201:  lo- 
cates Kockerthal's  colony,  38:  his  death,  44 

Lowe,  Cornelius,  Jr.,  180,  585 

LowTance,  Eliyha,  580 

Loyalists,  or  tories.  their  oppresions  in  1776. 
323;  treatment  of,  505,  654-562 

Lucas  Nicholas,  110,  111 

Lucas  Roelef,  185 

Ludlow,  Henry,  Ifil 

Ludovic  v..  Elector  Palatine.  41 

Ludwick,  Christopher.  369 

Luther.  Martin.  442 

Luzerne,  Chevalier  de  la,  517 

Lyon.  William.  381 

MACKEN,  JOSEPH,  560 
Madison,  N.  J..  Sunday-school,  in  440 

INIadison.  James.  551,  552 

Ma.tr.  of  Am.  Histor>',  360 

Magna  Charta,  24 

Mahew,  the  widow,  596 

Mails,  in  1752. 156;  in  1790,  303 

Malick,  Aaron  (iloelich  Ehrenreirh\  birth  of, 
25;  Warden  of  Zion  Ch.,  85,  87:  Warden 
of  St.  Paul's  Ch.,  93;  signature  of,  U: 
marries  Charlotte  Miller.  243;  succeeds 
Johannes  on  farm,  248;  household  in 
1775,  276;  his  bond  to  John  Van  der  Veer, 
276 ;  member  of  Com.  of  Obsen^ation 
and  Inspection.  286;  entertains  General 
Siillivan,  336;  arrest  and  release  of,  344; 
visits  the  army  of  Pluckamin,  384:  enter- 
tains WaBhin;rton,  391;  various  Church  con- 
nections. 440;  survey  of  household  in  1780, 
511;  letter  to  William  and  John  Melick.  of 
Canada,  654 :  buys  Peter's  Bedminster  Farm, 
565;  sells  Bedminster  Tavern,  579:  his  sheep 
contract,  580;  various  bills  of.  680,  .'iSl,  584, 
592;  pays  carriage  tax,  595;  overseer  of  the 
poor,  696-9;  buys  slaves,  602-4;  death  of. 
608;  funeral  of.  609;  Kenealog^'.  632,  633 

Malick.  Andrew  (Andreas  Moelich)  25;  mar- 
riage of,  245;  settles  in  Warren  Co.,  305; 
founds  St.  James'  Ch.,  305;  commissioned  a 
captain,  305;  tombstone  of,  306;  juror  on  in- 
tiuisition  against  Wm.  Melick,  560;  g-ene- 
alogj-,  632,636 

Malick,  Catherine  (wife  of  Andrew),  306 


Malick,  Charlotte  (Miller),  87,  243,  573, 603,  606 
Malick,  John  (son  of  Aaron),  his  Revolution- 
ary record.  306:  marches  to  Long  Island, 
310;  in  provl.  N.  J,  Keg.,  313;  captured  at 
Battle  of  Long  Island.  314;  in  N.  Y.  Sugar 
house,  316;  maniage  of,  565;  keeps  Bedrain- 
Bter  tavern,  565;   Dr.  McKissack's  bill  to, 
566;  removes  to  Schoharie  Co.,  N.  V.,  579; 
genealogj-,  633,  638 
Manning.  James,  195 
IManuing.  Jeflrey,  194 

Manuscript,  pleasures  derived  from  old,  142 
Maria  Theresa.  67 
Marie  Antoinette.  .^40 
Marshall,  Thomas.  18S 
Marston  Moor,  battle  of,  379 
Martin.  John,  settles  in  Piscataway,  107. 194 
Martin.  William.  478 
Marvel,  .\ndrew,  282 
Mary,  Queen  of  Scots,  442 
Mary,  ship,  arrival  of.  150 
Mason,  Kev,  John,  441 
Massachusetts  bank,  582 
Mather.  DeA\itt  C,  457 
Mather.  Cotton,  572 
Matthews,  B.  B  ,  504 
Matthews.  Genl..  408.  521 
Mawhood,  Lt.-CoL,  328.  372,  378 
Maxwell,  Wm..  Col.,  ist  Susses  Regt.,  305;  at 
Brandy  wine  and   Germantown,  334;    cap 
tures  Hessians  at  E'town.  369,  399;  his  com- 
mand in  1777,  405;   record   of.  405;  follows 
Clinton's  army  in  1778,  450;    surprised  at 
Elizabethtown  in  1779,  490;  at  Connecticut 
Farms  and  Springfield,  523,  625 
Mayflower,  the  sloop,  587 
McCoy,  Betty.  446 
McCoy,  John  F.,  174 
McCrea,  Jennie,  158 
McCrea,  Revd.  James.  158. 171 
McCuUmigh,  Benjamin,  ,560 
McDaniels,  CoL  William.  1&4 
INIcDonald,  Maj.  William,  166,  327 
McDowell,  Dr.  A.  W.,  567 
McDowell,  Ephraim,  settles  on  Astell  tract 

135, 162;  at  Lamington  Ch  .  158 
McDowell.  Rev.  John,  162,  611 
McDowell,  Rev.  William,  162 
McKean.  Thomas,  541 
McKidder.  Calvin,  608 
McKissack,  Dr.  William.  566 
McKnight,  Rev.  Charles,  445 
McMaster,  John  Bach,  233.  572 
Mc^Tiorter.  Rev.  Alex.  431,  445 
Meade,  Dr.  569 
Meat  roasters,  dogs  as,  .54 
Medicine.  .566-572 
Meehan,  Mrs.  Jane,  455 
Meg  Merilles.  Bedminster's,  274 
Mehelm,   John.   Vice-Pres.  Provl.  Congress, 
293;  member  Com.  Safety.  291,  431;  Commit- 
tee to  depose  Gov.  Franklin,  300 
Meizner,  Conrad,  94 
Meldrum,  John.  600 

Melick,  Anthony,  Anton  or  Tunis,  of  Hunter- 
don, his  birth.  80  ;    Father  Muhleuberg:'s 


Index. 


733 


mention  of,  85:  member  of  Zion  church, 
87;  entertains  a  Methodist  and  is  discip- 
lined, 8S:  gencalo^n-,  682 
Melicli.Cathrineidau.  of  Aaroni,  245.  564.  634. 
Melick,  Catherine  (dau.  of  Peter),  304  :  mar- 
( ,riag-e  and  death.  336;  statement  as  to  Lee's 

capture.  336;  ffenealogj*.  337,637 
Melick,  Catherine  fof  Zion  Ch.,)  87;  becomes  a 
Methodist,  88;   her  habits  of  prayer.   88; 
genealoiry,  682 
Melick,  Christian,  87 

Melick.  Daniel,  of  Bedrainster  (son  of  Aaron), 

■  executor  of  John  Appelman.  93 ;  birth  of,  245, 

564;  as  a  militia  Captain,  579:  old  store  bills 

of,  583, 6B4. 592;  as  overseer  of  the  poor,596-599 ; 

goes  to  Greoriria,  600-602:  at  Aaron's  funeral, 

e09:  buys  Dick  and  Nance,  611;  genealogy, 

635.  639 

Melick,  David  (of  Hxmterdon  Co.),  79;  629,  696 

Melick,  Eleonora,  ^ 

Melick,  Elizabeth  (dau.  of  Aaron),  birth  and 

death  of.  276 
Melick,  Godfrey,  emigrates  -with  Johannes. 
25;  baptism,  71;  settles  in  Warren  County, 
N.  J.,  74;  his  marriage,  75;  genealogy,  630; 
670 
Melick  Hill,  view  from,  14 
Melick,  Jacob  D.,  of  Pa.,  678 
Melick,  Jacob,  son  of  Godfrey,  554 
Melick,  John  (son  of  Daniel).  251, 640 
Melick.  John  ison  of  Godfrey),  £;54,  5.55.  671.  674 
Melick.  Jonas  ^of  Huntei*don  Co.),  79.  87,  629 
Mtrlick.  Marnraret  (dau.  of  Aaron),  27G,  611,  564 
Mflick,  Maria  (dau.  of  Aaron),  birth  of.  276, 

511. 635 
Melick.  Peter  (son  of  Johannes  Moelich*  ves- 
tryman of  St.  Paul's,  93;  birth  of,  95;  mar- 
riage, 276  ;  home  and  inheritance  of,  304; 
takes  British  oath,  328,  399;  summoned  by 
coimcil  of  safety,  430;  sells  his  Bedminster 
farm  to  Aaron.  5G4:  genealogy,  633.  637 
Melick,  Peter  (of  Columbia  Co.,  Pa.),  geneal- 

Offy,  629.  703 
Melick.  Philip,  (son  of   Johannes    Moelich) 
birth  of.  95;  marriage  of,  276:  summoned  by 
council  of  safety,  430;  genealogj-,  633.  636 
Melick,  William,  loyalist,  6M,  55.^,560.670,672 
Melhck,  927.  various  spellings  of  name,  94,  627 
Melsheimer,  Chaplain  Carl.  369 
Melyen,  Rev.  Samuel,  618 
Mendham,  ori^nnal  settlers  at,  159;  origin  of 

name,  165;  Quakers  of,  332 
Mendham  Pres.  Church,  founding    of,   159; 

singing  by  note  introduced,  436 
Menge.  Ernest,  560 
Mercer,  Fort,  360 

Mercer,  Genl.  Hugh.  319,  375.  377,  378,  387 
Mercury,  ship,  voyage    and    arrival  of,   at 

Phila.,  50 
Meserau,  John.  590 
Messier.  Dr.  Abraham,  100,  134,  169,  252.  253, 

256,  505,  508,  510 
Methodists,  first  in  Hunterdon  Co.,  87;  first 

in  N.  J..  331:  during  Revolution,  331 
Metlar.  George  W.,  180 
Metlar,  Samuel,  585 


Mew,  Richard,  112 
Michell,  Lewis,  43 
Middlebrook.    166;    Indian    name  for,   169; 

wagon  traffic  through,  584 
Middlebrook  Camp  in   1777,   established  in 

May,  415;  breaking  camp  in  June,  422 
Middlebrook  Camp  in  1779,  established  in 
Nov.,  454;  weather  at,  457:  construction  of 
huts  at,  458;  Steuben's  quarters  at,  472:  its 
agreeable  features,  474;    briUiant   j'oung 
men  at.  475;  headtjuarters  dinners,  456,  476; 
arrival  of  Spanish  and  French  envoys,  482; 
grand  review,  484,  488;  Steuben's  banquet, 
487  ;  an  execution  at,   489;  breaking  camp, 
492;  Washington-Harden  be  rgh  (Xirrespond- 
ence,  489;  Simcoe  at,  505;  sale  of  horse  at, 
515 
Middlebrook  Tavern.  172.  4ft0 
Middlesex  Co.,  first  inhabitants  103:  patented 
by  Gov.  NichoUs.  117;  Indian  path  through. 
183;  British  ravages  in  1776.  326 
Middletown,  assembly  meeta  at,  110:  settle- 
ment and  origin  of  name,  115;  117:  Indian 
path  through,  1B3 
Militia,  formation  of  in  1775-1777. 308:  a  tribute 
to   N,    J.,  311;  record   of   N.    J.,    312,    419; 
attack  Howe's  army  in  1777,  419;  fighting 
snowdrifts.  514;  at  Connecticut  Farms  and 
Springfield,  622-5;    after  the    Revolution, 
577-579 
Miller.  Catherine,  (Melick)  of  Zion  Ch..  87:  be- 
comes a  Methodist,  88;  Religioua  nature, 
88;  genealogj-,  682 
Miller.  Henry,  of  New  Gerraantown,  87.  8fl; 

genealogj',  682 
Miller,  Paul.  187 
MiUidge.  Ensign  Phiueas,  557 
MUlidge.  Jlajor  Thomas.  5.57 
Mills  on  Peapack  Brook.  236.  249,  266 
Mills  on  the  Raritan  in  1752, 179 
Mills.  Rev.  Henry.  440 

Millstone,  made  the  county  seat,  Ififi:  Wash- 
ington's army  at  in  1777,  382;  Genl.  Dickin- 
son at.  401:  Howe's  army   at   in   1777.  417; 
Revolutionary  devastation,    433:     Simcoe 
bums  the  court-house,  505 
Millstone  river,  mills  on,  179 
Mine  Brook  s\rimming  hole,  11 
Ministers,  importance  of ,  in  last  centurj-.  434; 
\isiting  taverns,  565:   drinking  habits  of, 
447,  617,  618:  as  distillers,  619 
Minaisink  Path.  183 
Minute  men.  309,  310 

Miralles.  Don  Juan  de.  betting  on  Mrs.  Jay's 
complexion,  477;  reaches  Camp  Middle- 
brook in  1779,  482:  at  Bound  Brook  Review, 
486;  entertained  by  Steuben,  487;  reaches 
Morristown  in  1780,  516;  death  and  burial, 
617 
Mississippi  River,  how  considered  in  last  cen- 
tury. 483 
Moelich,  Andreas.  (Malick,  Andrew),  25:  mar- 
riage of  245:  settles  in  Warren  Co.,  305: 
founds  St.  James"  Ch.,  305;  commissioned  a 
captain,  305;  tombstone  of,  306:  genealogy, 
&32,  636 


734 


Index. 


Moelich.  .\nna  Cathriue,  25,  629 

Moelich,  Ehrenreich  (see  Malick,  Aaron),  25; 
Warden  ofZion  Cb.,  85.  87:  Warden  of  St 
Paul's  Ch.,  93;  signature  of.  94:  yenealog-y, 
632,633 

Moelich,  Geortf  Anthon.  71.  exi 

Moelich,  Gottfried,  emiKrates  with  Johannes, 
25;  baptism,  71;  settles  in  "Wari'en  Co.,  N.  J., 
74:  his  marriage,  75:  two  loyalist  sons  of. 
654.  555:  estate  of  at  death,  561;  widow  of, 
562;  g-enealog>-,  630.  670 

Moelich,  Hans  Peter  (of  Bendorf),  79,  629 

Moelich.  Johan  David  (of  Hunterdon  Co,).  79. 
91,  92,  629 

Moohcb,  Johannes,  in  Uendorf,  25;  why  he 
emigrated.  27;  his  arrival  in  Pa.,  1735,  50; 
registers  with  Secy,  of  Pa.,  56;  letters  from 
the  old  country,  66,  70,  72,246;  two  children 
die  in  Bendorf,  70.  632:  bis  home  in  Hunter- 
don Co.,  N.  J„  1750,  75;  a  warden  of  Zion 
church.  76,  79.  82.  91;  how  he  spells  his 
name,  90,  91.  92.  94,  143;  suliscribes  for  St. 
Paul's  church  at  Pluckamin.  92;  his  family 
in  1750,  95:  purchase  of  the  old  farm,  90, 
141. 143:  facsimile  of  signaturs,  143;  builds 
Old  Stone  House,  l4.^  146, 153, 154;  starts  for 
Perth  Am  boy  in  1752. 156;  af)pearance  in  the 
saddle,  157;  ndes  tbroui?h  the  woods,  166; 
first  visit  tn  Bound  Brook.  167;  rides  down 
Raritan  Valley  in  1752.  175;  clearing  old 
farm,  234;  grandfather.  245;  household  of 
in  1760,  245;  death  of.  247:  will  of.  304;  grave 
of,  3^5:  genealogy,  629,  631 

Moelich.  Johan  Peter,  his  emigration,  26; 
arrival  in  Pa..  52;  his  son  Tunis,  80: 
genealogy,  629.  682 

Moelich,  Johan  Peter  (of  Columbia  Co.,  Pa.). 


Moelich.  Johan  Wilhelm  (father  of  Johannes), 

25.629 
Moelich,  Joh.  Michael.  72 

Moelich,  Jonas  (of  Hunterdon  Co.).  79,  87.  629 

Moelich.  Maria  Katrina  in  Bendorf.  25;  first 
walk  in  Phila.,  61;  rests  at  Indian  King 
Tavern,  68:  her  father's  family.  71;  at  the 
building  of  the  Bedminster  house.  146. 153, 
154:  no  gadding  housewife,  240;  character 
of,  240;  a  grandmother,  245;  death  of,  248 

Moelich,  Marie  Cathriue  (dau.  of  Johannes), 
birth,  25;  marries  Simon  Himrod.  277;  gene- 
alogy. 633,  656 

Moelich,  Veronica  Gerdnitta.  birth  of,  25 
Kodmoher  of,  71  :  marries  Jacob  Kline,  75 
calls  her  husband  "  a  dumb  Irishman,"  238 
genealogy,  632,  648 

MoUeson,  John,  194. 195 

Moltke,  Gen.  von,  377 

Moneybaird.  219 

Monmouth,  battle  of,  365,  368,  450,  466,  488 

Monmouth  Co.,  first  inhabitants.  I03:  settle- 
ment and  origin  of  name,  115;  Indian  path 
through,  ia3;  slaverj'  statistics.  227 

Monmouth,  England,  115 

Montfort,  Simon  de,  24 

Montgomerie.  Gov.  John.  202 

Montrose,  Earl  of.  203 


Moody,  Ensign  Jamep,  557 

Moore,  Alexander,  188, 190 

Moore.  Jonathan,  478 

Moore.  Michael,  188 

Morgan,  Col,  and  Gen.  Daniel,  reaches  Morris- 
town  in  1777.  406;  record  of,  407;  at  Van 
Veghten'e  bridge  in  1777.  415:  harasses 
Howe's  army  at  Millstone;  419;  attacks 
Comwallis  at  Woodbridge.  421;  following 
Clinton's  army  in  1778,  450 

Morris,  Col.  Lewis,  settles  Shrewsbury,  and 
wives  of,  115;  St.  Peter's  Ch..  123 

Morris  County,  first  settlement,  159;  slavery 
statistics,  227;  apple-jack  introduced  in 
615 

Morris,  Dr.  Jonathan  Ford,  508 

Morris,  General  Lewis.  115 

Morris,  General  Staats,  birth  of,  115;  mar- 
riage of,  131 

Morris  Gouvemeur,  birth  of,  115:  agent  of 
Duchess  of  Gordon,  131:  character  of,  132; 
receives  testimony  as  to  British  treatment 
of  prisoners,  316,  362;  his  estimate  of  Missis- 
sippi river,  483;  at  constitutional  conven- 
tion, 5.52 

Morris.  Gov.  Lewis,  birth  of,  115:  opinion  of 
Cornbury,  201 ;  appointed  governor,  203 ; 
character  of  and  death.  203 

Morris,  Mrs.  Margaret,  363 

Morris,  Richard,  settles  Morrisania,  N.   Y.. 

115 

Morris,  Robert,  339,  468 

Morristown,  founding  of,  159;  army  at  in 
1777,  390.  415,  4Zi:  population  at  outset  of 
war,  397:  churches  of  during  Revolution 
397;  punishing  church  members,  432;  church 
established  at,  159;  encampment  of  1780,  512: 
review  at  in  1780,  517;  executions  in  1780,  520; 
members  of  congress  at  in  1780,  534 :  meeting 
of  Pa.  line,  528;  Benjamin  Cooper's  trial,  574 

Morristov^Ti  Pres.  Church,  first  established, 
159;  during  the  Revolution,  397;  Pres.  dis- 
cipline. 432 

Mortimer's  History  of  England,  40 

Morton-house,  ship,  arrival  of.  in  1728, 52 

Morton,  Jacob,  402 

Morton,  John,  home  of.  at  Basking  Ridge. 
402:  entertains  French  officers,  538 

Morton  Washington,  runs  off  ^\'ith  Cornelia 
Schuyler,  402 

Mosquitos,  114,  590 

Mott.  Dr..  203 

Mount  Holly,  Hessians  at  363;  Revolutionary 
devastation  at.  433 

Mount  Hol^e  Mine,  367 

Mount  Pleasant.  419,  459 

Mount  Vernon.  641 

Moylan,  Col.  Stephens,  uniform  of  his  dra- 
goons. 463;  appearance  and  marriage  of, 
480;  home  and  character  of,  480 

JIuhlenburg,  General,  John,  Peter.  Gabriel, 
Ruttenburg's  Eulogy  of,  38;  Pastorof  Zion 
Church  New  Germautown.  04;  at  St.  James 
Luth.  Ch.,  305;  reaches  Morristown  in  1777* 
412;  characters  and  record  of.  413:  his  com- 
mand  at    Morristown,  413;  promoted  brig 


Index. 


735 


g'enl.,  414;  marches  thro UKh  Bedmiaster  in 
July,  1777.  424;  (fives  a  ball  at  MiiMlebrook 
in  1779.  4B8;  at  Bound  Brook  review,  485 

Muhlenberg',  Rev.  Heurj'  Ernst.  85 

Muhlenberg-.  Rev.  Henry  M.,  (Father)  reaches 
America,  80;  his  character,  81;  his  letters  to 
Zion  Ch.,  85-87;  rector  of  Zion  Ch.  at  ^ew 
Germantown.  83;  complains  his  conduct  is 
misconstrued  (Irish  tricks),  238 

Muklewrath,  Elder,  344 

Muller,  Rev,  Georg-e,  628 

Mundaye,  Nicholas,  194 

Muller,  John  Henry  (Henry  Miller),  82.  682 

Mundy.  Enos,  336,  637 

Murray,  Robert,  282 

Murray's  Notes  on  Elizabethtown,  499 

Musconetconi?  Valley  in  1707,  37 

Mutinies  of  Pa.  and  N.  J.  lines.  528-531 

Mutiny  of  Pa.  levies  in  1783.  &18 

NAPOLEON'S  Art  of  War,  421 
Narraticonif.  or  Raritan  Indians,  9«,  99 

National  Lt-ayrue,  623 

Nautilus,  the  steamboat.  588 

Navesink  or  Nauvessiuv.  183 

Neil,  Capt.  Daniel.  377 

NelLson,  Col.  John,  record  of  and  residence, 
398,  585:  after  Queen's  Ram?ei*s,  506 

Neilson,  Mrs  John,  397 

Nelson.  James,  197 

NeshanJc,  R.  D.  Ch.,  256.  2(3 

l^euwied,  36 

Neversink,  183 

^evill,  Samuel,  comin^i:  to  America  of,  141. 
142:  honors  and  diHTilties.  142;  death  of.  143: 
dwellini?  of.  211 

Nevill's  laws,  142 

Nevius.  Capt.  Joseph.  249,  251 

NR\ius,  Johanna.  617 

Nevius,  Johannes,  251 

Nevius.  Petrus,  251 

Nevius,  Wilhelmus.  617 

New  American  Ma^razine.  142 

Newark  Bay.  first  Europeans  on,  103 

Newark  Causeway.  690 

Newark,  settlement  and  orii^in  of  name,  109: 
condition  m  1682. 117:  in  1776.  303:  WashinK- 
ton  and  Howe's  army  in.  in  1776,  320;  Pres, 
Church  destroyed,  433:  first  Sunday  school 
in,  440:  in  1781,590 

New  Barbadoes,  118,  477 

New  Brunswick,  condition  in  1730,  IHO.  185. 186. 
187;  first  inhabitant  of.  184:  first  church 
buildinff,  185;  first  charter,  187;  churches  in 
1752,193;  copper  mines  at,  193;  staKe  lines, 
228;  condition  in  1776.  303:  Washin^non  and 
Comwallis  at.  in  1776,  321;  Christ  Ch.,  in, 
189,  193,  330;  Howe's  army  at.  408;  Howe 
evacuates  in  1777,  419;  Revolutionary  devas- 
tation at.  433;  Washington's  army  at.  4 
July.  1778:  452;  furnishes  <iTH'ensware  for 
headquarters,  456;  allied  armies  at,  535; 
banks  established  at,  582:  prosperity  after 
the  Revolution,  584;  old  merchants  of,  585; 
first  steamboat  to,  ,=W7:  Bflloua  Hall,  589; 
Raritan  bridKe  destroyed,  59V;  arrival  of 
stage  coaches  at,  592 


New  Brunswick  R.  D.  Church,  185,  193.  251 

Newburt-,  settlement  of,  38 

Newburn.  N.  C,  origin  of  name.  43 

Newbury,  Mass..  108 

New  England  slave  trade.  223 

New  GermantowTi,  N,  J.,  founded  in  1730,  76: 
Zion  Lutheran  Ch.  at,  77;  name  first  men- 
tioned, 78;  Lee's  army  at,  344;  council  of 
safety  meet  at,  in  July,  1777,  430. 

New  Jersey  in  Revolution,  319 

New  Jersey  levies,  376 

New  Jersey  line,  first  establishment,  307; 
second  establishment,  401;  third  establish- 
ment, 105;  at  Pomptou  iu  1781,  528;  mutiny 
of.  631 

New  Jersey,  oi*iKin  of  name,  104;  birth  of 
Btate,  299;  in  Revolution,  319;  ratifies  con- 
stitution. 551,  553 

New  Market,  Seventh  Day  Church  at.  197; 
Washington's  army  at.  in  1777,  420;  Simcoe 
at,  501;  Thomas  Raadoli)h  tarred  and  feath- 
ered, 556 

New  Netherlands.  103.  104;  recaptured  by 
Dutch  in  1673,  110 

Ne\\TX)rt  bridge,  600 

New  Providence,  N.  J..  106 

New  Providence,  Pa..  81,  83 

Newspapers,  first  Revolutionarj'.  2«2 

New  York  city,  its  charters  of  1676  and  1730, 
187;  growth  in  1778,  686 

Nicoll.Mathias,  203 

NichoUs,  Gov.,  protests  against  the  dukes 
giving  away  N.  J.,  105:  patents  Elizabeth- 
town  grant.  106;  patents  Monmouth  to 
Richd.  Stout.  117 

Nisbitt.  Jonathan.  141 

North  Branch.  It.  D.  Church.  224, 251,  252 

North  Branch  of  Raritan.  view  of.  from  Pea- 
pack  stage.  4 

North.  Major  William,  473.  488 

Nova  Cesarea.  101 

Nut  Island,  Palatines  encamp  on.  45 

Nymeguen,  treaty  of.  33 

OAKEY,  JACOB.  187, 191 
Oakey.  oiiginof  name.  192 

Oakoy,  William,  187 

O'Brien,  Daniel,  228 

Obstetrics,  568 

Ogden.  Aaron.  491,  588 

Ogden.  Col.  Matthias,  507 

Ogden,  Dr.  Uzal,  226 

Ogden,  John,  106 

Ogden.  ton'.  530 

Ogilby.  Pi-of.  John.  386 

"  Old  Farm."  approach  to  the.  12;  descrip- 
tion of,  13-21 ;  purchase  of,  96 :  boundaries 
in  1751.  97:  cost  and  title,  98;  Indian  traces 
on.  100:  clearing  the  land,  234;  life  on  from 
1752  to  1763.  233 

Olding.  William.  195 

Old  Sow,  513 

Old  Stone  House,  first  view  of,  16;  living 
room  or  farm  kitchen,  18,  210:  biiilding  of. 
145,  146.  15;J:  the  first  meal  in,  154:  eating 
and  drinking  in,  17.  18,  154,  239.  240;  sugar 
first  used  in,  238;   industnes  of,   239.  242; 


736 


Index. 


furniture  of ,  IS,  241:  utensils  in,  241;  wear- 
ing apparel  of  inmates,  241 :  Washing  day 
243;  first  baby,  245;  household  in  1760,  245, 
on  a  military  thorouKhf  are,  390;  Washing- 
ton's visit  to,  391;  survey  of  household  in 
1788,  564;  Daniel  Cooper's  wedding  in,  573; 
negro  slaves  in,  602-9;  household  in  1798,  6O4 

Onderdonk's  Revolutionary  Incidents,  362, 368 

Op  de  MiUstone  Church,  ISO,  254 

OpieFarm,  14 

Opie,  Walter,  76 

Oppey,  Ann,  597 

Opsinderin,  190,  263 

Otto,  Georg  Peter,  65,  71,  72 

Otto,  Magdalena  Christina  Catharina  Anton- 

etta,  65 

PACK-HORSES  in  Phila.  in  1735,  61 
Paintings,  first  collection  in  America, 
210 
Palatinates,  their  hegira  to  London  in  1709, 
39;  their  settling  in  Ireland,  41;  the  Caro- 
linas,  43;  N.  Y ,  44,  46;  Livingston  Manor. 
47;  Pennsylvania, 48;  their  numbers  on  the 
Hudson,  46;  their  grievances  against  N.  Y., 
47;  Pa.  laws  as  to  registry,  46 
Paoli,  Wayne's  surprise  at,  466 
Parker,  Elisha,  108 
Parker,  James,  of  Amboy,  211,  328 
Parker,  James,  of  Woodbridge  prints  E'town 
bill  in  chancery,  107;  prints  Nevill's  laws 
and  Smith's  hist,  of  N.  J.,  142 
Parker,  John,  120 
Parker,  Sir  Peter,  291,  312 
Parsippany,  403 
Pastorius,  Francis  Daniel,  settles  German- 

to\vn,  36, 39:  His  death,  61 
Paterson,  William,  asst.-sec  1st  Prov.  Con- 
gress, 287;  member  Provl.  Congress  of  1776, 
297;  Committee  to  depose  Gov.  Franklin, 
300;recordof,  301:  member  Council  of  Saf- 
ety, 431:  at  Constitutional  Convention,  552 
Paulus  Hook,  590 
Paupers,  596 
Pausch,  Captain,  364 
Pauw,  Michael,  118 
Pavonia,  118 
Peace,  treaty  of,  547 
Peale's,  Washington,  495,  496 
Peapack,  the  stage,  1;  origin  of  name,  125;  In- 
dian paths,  125,  183:  Ume  first  used,  235 
Peapack  Patent,  granted  to  Johnston   and 
Willocks,  125;   its   limits,  130,    132;    AxteU 
buys  portion  of.  133;  division  of  remainder, 
137,  139 
Pearson,  Abraham,  109 
Penhom  Creek,  118 
Penn.  John,  299 

Pcnn,  William,  his  American  grant,  36:  his 
inducements  tor  settlers,  39:  Phila.  house 
of,  68,  69:  buys  an  interest  in  N.  J.,  110,  111. 
112 
Pennington,  in  1776,  Cornwallis'  army  at,  345 
Pennsylvania,  inducements  it  offered  to 
German  emigrants,  26,  38,  39;  arrival  of  the 
Palatines,  48;  its  German  population  in  1717, 
1719,  1727,  1738,  4749,  and  1766,  48-49 


Pennsylvania  Merchant,  brigantine,  voyags, 

and  arrival  in  1733, 51 
Peppard,  Rev.  Francis,  436 
Pepys'  opinion  of  Lady  Carteret,  105 
Perinc,    Peter   and  Daniel,    5<>4,   634 
Perry,  Samuel,  430 

Perth    Amboy,   settlement    and    origin   of 
name,  113;  Raritan  and  S.  I.  ferries  estabd., 
122:  in  1752  is  Somerset's  P.  0„  156;  corpor- 
ate limits  of,  187:  as  a  provincial  capital' 
200:  chartered  in  1718,  201;  beauty  of,  199, 
205;  Love  Grove,  Sandy  Point,   and  Town 
Green,  206,  207;  lack  of  patriotism,  208;  St. 
Peter's  Ch.,  123,  137,  141,  211.   Pres.,  Ch.,  212; 
social  aspects,  215;  tales  of  a  Kings  council- 
lor, 217;  taverns   in  1752,    '^06,  228;  stage; 
routes  through,  229:  a  garrison  town,  329; 
disaflection  at  in  1776,  208,  329;  Simcoe  at. 
503;  treasury  robbed  at,  575 
Perth,  Earl  of,  112 
Perth,  Scotland,  113 
Pettinger,  John,  560 
Petty,  John,  560 
Pewter,  use  of,  54 

Philadelphia,  in  1735,  60;  population  of,  52: 
Indian   King  tavern,   57:    Christ   Church 
adjoins  the  Pond,  57:  Quakers  in  1735,  68; 
Penn's  house,  68;  Equipage  in  1735,  61:  yel- 
low fever  in,   63;   stage  lines  to,  228;  con- 
tinental army  in  1777,  333;  Washington  at, 
370:  British  evacuate,  450;  allied  armies  at, 
535,  537,  5)0:  Yorktowu  surrender  announced 
at,  541;  bank  of  N.  A.  established,  581;  old 
Union  Line  to,  588 
Phila.  light-horse,  1st  troop,  376 
Philip,  ship,  arrival  of  in  1665,  106 
Phillips,  General,  632 
Phillips,  Maj.  Joseph,  313 
PhilUpsburg,  Lee's  army  at,  344 
Phil's  HiU,  480,  503 
Phcenix,  John,  299 
Phffinix,  Sarah,  290 
Physicians,  566-572 
Physicians,  ministers  as,  438,  497 
Pickel,  Abraham,  147 

Pickel,  Balthazar  (Baltisi  advent  in  Hunter- 
don Co  ,  79;  grave,  79:  warden  of  Zion  Ch. 
78-87 
Pickel,  William,  147 
Pickel's  Mountain,  79 
Pictorial  Effect  of  War,  416 
Piece  of  Eight,  value  of,  98 
Pierce,  Daniel.  108 
Pleterse,  Christian,  118, 191 
Pike,  Genl.  Zebulon  Montgomery,  108 
Pike,  John,   patriarch   of  Woodbridge,  108- 

109 
Pinhorne,  William,  118 
Piscataqua  Maine,  108 

Piscataway,  an  Indian  village,  99:  settlement 
and  name  of,  108,  184 ;  assembly  meets  at. 
110;  condition  in  1682,  117:  Johannes'  visit 
to,  in  1752,  193;  town  records,  195:  Baptist 
churches  established,  196.  197:  St.  James' 
Church,  198:  Howe's  army  in,  in  1776, 323 


Index. 


737 


Pitlochie,  Laird  of.  126,  m 

Pittsburif.  in  1776.  302 

Plainfield.  230,  303;  Quaker  meeting  at  331; 
fiiKbting  at,  421 

Plainfield,  South.  125 

Plaquemine.  165 

Plows  in  last  century,  235 

Pluckamin,  first  view  of,  3;  arrival  of  staff e, 
4;  St.  Paul's  Lutheran  Ch.  at,  84.  85.92,  93. 
94:  EoH"'b  purchase,  140.  162;  appearance  in 
1752.  162-164;  oriBin  of  name.  165;  cavalry 
raids  in.  326;  Washington's  army  at,  in  1777. 
383:  Sirs.  Washington  at,  397:  the  artillery 
park  in  1779,  461;  General  and  Mrs.  Knos  at, 
in  1779.  463;  the  French  alhance  fete.  466; 
death  of  Julia  Knox  at,  470;  Jacobus  Van 
der  Veer's  insane  daughter,  471:  general 
trainings  at.  478,  607;  old  time  storekeepers. 
531,f>83:    burial  of  Aaron  Mahck,  610 

Pluckamin  Mountain,  first  view  of,  3 

Plumsted.  Clement.  112 

Pompton.  army  halts  there  in  rainstorm, 
423;  the  Schuyler  and  Colfax  homesteads, 
477,  478;  N.  J.  line  at,  in  1781.  528:  mutiny 
at.  531 

Pool.  John.  585 

Post  Offices  in  1752,  157 

Post,  Theunis,  2M 

Potts.  Joseph  C.  350 

Potts,  Stacy.  350,  699 

Pound,  colonial,  in  1752. 98 

Powelson,  Jacob.  131 

Powles  Hook.  Lee  attacks,  492 

Pres.  Church,  Amwell,  174;  Bound  Brook,  17I. 
173;  New  Brunswick,  193:  Princeton.  175.  495 

Presbyterians  in  the  Revolution,  433.  443; 
beer  at  pi-esbyterj'.  618 

Princeton,  army  retreats  through  in  1776, 
321;  General  Putnam  at  in  1877,  400,  401; 
Revolutionary  devastation,  433 :  Pres. 
Church  in  Revolution,  495:  appearance  in 
1748,  499:  allied  armies  at,  535;  Claude 
Blanchard's  description  of,  637 

Princeton,  Battle  of,  377.  395,  466,  495 

Princeton  College,  educates  Shawriskhekunt?, 
102:  lottery  for  benefit  of.  174;  Jonathan 
Edwards'  presidency,  214 :  Witherspoon's 
presidency,  296;  the  commencements  of 
1779  and  1883.  495;  at  battle  of  Princeton, 
378,  495;  during  Revolution,  495;  Gov. 
Belcher's  library.  496:  naming  Nassau 
Hall.  496:  foundmg  of  college,  497:  removal 
to  Princeton.  499;  studies  in  last  century, 
600;  confers  degree  on  Nathan  Strong.  619 

Procession  of  the  seasons,  266 

Proct^-r's  Artillery  Regt.,  376,  409 

Propriety  interests,  their  sub-div.,  119, 120 

Provincial  Congresses,  287,  289, 291.  293,  297 

Provincial  officers  in  English  army,  557 

Provisional  N.  J.  Regt.,  313.  314 

Prussia,  67 

Putnam.  Genl.  Israel,  at  Princeton  in  1777, 
400;  at  Camp  MidtUebrook  in  1779,  457;  pro- 
testB  against  liquor  selling,  620 


QUAKERS,  in  Penna.  in  1766,  49;  In  PhUa. 
in  1735.  58;  buy  half  of  N.  J.,  110;  Ben- 
jamin Clarke  disciplined  by,  178:  at  Plain- 
field. 331;  in  Revolution,  331;  in  Mendham, 
332 

Quassaick  Creek,  38 

Queen's  American  Rangers,  the,  601 

Queen's  College,  261.  500 

Queen's  Own.  the.  345,  521 

Quibbletown,  Seventh  Day  Church  at,  197; 
Washington's  Army  at.  420:  Simcoe  at.  504; 
Thomas  Randolph  tarred   and  feathered, 

556 
Quick.  Abraham.  131 
Quilting  frolics,  239 
Quinti  partite  deed,  ill 

RAID  of  Queen's  Rangers,  501 
Raikes.  Robert,  439 
Railroad  statistics,  232 
Rail,  Colonel,  348,  349 
Randolph.  Peyton,  285 
Randolph,  Thomas,  556 
Rankin.  Rev.  John  C,  159 
Rapahannock,  Va.,  the  Falls  of.  Germane  at 

44 

Raritan  Church,  when  erected.  251.  252;  de- 
struction of,  4.33,  505.  509;  present  church 
built.  510 

Raritan  Indians.  98. 99. 169 

Raritan  Landing,  lots  sold  by  lottery,  174, 
industries  in  1752, 179:  destruction  of  water- 
power,  180:  the  Low  mansion,  180;  Simcoe's 
raid.  506:  stores  and  warehouses  at.  585 

Raritan  river  in  1650,  169:  Mills  on.  in  1752, 
179;  Col,  Laureus  descriptien,  452;  frozen 
for  4  months,  513 

Raritan,  the  steamboat,  588 

Raritan  Valley,  in  1650, 169;  in  1752.  175;  John 
Field's  purchase  in  1695,  176:  mills  in  1752, 
179;  distilleries  in  619 

Ratisbon,  treaty  of.  33 

Raynal.  the  abbe,  221 

Read.  Rev.  Israel,  171 

Reading.  John.  203.  304 

Readington  to\\'nship,  origin  of  name,  303 

Redemptioners,  148-153 

Reed,  Chas..  of  Phila.,  56 

Reed,  CoL  Joseph,  377.  500 

Religion  during  Revolution,  433 

Relig'ion  in  last  century,  213,  427 

Religion  in  N.  J.,  in  18th  century,  213,  431, 
498 

Rentals  in  last  century,  205 

Reporttr,  Revolutionary,  469 

Reuber,  Corpl.  Johannes,  358 

Reusch,  Rev.  Johannes.  629,  630,  631,  670 

Revolutionary  War,  cause  of,  281 ;  close  of, 
M7:  prostration  after,  M9,  553 

Reynolds,  Daniel,  .175 

Reynolds,  Sir  Joshua,  iSa 

Rhodes,  Charles,  561 

Ribble,  Geoi^e,  560 

Richardson,  Joseph,  597,  699 

Richards,  Rev.,  445 

Richie,  Ann,  137, 138 

Richmond,  Duchess  of.  516 


738 


Index. 


Richmond,  James.  586 
Ridley,  Matthew,  401 
Riedesel,  Baroness,  239 
Riedesel,  Gen.  von,  239.  359 

EiKsr,  Ambrose,  112. 120 
Einehart,  Godfrey,  of  Zion  Ch.,  88 

Road,  a  conntr>'.  12 

Roads,  early,  Bi-mardsville  to  Laminirton, 
181;  Great  Earitan,  167;  Dutch  trail  and 
King's  highway,  182:  Trenton  to  Araboy, 
229;  York,  230:  Somerville  to  Pluckamin, 
166:  their  condition  in  1768,  231 

Roberts.  Lieut.  Owen.  &13 

Robeson's  Mills,  179 

Eobin,  Abbe,  537 

Robinson,  Joseph,  291 

Rochambeau,  Count  de,  526,  534.  540 

Eochefoucault-Liancourt.  Duke  of.  502 

Rooky  Hill,  179,  321 

Rodgers,  Rev.  John.  441. 442.  445 

Rodney,  Capt.  Thomas,  at  Assuupink  and 
Princeton.  374;  diary  of.  381.  386;  at  Pluck- 
amin in  1777.  385;  marchins  to  Morristown, 
388;  James  Tilton's  letter  to,  538 

Roe,  Rev.  .\zel .  445 

Roelifson.  Lawrence,  of  Zion  Church,  82,  90 

Rogers,  Major  Robert,  501 

Rof-rers  Rock,  501 

Eomeyn,  Rev.  Theo.  F.,  694 

Rosbrugh,  Rev.  John,  444 

Rosengarten,  J.  G..  367 

Ross.  Dr.  Alex.,  189 

Ross  Hall,  189,  .585 

Roxiticus,  159 

Royal  Deux  Font's  regt..  536 

Boycefield,  170 

Eoyce,  John,  170 

Ruckert,  Simon  Ludwig.  66.  70 

Eudyard,  Eenjamin.  120 

Eudyard,  Thomas.  112;  as  deputy-gov  ,  119, 
120. 132;  buys  land  at  Bound  Brook.  170 

Euiu.  Johannes'  first  drink  of.  57;  introduced 
in  .\merica,  614 

Bunyon,  David  D..  195 

Riinyon,  Noah  D.,  195 

Runyon,  Peter..\..  195 

Eunyon.  Peter  P.,  586 

Eupp.  Prof.  I.  D.,  41 

Rush.  Dr.  Benjamin,  when  he  signed  the 
Declaration,  296:  letter  to  Gen.  Lee.  339;  at 
battle  of  Princeton,  377,  .379;  at  funeral 
of  Capt  Leslie.  385:  record  of.  387;  his 
graduation,  600;  as  a  temperance  re- 
former, 620-623 

Rush,  Leaney,  596 

Rutgers  College,  261,  500 
Rutgers,  N.  J.,  origin  of  name.  192 

Rutherford,  118 

Rutherford,  Walter,  135 

Euttenburgh,  E  M.,  Newbur's  historiang,' 38 

SABINES  loyalists,  557,  .559 
Sagorighweysghsta.  101 
St.  Clair.  Gen.  Arthur.  373 
St.  James'  Ch..  Piscataway.  197       • 
St.  James,  Lutheran  Ch..  305 
•St.  John's  Church.  Etowu,  174 


St.  Paul's  Lutheran  Ch.    Pluckamin,  SI,  85, 
94:  damaged  by  British,  326:  as  a  prison 
in    1777,  381,  434;   Capt.   LesUe  buried   in 
churchyard.  385 
St.  Peter's  Church.  Amhoy.  123:  benefits  by 
Willock's  will,  137;  pewholders  in,  141:  par- 
sonage, 211;  Sunday  moraing  at.  219 
Saintonge  reg't.  536 
Salaries,  official.  301 
Salem.  N.  J.,  founding  of,  110 
Salmon's  Herbal,  .569 
Sand  as  a  floor  covering,  17, 51, 154 
Sanford,  Capt.,  503,  5.  7.  8 
Sanford,  Capt,  Wm..  118 

Sandy  Hook,  first  white  man's  grave  in  N.  J., 
103;  first  shipwreck  on,  116;  Clinton's  army 
on.  450;  hanging  of  Huddy,  512,  543 
Sandy  Point,  206 
Sankhicans,  99 
Saugerties,  Palatines  at,  46 
Savannah.  601 

Sayn-altenbirchen.  county  of.  68 
Scammel.   Major    .Alexander,   on  Sullivan's 
staff.  M\ ;  sacrifice  of.  at  Camp  Middlebrook, 
481:   con-espondence    and    death    of,   482: 
march  to  Virginia.  535 
Scarborough,  arrival  of  ship,  203 
Schenck,  Alche.  250 
Schenck.  Capt.  Henry.  327 
Schenck.  Col.  John,  327 
Schenck,  Hendrick,  179 
Schenck.  John.  429 
Schenck.  Peter.  292.  429 
Schenck,  Rev.  George.  6 
Scheyiehbi.  Indian  name  for  N.  J.,  98 
Schmidt,  Rev,  Joh.  Georg.,  of  Bendorf,  70, 

6.30,  6.33,  656. 670 

Schnizlein.  Carl.  354 

Scoharie  Co.,  N.  Y.,  Palatines  in,  46 

Schomps  Mills,  16:  establishment  of.  249.  267; 

description  of.  270;  purchased  by  N.  AiTO- 

smith,  598 
Schooley's  Mountain  iu  1707,  37 
Schrenck,  Rev.  Ludolph  H.,  of  Zion  Ch.,  82 
Schureman,  James,  508 
Schuyler,  .\bm..  David  and  Philip  P..  189 
Schuyler.  Arent.  477 
Schuyler.  Casparus,  477 
Schuyler,  Colfax,  478 
Schuyler.  Cornelia.  402 
Schuyler,  Derrick,  187, 189 
Schuyler,  Elizabeth,  516 
Schuyler.  Gen.  PhiUp,  311,  476, 177.  517.  560 
Schuyler,  Hester,  478 
Schuyler,  Peter,  buys.Gov.  Carteret's  house, 

105 
Schuyler's  "  Colonial  New  York,"  180_ 
Schwartz,  George,  of  Zion  Ch..  91 
Schwenckfelders,  arrival  of  in  Pa..  51 
Scotch  emigration.  ;7,  114. 127.  442 
Scotch  Johnny's  N.  Y.  tavern.  228 
Scotch  Plains,  Gen.  Sullivan  at,  in  1777,  401 
Scott,  George,  126, 127 
Scott.  Prof.  Austin,  188, 190 
Scudder,  Dr.  John.  Joseph  and  Mary.  315 
Seabury.  Rev.  Samuel.  174 


Index. 


739 


Seahorse,  the  stearaboat.  588 

Sears,  Isaac.  281 

Sebring.  Abraham,  179  ' 

Sebrinjf,  Roelef,  185 

Segal's,  241 

Sergeant,  Jonathan  D.,  287,  288 

Seventeenth  British  Reg't,  328,  373,  378.  386 

Seventh-Day  Baptists.  197 

Sharp,  Christian.  .'•GO 

Shaw,  John.  430 

Shaw,  John  C.,459 

Shaw,  Major  Samuel.  4(fi 

Shawriekhekung,  102 

Sheep  contract,  a,  580 

Sheldon's  light-horye.  'Ml.  491 

Shenandoah  Valley  Germans,  43 

Shippen,  Dr.  William,  568 

Shippen,  Joseph,  Jim'r,  499 

Shoemakers,  generals  as.  239 

Sholtze,  David,  arrival  in  Pa.,  51 

Shooting  matches,  4^2 

Shrewsbury,  settlement  of,  115 

Shuppman,  Jacob,  of  Zion  Cfa.,  yo 

Silesia.  67 

Siloy.  Samuel.  430 

Simcoe,  Col.  John  Graves.  502 
Singing  iu  churches,  im 

Six  Mile  Run.  165, 179 

Six  Mile  Run  Church,  252,  2M     ' 
Six   Nations  of  N.  Y.   send   the   Delawarea 
west,  57;  their  locality,  99;  honor  Gov.  Ber- 
nard, 101;  in  1776.302;  Sullivan's  campaign 
against,  490 
Sixteenth  British  Light  Dragoons,  'M5 
Skclton.  Thomas,  Phila's  first  hackman.  61. 62 
Skinner,  Courtlandt.  329.  557 
Skinner.  Rev.  William.  123, 198,  211.  329 
Slater.  Edward,  194.  195. 196 
Slaves,  buying  ground  of,  13;  a  negro  auction 
in  Phila..  53;  short  hist.  of.  in  N.  J..  220;  in 
Perth  Amboy.  223;  New  England.  223;  value 
in  N.  J.,  224,  226;  cruel  punishments.  22.'i: 
colonial  and  N.  J.,  slavery  statistics.  227; 
manumission  laws,  227;  in  Georgia  in  1792. 
600;  on  the  Old  Farm,  602-612:  auction  sale 
of,  on  Old  Farm,  611 
Slave  trade.  221 

Sloops  on  the  Delaware,  231.  587 
Sloops  on  the  Raritau,  585 
Sloop  travel.  229,  230 
Sfnalley,  Isaac,  195. 196 
Smalley,  John,  IW 
Smallpox.  572 

Smallwood.  Col.  William.  374 
Smiley,  William  R.,  611 
Smith,  Dr.  Stanhope,  500 
Smith,  Ensign  WilUdm.579 
Smithfleld(New  Germantown),  78 
Smith,  Margaret,  137 
Smith,  Miles,  585 
Smith,  Peter,  660 
Smith,  Ralph,  the  founder  of  Nevr  (Jerman- 

town,  77:  leases  land  to  Zion  church,  78 
Smith.  Richard,  105 
Smith.  William  Lovet.  75 
Smith's  Hist,  of  N.  J.,  142 


Snell's  Hiat.  of  Hunterdon  and  Somerset,  134 

Society  for  proi>ogation  of  the  Gospel  in 
foreign  parts.  123, 196.  198.  497 

SoisBOnnais  reg't.  536 

Soldiers  of  1776,  XJ2,  334 

Somerset  Co.,  first  permanent  inhabitant, 
106;  when  set  ofl",  165;  wild  beasts  in.  X67: 
Indian  path  through,  183;  first  church  in, 
185;  slaverj'  statistics.  227 

Somerset  Land  Grants,  129 

SomervUle,  stage  routes.  1.  230;  birth  of.  166, 
509;  condition  in  1779.  455 

Sonmans,  Arent,  112, 141 

Sonmans,  Joseph,  101 

Southard,  Abraham,  160 

Southard,  Henry.  161,  402 

Southard.  Samuel  L..  101. 161.  402 

Southern  campaign  of  1781,  532-511 

Spain,  relations  with,  iu  1779,  483 

Spinning,  175,  239.  242 

Spinning  visits,  239 

Springfield.  X.  J.,  stages through,230;patrlotic 
women,  of.  333;  Pi-es.  Church  destroyed, 
433;  first  Sunday-school  in,  440;  battle  of. 
523,  525 

Spring  Valley.  392 

Staats.  Barent  and  Katrina,  189 

Staats  House  at  Bound  Bi*ook,  472.  457 

Staats.  Major  Abraham.  115 

Stage  coaches,  591.  592 

Stage  travel,  1742  to  1752.  228;  Swiftsure 
coach  line.  230;  hardships  of,  231.  591 

Stair,  Earl  of.  106 

Stamp  act,  Tlie.  281 ,  282 

Stanwix.  Fort,  622 

State  House  at  Phila.  when  new.  56 

Staten  Island.  Stirling's  sally  in  1780,  515 

State  troops,  376 

Steamboats,  introduction  of.  587 

Steele.  Richard,  as  a  friend  of  Gov.  Robert 
Hunter.  44 

Steele,  Capt.  John.  624 

Steel,  John,  430 

Stelle,  Benjamin.  196 

Stelton.  196 

Stephen.  Genl.  Adam.  372 

Sterling,  Genl..  521 

Steuben,  Baron  Frederick  W,  A.,  at  Valley 
Forge,  374.  472;  character  and  appearance, 
471,  472;  his  "  Regulations  for  infan- 
try." 473;  quarters  of  at  Bound  Brook.  472; 
at  Bound  Brook  review,  485;  staft'  officers  of, 

633 

Stevens,  John,  188 

Stewart,  Col.  Charles. 398 

Stewart,  Col.  (of  Pa.  line)  530 

Stewart,  James,  561 

Stewart.  Lieut.  James,  504 

Stillwater.  George,  76 

Stirling.  Lady,  as  a  hostess  in  1777,  402 

Stirling.  Lady  Kitty,  as  a  hostess  in  1777.  402; 

at  Pluckamin  Fete.  467;    wedding  of.  493; 

entertains  Manasseh  Cutler,  495 
Stirling  Lord,  wife  of.  135;  house  and  estate 

of.   160,  307;    arrests  Gov.    Franklin,  300; 

removed  from   King's  Council.  298;   John 


740 


Index. 


Penn's  letter  to,  299;  record  of,  306:  on 
retreat  through  Jerseys,  321 :  at  battle  of 
Trenton.  349:  at  battle  of  Lodk  Island.  314, 
357,  358.  375;  sends  relief  to  Lincoln  at  Bound 
Brook,  410;  staff  otHcers  of,  491.  533;  decay 
of  his  mansion.  493;  loss  of  fortune,  494; 
sally  on  S,  I.,  in  1780.  515 

Stockton,  Major  Richard,  558 

Stockton,  Eichard,  78.  219.  326 

Stockton.  Robert.  599 

Stone.  William.  L,.  2%.  358.  360 

Stony  Point,  attack  on.  492 

Stoothofl'.  Sarah,  191 

Storekeepers.  582. 586.  592 

Stout.  Family.  117 

Stout.  Josiah.  586 

Stout.  Richard,  receives  patent  of  Monmouth 
Co..  117 

Stover's  Mills  203 

Stoves,  first  in  Bedminster  Ch..  285 

Stowe,  Mrs.  Harriet  Beecher,  223 

Streit,  Leonard.  94.  135 

Streit,  Rev.  Christian.  305 

Strong-,  Rev.  Nathan,  619 

Stryker,  Capt.  John,  387 

Stryker,  fienl.  Wm.  S.,  306.  373,  632.  657 

Stryker,  Sarah,  682 

Stutzer,  Cornet  Johan,  362 

Sugar,  first  used  itl  Old  Stone  House,  238 

Sugar-houses.  316.  445 

Sullivan,  Genl.  John,  eulogy  of  Col.  John- 
ston, 314;  appearance  of,  336;  commands 
Lee's  army,  341,  344 ;  at  battle  of  Trenton, 
349;  Aaron  Malick's  description  of.  385;  at 
Scotch  Plains  in  1777.  401 ;  his  Indian  cam- 
pai£,'n,  490;  staff  officers  of,  533 

Sumner,  Prof.,  W.  D..  98 

Sunday  observances.  43T,  438 

Sunday-schools,  introductiou  of.  439 

Sutphen  Guisbert.  subscribes  to  St.  Paul's 
ch.,  93;  at  Laniinyton  ch..  158:  aids  in  build- 
ing Bedminster  cb..  263;  treasurer  of  Bed- 
minster ch..  276;  member  of  Com,  of  Observ- 
ation and  Inspection.  286.  289;  commissioned 
justice  of  the  Peace.  576 

Sutphen.  John,  290 

Sutphen,  Peter,  577 

Sutton,  Levi,  597,  607 

Swift,  Dean,  as  a  friend  of  Gov.  Robert  Hun- 
ter, 44 

Swiftsure  coach  line,  230 

Symmes,  John  Cleves,  302,  396, 404 
Symmes,  Judge  Timothy,  561 

TANNERY  on  LesUe's  Brook,  76;   on  Pea. 
pack  Brook,  236,  267,  271 
Tansy  punch,  616 
Tarleton,  Banastre,  346 
Tavern  rates  in  1748,  228 
Taylor,  Adj't.  William,  558 
Taylor,  General  John,  602, 603 
Taylor,  Sherifi'  John.  558 
Tea  first  used  in  N.  J.,  238 
Teeple,  Christopher,  94 ;  residence  of,  164 
Teeple,  George,  subscribes  to  St.  Paul's  Ch., 

93;  buys  Bedminster  land,  130;  residence  of 

164 


Teeple,  John,  subscribes  to  St.  Paul's  Ch..  93. 
94;  residence  of.  135.  164:  summoned  by 
CouncU  of  Safety.  430 

Teeple,  Peter,  4:10 

Telegraph,  first  in  N.  J.,  230 

Teller,  Rev.  W..  440 

Temperance  movement.  620-623 

Ten  Eyck.  Capt.  Jacob.  178.306 

Tennent,  Dr.  -V.  B.,  568 

Tennent,  Rev.  Gilbert,  193,  213, 153,  431 

Terhune,  .Albert  and  Eva.  253 

Terrible,  arrival  of  ship.  204 

Thacher.  Surgeon  James.  457.  458.  468 

Theatre,  first  in  .America.  218 

Theodoric.  king  of  Glamorgan.  115 

Theology  in  last  century,  213 

Theveny,  Pastor,  628 

Thirty  Years'  War,  30,  36;  Destruction  of 
Langendorf,  36;  Destruction  of  Heidelberg, 
42 

Thomas,  Capt.  Evan,  543 

Thomas,  Lt.  Col.,  309 

Thompson,  Elder,  Wm..  440 

Thompson.  Hon.  Jos..  75 

Thomson.  John.  430 

Thompson,  Rev.  Henry  P.,  432 

Thompson,  Samuel,  170 

Thompson,  John,  188 

Thoreau,  275> 

Three  Mile  Run,  1S5 

Three  Mile  Run  Church,  185,  252 

Thumers.  Rev.  Georg  of  Bendorf .  71 

Tilghman.  Col.  Tench,  character  and  ap- 
pearance of.  475;  engagement  and  mar- 
riage, 517;  brings  news  of  Yorktown  sur- 
render, .541 

Tilghman.  Philemon.  475 

Tilton.  Jane.  538 

Tinturn.  Vale  of,  115 

Tinton,  115 

Tobacco  in  last  century,  241 

Tomer,  Margaret,  562 

Tolstoi's  Science  of  War,  393 

Toms  River,  543,  568 

Toucey,  Isaac,  172 

Toi-ies  and  loyalists,  their  oppressions  in 
1776,  ?23;  treatment  of,  505,  554-662 

Tory  Jim,  .601 

Training  days,  478,  578,  607 

Travelling,  stage  routes  across  N.  J.,  228,  229, 
236.  589,  590;  roads  and  taverns,  228,  231,  691, 
692;  sloops,  230,  586,  587;  steamboats  intro, 
duced,  687:  stage  coaches,  591,  692 

Treadwell.  A.  M.,  393 

Treat,  Robert,  109 
Trenton,  battle  of.  349, 358, 368, 466 
Trenton,  founding  of .  60;  a  P.  O.  in  1762.156; 
in  1748.  186;  stage  lines  to.  228:  prosperity 
in  1748.229:  Washington's  army  reaches,  in 
1776,  321 ;  first  Methodist  in.  331 ;  first  Sun- 
day-school in,  440:  Mrs.  Washington  at.  in 
1780,  516;  allied  armies  at.  532.  537:  Wash- 
ington's quarters.  Jan.,  1777,  667 
Trent,  William,  of  Phila.,  60 
Troup,  Lieut.  Robert,  316 
Trumbull,  Gov.  Jonathan,  297,  3C0 


Index. 


741 


Tryon,  Gen'l.  621 

Tucker.  Dr.  Dean  of  Gloater,  330 

Tucker.  Sam'1.292.  2»4.  323 

Turenne.  General,  33 

Turkey,  N.  J.,  106 

Turner,  Robert,  112 

Tuscarora    Indians    massacre  Germans    in 

No.  Carolina.  44;  join  the  Five  Nations  of 

N.  Y.,  99 
Tuttle,  Rev.  Joseph  F*397 
Tuyneaon.  John,  252 

Twenty-four  proprietors  of  East  N.  J..  112 
Tye.  Col.,  542 
Tyler  Wat.  40 

UNIFORMS,  Continental  in  1776.  332,  335 _ 
341;   of  N.  J.  Line,  333;  Of  Sheldon's 
UK-ht-horse,34l;  Queen's  Own,  345;  Hessians 
35S,  417;  British,  417;  Brunsw-ick  Dragoons 
358 ;  Continental  in  1779,  463 ;  Knox's  artillery! 
462 
Uniforms,  French.  636, 538. 539 
Union  Co..  Clayton's  historj'  of,  623 
United  States,  condition  of.  in  1776,  302 
Utensils,  household,  241 

VACCINATION,  573 
Vail.  John,  142 

Valley  Forge,  374, 449, 488 

Van  Ardsdale.  Capt.  Isaac,  327 

Van  Ardsdalen.  Hendrick,  subscribes  to  St. 
Paul's  Ch..  93 

Van  Ardale  s  hotel.  600 

Van  Bergh,  Dinah,  her  friend  Alche  Van 
Doren.  250;  marries  John  Frelinghuysen. 
254.  258;  Hardenbergh's  wooing  and  mar- 
riage. 255,  259 ;  character  of.  256-260:  journal 
of,  257:  letters  to  Dr.  Livingston.  261;  in 
Bedminster,  263:  death  of,  262;  at  Bedmin- 
sterCh.,  in  1778,435 

Van  BuRshkerk  of  Zion  Ch,,  87 

Van  Boskei-ck.  origin  of  name.  118,  191 

Van  Buskirk.  Lieuts.  John  and  Thomas,  558 

Vanderbilt.  Cornelius,  588.589 

Vanderea.  Da\id,  560 

Van  der  Veer.  Dr.  Henrj'.  5,  327 

Van  der  Veer,  Dominicus,  162 

Van  der  Veer.  Elias,  162,  327 

Van  der  Veer  Family,  origin  of,  162;  varied 
spelling  of  name,  276 

Van  Der  Veer  Jacobus,  at  Lamlngton  Church, 
158:  settles  on  the  Axtell  tract,  135. 161;  aids 
in  building  Bodminster  Ch...  263;  his  bond 
to  John  Van  der  Veer,  276;  Knox  quarters 
with.  463;  death  of  his  insane  daughter,  470 

Van  der  Veer.  Jansse.  161 

Van  der  Veer.  John,  131 

Van  der  Veer,  John,  of  Flatbush.  276 

Van  der  Veer,  J.  T..  131 

Van  der  Veer,.Philip.  131 

Van  der  Veer's  Mills.  4. 162 

Vandeventer.  Christopher,  430 

Vandeventer.  Jacob.  697 

Van  Doren,  Alche,  250 

Van  Doren.  Christian,  249 

Van  Doren,  Jacobus,  249 

Van  Doren,  John.  Washington  quarters  with, 
383 


Van  Doren.  Mra.  John,  hung  by  the  heels,  382 
Van  Doren,  Lewis  .A.  250 
Van  Doren,  Sherifl"  Abram.  226,  249 
Van  Doren,  William  A.,  250 
Van  Dom  &  Ditmars.  592 
Van  Dyck,  John,  of  New  Bruns\nck.  188 
Van  Dyck,  origin  of  name,  191 
Van  Dyke,  Lieut.  John,  376 
Van  Dyke,  Major  John,  558 
Van  Dyke,  RuIoH.  294 
Vanetta.  Peter.  560 
Van  Home,  CorneliUR,  147 
Van  Home,  origin  of  name,  191 
Van  Home.  Philip,  480,  503 
Van  Houten,  John  G..  147 
Van  Neste,  Jacob,  John,  and  Peter,  226.  250 
Van  Neste,  Pieter,  252 
Van  Nestc,  Rynier.  263 
Van  Nest.  Jerome.  131 
Van  Norden,  Peter.  173 
Van  Norden,  Tobias,  173 
Van  Nuys,  John.  183.  192 
Van  Nuys,  origin  of  name,  192 
Van  Pelt,  origin  of  name,  192 
Van  Pi-incis.  Penelope.  116 
Van  Quellen.  Robt.,  108-109 
Van  Riper,  or  Van  Ripen,  origin  of  name,  191 
Van  Schoenderwoert,  Jacobus.  192 
Van  Tienhoven,  Cornelius.  161 
Van  Veghten*B  Bridge.  Simcoe  at,  503,  505 
Van  Veghten.  Derrick.  416.  458 
Van  Veghten  House,  458.  459.  474,  479 
Van  Veghten.  Michael,  252.  468 
Van  Voom,  Jacobus,  249 
Van  Voorst,  Cornelius,  118 
Van  Wagenen  Family,  118,  192 
Van  Wart,  origin  of  name,  192 
Van  Winkle,  origin  of  name,  191 
Vaughan.  Rev.  Kdward.  122, 198,  497 
Van  Zant,  origin  of  name,  191 
Vealtown,  the  night  of   Lee's  capture,  343; 
Pa.  mutineers  at,  630;  Bullion's  Tavern  at, 

537 

Vegetables  of  last  centuiy ,  236 

Veghte,  John  V..  ill. 

Vendues  in  the  olden  time.  515,  610,  616 

Vergennes.  Count  de.  482,  516 

Verplauck.  Abm.  I,  and  Catalj-na,  189 

Village  greens.  207 

^"ioU■nt  William.  120 

Vimejoux,  M.  Jan  Louis  de,  342 

Volser,  Jacob,  94 

Von  Bxilow,  D..  152 

Von  Heeringen.  CoL,  315 

Von  Rauser.  Christopher  Wilholm.  69 

Voorhees,  Capt.  Peter  V.,  506,  507 

Voorhees.  Coert  Van,  179. 187. 190, 191 

Voorhees,  Garret,  506 

Voorhees,  Jacques,  235 

Voorhees,  John,  of  Bedminster,  286 

Voorhees.  John  D.,  173 

Voorhees,  Minnie,  188,  190 

Voorhees.  origin  of  name,  191 

Voorhees.  Ralph.  100;  179, 180,  250,  260,  613 

Voorleeser,  253 

Vreeland  Family.  118 


742 


Index. 


Vroom.  John.  594 
Troom.  Peter  D.,  439 

WADDINGTON.  French  minister.  181 
Waifon  traffic  229.  584 

Waldeck.  Prince  of.  troops  from,  3&4 

Walter.  Capt.  Benjamin.  473.  487 

Waiting  Treaty.  fi7 

Wallace  House.  455.  436.  476 

Wame.  Thomas.  112 

Washin^on,  Georg-e.  meets  Germans  in  Va.^ 
in  174fl.  44 :  as  Pres.  of  a  lotterj'  scheme,  174 : 
his  ride  to  first  continental  congress,  2^:  at 
Phcenii  tavern.  290:  takes  command  of 
army.  291:  extols  X.  J.  militia,  311.  otS:  let- 
ters as  to  the  disaffected.  329;  equipoise  of. in 
face  of  adversity.  347;  treatment  of  Hes- 
sians, K9.  363:  letter  about  Hessian  deser- 
tions. 368:  Hessian  coaehmaa  of,  370;  at 
Assunpink.  373:  at  battle  of  Princeton.  378; 
at  Millstone  after  Princeton.  382:  in 
Plockamin  after  Princeton.  383:  Aaron 
Maiick's  description  of.  383 :  at  Morristomi 
in  1777.  390:  at  the  Old  Stone  house.  391; 
appearance  in  the  saddle.  381.  392.  485.  488: 
the  world's  testimony  of ,  392 :  hit.  quarters 
at  Morristown  in  1777.  394 ;  meets  his  wife  at 
Pluckamin.  396:  letter  to  Gov.  Cook.  393; 
talents  as  a  ^neral.  393;  honts  with  Muh- 
lenburg.  413:  at  Middlebroot  in  1777,  415- 
422:  at  Hopewell  Council.  450;  headquarters 
at  Somerviile  in  1779.  455;  orders  queens- 
ware.  455;  behavior  at  dinner,  456:  corres- 
pondence with  La^"in^ton  in  1779.  457;  his 
euloey  of  Greene,  459:  r^-arards  for  Mrs. 
Greene,  460:  at  the  Pluctamin  Fete.  467.468: 
at  Staats  House,  Bound  Brook.'  463.  487:  his 
"Lowland  Beauty."  479;  M.  Gerard  s  im- 
pressions of.  482 :  at  Bound  Brook  Review, 
465;  his  ser%-ant  "Bill."  488;  letter  of.  to 
consistories  of  Raritan  church,  in  1779.489; 
at  Princeton  in  17©.  495:  at  Morristown  in 
1780.  516:  at  Morristown.  review.  517;  at 
Connecticut  Farms  and  Sprinjffield,  523: 
winter  quarters  in  1721,  528:  quells  Jersey 
line  meeting'.  531 :  deluding:  Sir  Henry  Clin- 
ton in  1781,  534:  in  Bedminster  on  the  way  to 
Virginia.  535:  compliments  Count  de  Fer- 
Bon.  540:  at  Mount  Vernon  in  1T8I.  541:  let- 
ters re«rardin^  Captain  As^l.  545.  546 

Washington,  appearance  and  character  of, 

285.347,370,  3^1.385.391.392,^3.    456.   469.  482, 
4% 

Washington.  Mrs.  George,  reaches  Morris- 
town Camp  in  1777. 395;  her  annual  visits  at 
headquarters  396;  at  Pluckamin  in  1777, 
397:  her  life  at  Morristou-n.  :^97:  travelLng 
expenses  in  ^'Isiting  camp.  398;  at  Camp 
Middlebroot  in  1779.  455.  456;  at  the  Pluck- 
amin Fete,  467:  knits  a  queue  net  for  Col- 
fax. 477;  false  alarms  at  headquarters.  479: 
at  Bound  Brook  Review.  484:  at  Morris- 
town in  1780.  516.  524 

Washingtonian  Movement,  623 

Waterloo.  516 

Wattey,  Henry.  291 


Watson  Brook.  221 

Watson.  Elkanah.  5eo 

Watson.  John,  210 

Wayne.  Gen"l  Anthony,  at  Phnenis  tavern, 
290;  promoted  brig.-gen'l.  414;  letter  in 
1777  from  Mount  Pleasant.  419;  encamps  at 
Middlebroot  in  1779,  460 ;  surprised  at 
Paoli,  466;  at  Bound  Brook  review,  ^5;  at- 
tacks Stony  Point.  ^;  quells  Pa.  line 
mutiny.  528-31;  in  Virginia  in  1781.  533 

Weddings,  observances  and  laws  relating"  to, 
243 

Weedon,  CoL  and  Gen'l,  375,  414 

Weiss,  Phihp,  of  Zion  Ch,,  82,  90 

Welcome,  ship,  her  arrival  with  William 
Penn,  51 

Wesley.  John.  "  Calm  address  "  of,  331 ;  prim- 
itive physick  of.  568 ;  stigmatizes  rum  sell- 
ers, 620 

West.  Ann,  130. 131 

Westfield,  Revolutionary  devastation  at.  433 

West  Indies,  slaves  in,  224 

West  Jersey,  settlement  of,  110;  partition 
from  E- J.,  HI;  government  transferred  to 
crown,  120 

West,  John.  131 

Westminister.  Treaty  of.  110 

Weston,  fight  at,  399 

Weston,  mills  established  at,  179 

West,  Robert,  112 

Weygand.  Rev.  Joh.  Albert,  of  Zion  Ch..  82 

Wharton.  Robt..  120, 131 

^Tietten,  Mrs.  Captain,  361 

Whippany.  N.  J..  536 

Whitaker.  John,  108 

^liitefield.  George.  431 

Whitehead,  William  A.,  114,  119,  125.  127,  194, 
210.  211.  224,  617 

White  House,  75.  594 

"White,  Philip.  M3.  544 

White  Plains,  battle  of,  317 

White.  Rev.  Dr.  William.  330 

White  slavery  in  X.  J.. .148- 153 

White's  Tavern  at  Basking  Ridge,  336,  341 

Wickes,  Dr.  Stephen,  568 

Wicks  Farm.  513 

Wicks.  Tempe.  saves  her  horse,  526 

Widows,  laws  relating  to,  244 

Wied,  Count  Frederic  of,  36 

Wild  beasts,  62, 67 

Wilibrord,  Missionary.  628 

Wilkinson.  Major  James,  341,  342,  343 

William  of  Orange,  33 

William  ILL  of  England,  33 

Williams,  Peter,  401 

WUliamjson.  Genl..  395 

WUlianison,  James  and  Peter.  560 

Williamson.  Lawrence,  187, 190 

Williamson.  Peter,  173 

Williamson,  William.  187 

Williamson's  History  of  No.  Carolina,  44  . 

Willmott.  Samuel.  267 

Willocks,  Dr.  James,  120. 122 

Willocks,  Geoi^e,  Indian  purchase,  100 ;  mar- 
ries Mai^aret  Winder,  120,  122;  arrives  in 


Index. 


745 


N.  J..  122:  home  of,  122;  benefactions  to  St. 
Peters.  124;  buys  Peapack  Patent.  12S; 
death  and  will  of,  136 

WillockB.  Marpt..  marriage,  122;  death.  124 

Willot,  Thomas.  430 

Wilson.  Capt.  Robt,  and  Mrs..  398 

"Wilted  Grass.  MK 

Winder.  Mar^ret,  marries  Georp-e  Willocks 
130.  122,  130:  death  of,  124;  buys  Somerset 
land.  130 

Winder.  Sam'l.  120, 122 

Winfleld.  Charles  H..  119 

Winnintfen.25,  628 

Winslow.  Detsy  and  Sallie.  4fi5 

Winterbottom's  history  of  America.  566 

Wintersteen.  James.  596 

Witherspoon.  Rev.  John,  at  second  cont'I  con- 
gress, 295;  record  of.  296;  at  prov'l  congress, 
297:  rebukes  Gov,  William  Franklin,  300; 
home  of.  in  Scotland,  379;  his  dress  in  con- 
gress. 442;  at  Phila.  Synod  in  1775,  442;  ques- 
tions Mrs.  Jay's  complexion,  477;  aids  in 
forming  constitution,  B51.  552 

Wolfenbnittel.  emigration  from.  37 

Women,  occupation  on  farms,  239.  242 

Woodbridge,  S.  J.,  settlement  and  origin  of 
name,  108,  IW;  assembly  meets  at,  110;  con- 
dition in  1682,  117;  first  Sunday-school  in, 
440;  religious  condition  in  1717,  498 

Woodbridge.  Rev'd  John,  108 

Wood  frolics.  239 


Wood,  Rev'd  Mr.,  193 
Woods,  Dr.  Leonard,  618 
Woodstock,  Va.,  84 
Worms,  destroyed  in  1689,  36 
Worth,  Richard,  10«-109 
Wortman,  Johnnes  i)a\id,  630 
Wortman,  John,  164,  286, 289.  290,  3W 
Wortman,  Widow.  597 
Wrangel,  Charles  Magnus,  87 
Wyckoff.  Cornelius  M..  249 
Wyckoff.  Peter.  560 

YELLOW  Fever  in  Phila..  63 
Yombo,  608,  612 
York,  Duke  of,  his  grant  of  N.  J.,  104;  second 
grant  of  X.  J.,  IIO;  grant  to  24  props,.  112; 
patents  Monmouth  to  Richard  Stout,  117; 
York  road.  The.  208 
YorktowTj,  surrender  at,  365.  367,  406,  482.  491. 

532,538,  &11 
Yungstraem.  Prof.  Kalm's  companion.  57 

ZENGER  Johanna,  her  arrival  in  Amer- 
ica, 46 
Zenger,  John  Peter,  his  trial  for  libel.  46 
Zion  Lutheran  Church,  New  Germantown, 
X.  J.,  when  founded,  76;  the  lease  of  church 
lot,  77;  Father  Muhlenberg's  connection 
with,  80;  its  various  ministers,  81-90  :  let- 
ters from  Father  Muhlenbei^  to.  83-96  ; 
the  congregation  in  1773,87:  extracts  from, 
its  archives,  7T,  86.  91,  92, 93 


ERRATA. 


Page     6— First  paragraph;  for  "  cheery-cheeked."  read  cherry-cheeked. 

Page  31— Seventh  line  from  end  of  first  paragraph;  for  "  were"  appalling  read 
was  appalling. 

Page  57— Second  paragraph;  Professor  Kalm's  visit  to  Philadelphia  was  in  1748, 
not  1728. 

Page  104— Eleventh  line  of  second  paragraph;  for  "  Cartaret "  read  Carteret. 

Page  377— First  line  of  second  paragraph;  for  "fourth  "  child  read  sixth  child. 

Page  S90— First  line  of  third  paragraph ;  for  the  "  company  "  met  read  the  commit- 
tee met. 

Page  414— Seventeenth  line  of  second  paragraph ;  f or  "  DeBoore  "  read  DeBorre. 

Page  454— Ten  lines  from  end  of  second  paragraph;  for  "J.  Galloway  "  read  Samuel 
Galloway. 

Page  641— First  paragraph;  it  was  after  midnight  on  the  twenty-third,  not  the 
twentieth,  that  Lieutenant  Colonel  Tench  Tilghman  reached  Philadel- 
phia bringing  the  news  that  Cornwallis  had  surrendered  on  the  nine- 
teenth. 

Page  629— Twelfth  line  of  fourth  paragraph ;  omit  "  he  standing  godfather  in  1712 
for  her  son  Johan  David  (XVII.)";  second  line  below,  tor  "  Johau 
Peter  (XIX.)"  read  (XXVIIl.)  Johan  Peter  (C). 

Page  666— For  "  Marie  Catherine  "  (A  7)  read  Marie  Cathrine. 

Page  G60— In  caption  of  page  for  "  Himrod  "  read  Ryan. 

Page  671— Andrew  (8)  was  born  in  1751,  not  in  1759. 

Page  683— Maria  Catharine  (3);  her  husband  John  Henry  Mttller  (Henry  Miller) 
was  not  active  in  the  affairs  of  Zion  Lutheran  Church  at  New  German- 
town,  N.  J.,  he  being  of  the  German  Reformed  persuasion.    See  p.  87. 

Page  689— James  (38-IV.)  has  six  ch.,  the  eldest  being  Bernhardt  Kennedy,  b.  1  June, 
1846,  m.  18  Oct.,  1876,  Frances  C,  dau.  of  Cornelius  Perry,  M.  D.,  of  Win- 
fleld,  Kansas. 

Page  691— Wm.  and  Mary  K.  King's  (45-1.)  one  ch.  is  not  Abraham,  but  E.  Brown; 
he  m.  Stella  Ramsey  of  Paterson,  N.  J.,  and  has  3  ch.  The  fourth 
child  of  John  and  Sarah  Crown  (46-IL)  is  not  Buddie  but  David. 

Page  693— The  one  child  of  John  Walter  (61-VI.)  is  Victor  Raymond,  b.  31  May,  1887. 


l7e 


>tory 


of  an  Qid  Tfarn^ 


Or,  Life  in  New  Jersey  in  the  Eighteenth  Century 


WITH  A  GENEALOGICAL  APPENDIX 


By  Andrew  D.  IVIellick,  Jr. 


A  BOOK  TO  BE  READ  by  every  one  interested  in  the  OLD  COLONY 
DAYS;  by  all  Students  of  the  REVOLUTIONARY  PERIOD;  by 
^O)  every  one  claiming  a  GERMAN  ANCESTRY ;   bv  everv  JER- 
SEYMAN. 


A  semi-social  semi-historical  work  of  740  pages,  with  four  full-page  illustra- 
tions, a  valuable  genealogical  appendix,  a  comprehensive  bibliography, 
and  a  very  complete  index.  Imperial  8vo.,  gilt  top,  uncut  leaves,  and 
handsomely  bound  in  heavily  stamped  cloth  with  bsveled  edges 
PRICE,  FIVE  DOLLARS. 

The  text  of  this  volume  is  based  to  a  considerable  extent  on 
manuscripts  and  records  not  before  printed  ;  thus  has  been  brought 
together  much  fresh  information  gathered  from  a  great  variety  of 
sources,  both  near  and  remote.  Much  is  told  of  early  German 
emigration  to  the  American  Colonies,  a  very  full  account  is  given 
of  the  condition  of  Germany  early  in  the  last,  aud  in  the  previous 
century,  and  some  explanations  made  as  to  the  causes  that  resulted 
in  so  many  Germans  turning  their  backs  on  fatherland.  The 
founding  of  the  Lutheran  Church  in  America  is  depicted,  and 
letters  from  Rev.  Henry  Melchior  Muhlenberg,  (the  Patriarch,) 
hitherto  unpublished,  are  given.  A  series  of  interesting  pictures 
of  Colonial  and  Revolutionary  life  is  presented,  an  endeavor  hav- 
ing been  made  to  survey  New  Jersey  history  from  the  human 
rather  than  the  civic  side ;  thus  filling  in  many  interstices  left  by 
other  historians,  and  producing  pages  attractive  from  their 
biography,  gossip  and  local  color. 


The  military  (narrative  and  the  Revolutionar}'  chapters  of 
"  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm  "  should  be  of  peculiar  intere:;t 
to  all  persons  descended  from  Continental  soldiers,  or  who  are 
students  of  Revolutionary  history.  The  whole  subject  of  the  Con- 
tinental army  and  its  movements  in  New  Jersey  will  be  found  1;o 
be  treated  in  a  manner  very  different  from  that  customary  with 
previous  historians.  While  the  story  of  the  great  battles  of  the 
Revolution  have  been  told  and  retold  in  many  histories,  minor 
militaiy  fields  that  are  full  of  interest  have  been  neglected.  The 
aim  of  the  author  has  been  to  portray  the  pictorial  effect  of  the 
war,  to  delineate  the  characteristics  of  individual  ofi&cers,  to  depict 
the  social  side  of  Revolutionary  life — in  short  to  enable  its  readers 
to  become  intimately  acquainted  with  the  Continental  army  ;  to 
view  it  on  the  march,  in  the  bivouac,  in  the  camp;  to  become 
familiar  with  the  many  interesting  daily  experiences  of  the  officers 
and  men  when  they  were  engaged  in  making  history,  not  in  the 
sense  of  performing  great  achievements,  but  when  following  those 
ordinary  undercurrents  of  military  and  personal  life  of  which  gen- 
eral historians  have  had  but  little  to  say.  Although  the  chapters 
devoted  to  the  Revolutionary  narrative  will  be  found  electric  with 
patriotism,  an  effort  has  been  made  to  deal  justly  with,  and  to 
defend  the  record  of,  the  behavior  of  the  so-called  "  Hessian " 
troops ;  furthermore  the  fortunes  and  misfortunes  of  New  Jersey 
loyalists  are  delineated,  and  the  conduct  of  the  better  element  of 
those  Jerseymen  who  adhered  to  the  Crown  is  to  some  extent 
justified. 

The  genealogical  appendix  contains  a  very  full  record  of  the 
Moelidi — Malick — Melick — Mellick — family,  following  five  an- 
cestral streams,  flowing  from  five  different  German  emigrants, 
Moelich.  In  addition,  the  record  is  given  of  the  posterity  of  Jacob 
Kline  and  Richard  I.  Field,  of  Hunterdon  county,  N.  J.,  and 
Simon  Himrod  and  Bethuel  Vincent,  of  Northumberland  county, 
Pennsylvania. 

Subscriptions  for  over  four  hundred  copies  of  this  work  were 
received  previous  to  publication.  Upon  receipt  of  the  subscription 
price  of  five  dollars,  the  book  will  be  sent  securely  boxed  and  car- 
riage paid  to  any  point  in  the  United  States  and  Canada. 

Address  , 

ANDREW  D.  MELLICK,  JR. 

Box  2ji,  Plainfield,  Nezv  Jersey. 


TWO  VALUABLE  REVIEWS. 


THE  HONORABLE  CHARLES  ALDRICH,  Founder  of  "The    Aldrich  Collection,"  Iowa 
State  Library,  writes  in  the  DAILY  CAPITAL,  of  Des  Moines,  Iowa. 

This  is  a  unique,  but  most  deeply  interesting  and  valuable  book.     It  is  one 
which  could  only  be  produced  by  one  man  among  many  millions — a  magnificent 
result  of  observation,  scholarship,  wide  and  most  untiring  historical  research, 
going  back  to  the  ver}-  sources  of  information,  and,  withal,  inspired  by  a  just 
family  pride  and  the  most  devoted  and  enthusiastic  love  of  the  subject.     In  1735 
Johannes  Moelich,  who  was  born  in   1702,  with  his  household   goods  floated 
down  the  Rhine  from  Bendorf  to  Rotterdam,  whence  he  sailed  to  America.    He 
settled  first  at  Germantown,  Pa.,  but  some  years  later  removed  to  New  Jersey. 
In  1751  he  purchased  "The  Old  Farm,"  the  story  of  which  gives  the  title  to 
his  book.     But  the  reader  must  not  suppose  that  this  ' '  Story  ' '  is  all  there  is  in 
the  work  of  which  we  have  spoken  so  highly.     On  the  contrary,  it  is  a  most 
complete  and  exhaustive  ominum  gatherum  of  facts  relating  to  the  early  settle- 
ment, history,  growth,  progress  and  development  of  that  State — a  history  of 
the  peoDle,  based  to  a  large  extent  upon  materials  which  do  not  come  within 
the  scope,  or  are  left  out  of  the  account,  of  general  historical  research.     Not 
only  are  we  given  minute  and  most  interesting  details  of  the  rise  and  progress 
of  the  State,  but  the  investigations  of  the  author  have  resulted  in  the  discovery 
of  new  materials  of  history,   and   the   correction   of  many   historical   errors. 
Especially  is  this  true  of  the  Hessian  soldiers,   who  have  been  held  up  to 
execration  ever  since  the  days  of  the  revolutionary  war.     We  have  been  taught 
to  believe  that  they  were  base,  sordid,  cruel  mercenaries,  who  sold  themselves 
to  fight  the  battles  of  a  foreign  power,  and  that  they  were  bent  only  upon  rapine 
and  blood,shed.      The  author  shows  that  they  were  about  as  good  men  as 
soldiers  can  be,  and  that  their  services  were  sold  to  the  British  nation  by  their 
despotic  rulers  ;  they  had  no  choice  in  the  matter  of  coming  as  they  did,  and  as 
to  despoiling  the  country,  the  British  set  the  example,  and  were  alone  responsi- 
ble.    The  author  has  had  access  to  rare  documents,  family  letters,  early  his- 
torical writings  and  unpublished  memoirs,  and  has  also  made  the  most  liberal 
use  of  the  recollections  of  the  "oldest  inhabitants"  as  they  have  narrated  the 
happenings  of  ancient  days  to  himself  or  others.    How  settlements  were  started  ; 
how  the  Christian  religion  was  planted  in  the  wilderness  ;  how  land  titles 
originated  ;  how  portions  of  the  State  were  held  alternately  by  the  patriot  army 
of  the  revolution  and  the  foreign  invader ;  how  terribly  the  people  suffered 
during  the  long  war  ;  how  the  agitation  in.  favor  of  temperance  originated,  and 
what  were  the  drinking  habits  of  the  people.     All  these,  and  a  thousand  other 
things,  are  set  forth  and  elucidated  in  this  most  entertaining  and  instructive 
narrative.     As  in  a  moving  panorama  we  see  the  State  from  the  time  it  was  an 
unbroken  forest,  and  there  come  up  before  us  wild  aborigines,  early  German 
immigrants,  with  their  quaint  manners  and  customs  ;  the  society  of  colonial 
days,  of  the  army  and  of  revolutionary  times ;  and  we  get  new  views  of  men 
and  society.     Some  families  still  occupy  the  homes  which  were  founded  by 
their  ancestors  early  in  the  last  century,  while  others  have  wholly  disappeared. 
Throughout  all  this  ' '  strange,  eventful  history  ' '  we  have  frequent  glimpses  of 


"The  Old  Farm"  and  "The  Old  Stone  House"  where  Johannes  Moelich 
settled  in  1752,  and  where,  we  are  glad  to  know,  that  some  of  his  descendants 
still  reside.  The  work  is  one  that  few  who  dip  into  it  will  fail  to  read  from  the 
first  page  to  the  last.  It  should  find  a  place  in  every  public  librar}',  and  every 
State  ought  to  have  just  such  a  history. 

As  a  specimen  of  book-making  we  have  seen  nothing  finer  in  manj-  a  day. 
It  is  a  large  octavo,  most  beautifully  printed,  with  wide  margins,  gilt  top  and 
uncut  edges,  and  so  admirably  bound,  in  heavily  stamped  cloth  and  beveled 
edges,  that  it  readily  lies  open.  It  presents  a  full  genealogy  of  the  Moelich 
family,  the  name  of  which  (like  that  of  Abraham  Lincoln)  has  undergone  many 
changes,  until  now  it  has  become  Mellick.  A  bibliography  containing  the 
titles  of  all  historical  works  consulted  in  its  preparation,  and  last,  but  not  least, 
a  most  complete  index.  In  all  the  details  of  tasteful  book-making  it  comes 
verj'  near  perfection. 

THE  REV.  J.  MAX  HARK,  D.D.,  writes  in  the  NEW  ERA,  of  Lancaster,  Pennsylvania. 
There  recently  came  to  our  notice  a  semi  social,  semi- historical  work, 
which  we  have  found  of  such  peculiar  interest  that  we  believe  our  readers  of  a 
historical  and  antiquarian  turn  of  mind,  and  especially  all  descendants  of  the 
early  German  settlers  of  our  country,  will  thank  us  for  calling  their  attention 
to  it.  It  is  a  handsome  imperial  octavo  volume,  entitled  "The  Story  of  an 
Old  Farm,  or  Life  in  New  Jersey  in  the  Eighteenth  Century,"  whose  author, 
Mr.  Andrew  D.  Mellick,  Jr.,  evidently  wrote  it  as  a  labor  of  love,  for  such  books 
cannot  be  written  for  money.  No  money  could  ever  pay  for  the  vast  amount  of 
painstaking  research  and  conscientious,  laborious  ransacking  of  old  journals, 
diaries,  letters  and  musty  contemporary  chronicles  that  are  involved  therein, 
and  are  made  evident  on  every  page.  From  the  title  of  the  book  no  one  would 
guess  at  its  wide  scope.  The  story  of  the  writer's  old  family  homestead  is 
simply  made  the  slender  thread  on  which  are  strung  a  wealth  of  historical, 
biographical,  archaeological  lore  that  reall)-  amounts  to  a  comprehensive  history 
of  New  Jersey,  and  even  parts  of  New  York  and  Pennsylvania,  in  Colonial 
and  Revolutionary  times.  Not  the  history  we  read  in  text-books,  but  the 
inner,  minute  record  of  details  about  incidents  such  as  are  not  to  be  found  in 
formal  histories,  and  yet  are  the  very  heart  and  soul,  the  breathing  life  of  all 
history.  There  is  as  much  in  the  volume  that  appeals  to  Pennsylvanians  as  to 
Jerseymen.  The  condition  of  Germany  and  the  causes  that  led  to  the  early 
emigration  of  hundreds  of  thousands  of  its  sturdy  inhabitants  to  this  country, 
the  reasons  why  most  of  them  settled  in  Pennsylvania,  their  hardships,  hero- 
ism, industry,  mode  of  life,  etc  ,  are  all  told  fully  and  graphically.  The  found- 
ing of  the  Lutheran  Church  in  our  country  is  described,  with  many  interesting 
and  some  new  facts  about  the  patriarch  ' '  Father  Muhlenberg, ' '  and  about  the 
heroic  soldier  preacher,  Peter  Muhlenberg,  are  given  with  letters  hitherto 
unpublished.  The  history  of  the  "Hessian"  mercenaries,  so  many  of  whom 
deserted  and  settled  right  here  in  our  country,  is  given  more  full)'  and  fairly 
than  we  have  seen  it  anywhere.  The  volume  well  illustrates  the  kind  of  work 
that  can  and  needs  to  be  done  by  such  a  society  as  the  Pennsylvania  Germans 
are  about  to  organize.  It  should  specially  appeal  to  their  sympathy  and 
interest.  For  so  beautifully  made  a  book  the  price,  $5.00,  is  not  high.  It  is 
for  sale  by  the  author,  Andrew  D.  Mellick,  Jr.,  Box  251,  Plainfield,  N.  J.,  or 
can  be  ordered  through  any  of  our  local  book  stores. 


Extracts  from  Various  Reviews  and  Criticisms. 

By  the  NEW  YORK  DAILY  TRIBUNE : 

"  Mr.  Mellick  has  told  in  this  handsome  volume  not  only  the  story  of  his  first  Ger- 
man progenitor  in  America,  but  also  the  story  of  an  infant  State.  He  has  grouped 
about  his  theme  such  historical  details  as  compose  a  singularly  graphic  and  trust- 
worthy picture  of  New  Jersey  in  the  latter  half  of  the  eighteenth  century.  The  con- 
ditions of  existence  were  by  no  means  easy  for  the  Jensey  farmer  and  his  family,  and 
Mr.  Mellick's  record  of  life  on  the  old  farm  is  an  epitome  of  the  home  life  of  most 
Jersey  agriculturalists  of  that  period.  Our  author's  account  of  the  religious  privileges 
in  the  Jerse3'  of  the  time  is  calculated  to  make  the  modern  congregation  wonder.  We 
commend  to  the  reader  as  a  matter  of  interest  the  author's  curious  chapter  on  the 
drinking  habits  of  Jerseymen  in  the  last  century.  Mr.  Mellick's  studies  of  New  Jer- 
sey in  the  Revolution  are  careful  and  entertaining.  As  to  her  Hessian  invaders  he 
believes  that  these  soldiers  were  much  slandered,  and  that  instead  of  being  wild  beasts 
in  human  guise,  they  were,  in  reality,  mild,  humane  and  simple-minded  men.  The 
'  Story  of  an  Old  Farm '  will  give  pleasure  and  a  great  deal  of  out-of-the-way  informa- 
tion to  every  American  reader,  and  in  the  loyal  Jerseyman  it  ought  to  inspire  pride  as 
well  as  pleasure." 
By  the  SATURDAY  REVIEW,  of  London,  England : 

"  We  have  had  more  than  one  good  volume  lately,  on  life  and  manners  in  the  last 
century,  in  what  are  now  the  United  States.  But  Mr.  Mellick's  'Story  of  an  Old 
Farm'  is  perhaps  the  most  entertaining  and  instructive  of  all,  as  it  is  unquestionably 
the  most  exhaustive.  It  is  surprising  what  an  amount  of  contemporary  materials  he 
has  found  with  regard  to  the  settlement  and  social  growth  of  the  small  and  com- 
paratively insignificant  State  of  New  Jersey.  The  story  in  truth  is  but  a  slight  and 
scarcely  continuous  thread  running  through  the  intricate  and  chequered  web  of  the 
State  history.  Many  of  the  chapters  are  overflowing;  with  interest,  entertainment 
and  suggestion.  Beginning  in  1735,  he  paints  Colonial  manners,  habits,  surround- 
ings, costumes,  etc.,  to  the  life,  going  into  the  most  minute  and  miscellaneous  details, 
and  quoting  freely  from  documentary  evidence.  This  work  has  clearly  been  most 
thoroughly  done,  which  explains  and  excuses  his  occasional  prolixity ;  and  we  sus- 
pect that  his  facts  and  his  figures  may  be  pretty  implicitly  trusted." 
By  the  PHILADELPHIA  INQUIRER : 

"  'The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm,  or  Life  in  New  Jersey  in  the  Eighteenth  Century,' 
has  already  been  pronounced  to  be  one  of  the  few  important  American  books  of  the 
year  by  so  much  considered  an  authorit}'  as  the  London  Spectator.  The  not  very 
many  periodicals  and  newspapers  in  the  United  States,  which  devote  some  intelli- 
gence and  care  to  the  discovery  of  meritorious  publications  among  the  mass  of  books 
issued  weekly  from  the  press,  have  already  spoken  with  delighted  surprise  at  the 
appearance  of  this  volume  in  a  little  Jersey  town.  As  to  the  contents  of  the  book, 
written  by  Mr.  Andrew  D.  Mellick,  Jr.,  of  Plainfield,  the  reviewer  can  onlj'  plead  lack 
of  space  for  giving  what  mu.st  be  so  poor  an  idea  of  the  wealth  of  historical  and  tradi- 
tionary material  to  be  found  in  these  pages.  '  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm '  is  a  store- 
house of  interesting  bits  of  information  relating  to  the  subjects  of  which  it  treats,  and 
much  of  the  contents  will  be  new  to  American  readers.  Especially  is  this  true  of  the 
thorough  account  of  the  German  emigration  to  this  country,  and  of  the  German  settle- 
ments in  New  Jersey  and  New  York.  The  chapter  on  the  Hessian  soldiers  shows  that 
the  officers  were  cultured  men,  while  the  privates  committed  few  of  the  ravages  in 
which  the  British  troops  set  an  example.  There  is  some  curious  information  con- 
cerning the  uselessness  of  a  certain  kind  of  education  in  a  new  country,  and  an 
extiemely  entertaining  chapter  is  that  upon  medical  knowledge  and  practices  in  the 
last  century.  By  no  means  the  least  interesting  portions  of  the  volume  are  the  local 
anecdotes." 
By  CHRISTIAN  CULTURE,  of  Lancaster,  Pa. : 

' '  For  entertaining  details  and  funds  of  out-of-the-way  information  we  turn  to 
'  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm,'  written  with  an  antiquarian's  instinct  and  the  pen  of 
a  lover,  by  Mr.  Andrew  D.  Mellick,  Jr.  He  has  woven  a  most  beautiful  narrative  of 
the  historj%  manners  and  customs,  labors  and  hardships,  sorrows  and  joys,  in  peace 
and  in  war,  of  the  early  German  settlers,  in  New  Jersey  especially,  but  also  in  New 
York  and  Pennsylvania.  Only  one  accustomed  to  antiquarian  work  can  at  all  appre- 
ciate what  years  of  patient  research,  living  rummaging  among  old  documents,  and 
deciphering  out  time-stained  manuscripts,  what  patient  following  df  slender  clues, 
what  tedious  correspondence,  what  wide  and  varied  study  and  reading,  are  represented 
by  a  volume  such  as  this.  Painstaking  and  minutely  accurate,  it  is  yet  never  tedious 
or  dry,  for  the  author  evidently  understands  well  that  to  make  history  alive  and 
potent,  much  more  than  a  bare  chronicling  of  facts  is  required." 


By  the  EVENING  POST,  of  New  York  City  : 

"Using  'The  Old  Farm'  as  an  after-dinner  speaker  does  a  toast,  as  a  starting 
point  for  a  ramble  in  all  directions,  a  sympathetic  pen  has  reproduced  so  much  of 
Colonial  life  that  no  reasonable  limit  will  suffice  to  outline  it.  The  ground  covered  is 
so  enormous  that  no  discussion  of  an}'  considerable  part  is  possible,  and  many  topics 
we  mark  for  comment  are  perforce  abandoned.  *  *  *  As  warranted  by  the  im- 
portance of  the  subject,  and  the  conspicuous  part  therein  borne  by  New  Jersey,  the 
Revolution  fills  many  pages,  and  nearly  every  scene  of  that  oft  told  drama  receives 
some  new  and  attractive  comment  in  this  rehearsal.  During  much  of  that  period 
Somerset  was  filled  with  troops,  as  the  armies  watched  each  other  ;  and  the  author 
has  well  painted  the  gay  reviews  and  dreary  camps,  the  stirring  and  the  trying  life 
that  went  on  within  its  borders.  *  *  *  This  book  is  so  interesting  and  valuable 
to  the  general  reader  and  the  historian  that  we  sincerely  hope  it  will  attain,  as  it 
deserves,  a  second  edition." 
By  the  MAGAZINE  OF  AMERICAN  HISTORY ; 

"This  handsome  volume  represents  many  years  of  careful  and  conscientious 
research.  Like  all  works  of  a  similar  character,  it  has  grown  upon  the  author  as  he 
proceeded,  its  scope  broadening  with  unexpected  material,  until  in  its  completion  it 
iDecomes  a  charmingly  readable  book  of  forty  well-rounded  chapters,  containing  much 
that  is  fresh  and  interesting  relating  to  Colonial  and  Revolutionary  times  From  a 
mass  of  family  and  other  papers  Mr.  Mellick  has  drawn  material  and  inspiration  for 
clever  and  picturesque  descriptions  of  the  manners  and  customs  of  New  Jersey  in 
Colonial  times.  He  has  also  appended  to  his  book  an  admirable  and  complete  index, 
which  contains  almost  three  thousand  titles  and  sub-titles,  giving  reference  to  every 
subject  and  person  touched  upon,  even  if  in  but  a  few  words.  It  is  a  work  we  can 
cordially  commend  to  every  library  in  the  country  and  to  the  general  reader  as  well." 

By  the  DAILY  ADVERTISER,  of  Newark,  New  Jersey  : 

"After  several  3-ears  of  patient  labor  and  extensive  research,  Mr.  Andrew  D.  Mel- 
lick, Jr.,  has  produced  a  notable  volume  of  New  Jersey  history  under  the  title  '  The 
Story  of  an  Old  Farm,  or  Life  in  New  Jerse}'  in  the  Eighteenth  Century.'  The  vol- 
ume is  attractively  bound  and  well  printed,  and  it  covers  nearly  eight  hundred  pages. 
The  title  is  rather  a  misnomer,  or  at  any  rate  that  part  of  it  which  speaks  of  the  '  Old 
Farm,'  for  its  material  covers  far  too  wide  a  field  to  be  designated  by  such  a  name. 
Chapters  are  interestingly  filled  with  town  histories  and  discussions.  Bound  Brook, 
Pluckamin  and  Perth  Amboj'  coming  in  for  liberal  attention.  The  presence  and  con- 
ditions of  slaves  in  this  State  are  touched  upon  in  as  reasonable  a  manner  as  any 
subject  which  the  author  handles.  An  unusually  complete  index  greatly  enhances 
its  value." 
By  the  MAIL  AND  EXPRESS,  of  New  York  City  : 

"  We  have  spoken  of  Mr.  Mellick's  '  Story  of  an  Old  Farm,'  in  terms  of  high  com- 
mendation, but  the  praise  is  well  deserved.  He  has  written  a  work  that  is  entertain- 
ing and  valuable,  not  onlj-  to  the  inhabitants  of  New  Jersey  but  also  to  all  who  care 
for  the  history  of  the  past.  There  is  not  a  dull  page  in  his  book,  nor  one  in  which 
the  evidences  of  his  industry  are  not  apparent,  and  his  story  is  told  with  such  spirit 
and  literarj-  skill  as  to  give  it  a  peculiar  interest.  Only  an  enthusiastic  love  for  the 
subject  could  have  prompted  such  labors  as  have  supplied  the  material  that  he  has  so 
well  emplo3'ed." 

By  THE  UNIONIST-GAZETTE,  of  Somerville,  New  Jersey : 

"  The  Earl  of  Leven  has  written  a  letter  from  Roehampton  House,  Roehampton, 
England,  to  Andrew  D.  Mellick,  Jr.,  the  author  of  '  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm,  or. 
Life  in  New  Jersey  in  the  Eighteenth  Century,'  thanking  him  for  the  tribute  he  pays 
in  his  book  to  the  Earl's  great  uncle.  Captain  William  Leslie^  of  the  17th  British  regi- 
ment of  foot.  This  young  officer  was  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Princeton,  January  3d, 
1777,  and  Mr.  Mellick  in  his  work  gives  a  very  full  and  interesting  account  of  Captain 
Leslie's  death  on  the  following  day  at  Pluckamin  and  of  the  impressive  funeral  cere- 
monies on  Sunday,  the  6th,  in  the  Lutheran  graveyard  of  that  village,  where  the 
young  officer  still  lies  buried." 
By  the  CHRISTIAN  UNION,  of  New  York  City  : 

"An  elaborate  historj'  of  the  old  upper  division  of  East  Jersey.  Here  and  there 
through  the  pages  the  old  farm  shows  out  as  a  quiet  country  home — ^and  would  there 
were  more  of  them  in  these  latter  days  ! — and  scattered  everywhere  are  bits  of  local 
history  and  fresh  anecdotes  that  are  pleasant  reading.  We  can  well  believe  the 
author  when  he  says  his  was  a  labor  of  love  in  writing  this  handsome  volume.  This 
shows  everywhere,  and  the  work  as  a  whole  is  well  done." 

By  the  PHILADELPHIA  LEDGER : 

"The  Revolution  brought  strange  scenes  and  strange  people  in  view  from  the 
'  Old  Farm,'  and  its  occupants  took  their  part  in  the  Continental  army,  one  fighting 


under  Lord  Stirling,  and  another  sharing  in  the  hardships  of  imprisonment  in  New 
York.  Nearly  all  the  leading  characters  in  both  the  armies  passed  and  re-passed  the 
'  Old  Farm  '  during  the  war,  and  thus  are  made  to  figure  in  its  very  discursive  story. 
French  and  German  officers,  Spanish  and  Dutch  envoys,  balls  and  weddings,  give  a 
picturesque  novelty  to  the  narrative." 
By  FREDERICK  R.  COUDERT,  of  the  New  York  Bar : 

"I  have  just  completed  reading  chapters  8,  9  and  10.  I  can  bestow  no  higher 
praise  upon  your  performance  than  to  say  that  I  forgot  while  reading  that  j'ou  had 
given  or  intended  to  give  them  a  legal  complexion.  Like  a  skillful  physician  who 
disguises  the  useful  necessary  ingredients  of  his  remedy  under  the  pleasant  forms  of 
sugar  and  honey,  you  make  us  forget  that  we  are  studying  drj'  law  bj'  telling  pleas- 
ant stories  of  the  worthies  who  settled  about  Elizabeth,  Woodbridge  and  Amboy,  arid 
who  laid  the  foundation  of  prosperous  and  populous  communities." 
By  the  ELIZABETH  (N.   J.)    DAILY    JOURNAL: 

"  Much  of  this  book  reads  like  a  tender  and  beautiful  romance  written  bj-  an  affec- 
tionate hand.  The  first  chapters  charmingly  describe  the  scenes  on  the  road  from 
Somerville,  by  the  old  stage,  to  Lesser  Cross  Roads,  and  thence  to  the  '  Old  Farm,' 
which  is  near  by.  The  clear,  wholesome  atmosphere  of  these  breezy  scenes,  the  quiet 
contentment  of  the  happy  people,  the  murmur  of  the  brooks  and  the  music  of  the 
wild  bird's  song  prevades  these  opening  pages,  and  one  is  in  love  with  the  '  Old 
Farm  '  from  the  beginning." 
By  BiBhop  JOHN  H.  VINCENT,  D  D.,  LL  D  ,  of  Buffalo,  N.  Y. : 

"  I  have  read  your  chapters  on  Colonial  farm  life  with  great  pleasure.  They  are 
admirably  written  and  present  vivid  pictures  of  the  olden  time,';.  The  book  will  prove 
as  entertaining  as  fiction  and  still  have  the  advantage  of  being  trustworthy  history. 
I  congratulate  you  upon  having  put  so  much  life,  spirit  and  literary  power  into  the 
volume." 
By  Adjutant  General  "WILLIAM  S.  STYKER,  of  New  Jersey : 

"  It  is  the  most  remarkable  effort  of  its  character  that  I  have  ever  perused.     I 
am  perfectly  astonished  at  the  vast  number  of  local  facts  given.     I  think  it  will  be  a 
standard  work  in  the  matter  of  minute  explanation  of  the  manners  and  customs  of 
the  people  of  New  Jersey  a  century  and  a  century  and  a  half  ago." 
By  THE  ATHEN^aM.  of  London,  England: 

"  '  The  Story  of  an  Old  Farm '  is,  as  the  sub-title  implies,  the  history  of  New 
Jersey  during  the  eighteenth  century.  Mr.  Andrew  D.  Mellick,  Jr  ,  who  is  the 
author  of  the  book,  is  the  descendant  of  those  who  left  Germany  to  settle  on  the  old 
farm,  and  whose  names  have  been  changed  from  Moelich  to  Mellick.  The  docu- 
ments, showing  life  and  manners  in  the  early  Colonial  days,  which  have  been  pre- 
served, contain  many  curious  particulars.  Those  who  find  time  for  reading  the  724 
pages,  which  form  this  work, -will  have  their  patience  and  industry  rewarded  " 
By  the  PENNSYLVANIA  MAGAZINE,  of  Philadelphia: 

"We  have  read  with  interest  Mr.  INIellick's  charming  '  Storj' of  an  Old  Farm.' 
He  has  drawn  many  bright  pictures  of  social  life,  the  manners,  customs  and  the 
political  history  of  the  Colonial  and  Revolutionary  period  in  East  Jersey,  and  pre- 
sents them  with  marked  literary  ability.  The  chapter  devoted  to  the  earlj'  German 
emigration  to  the  American  Colonies,  and  the  causes  which  had  so  much  to  do  with 
this  people  in  seeking  new  homes,  are  explained,  and  should  be  read  bj-  everj'  one 
claiming  a  German  ancestr}'. 
By  Hon.  A.  Q.  KEASBEY,  of  the  New  Jersey  Bar  : 

"  I  have  been  especially  interested  in  chapters  8,  9  and  10.  They  give  in  more 
accurate  and  comprehensive  form  than  can  be  found  elsewhere  the  earl3'  history  of 
New  Jersey,  manner  of  its  first  settlement,  the  origin  of  its  land  titles,  the  character 
of  its  native  inhabitants,  the  honorable  way  in  which  our  ancestors  dealt  with  them, 
the  nature  and  circumstances  of  the  royal  grants,  and  the  story  of  the  Proprietors, 
which  form  such  a  unique  and  interesting  feature  in  the  political  histon,'  of  this  State. 
By  WILLIAM  L.  STONE,  Esq.,  Author  and  Historian: 

"Your  really  invaluable  work  has  been  received  and  carefully  looked  through, 
and  I  am  amazed  at  the  great  research  it  displaj's  " 
By  Hon.  JOSEPH  P.  BRADLEY.  Justice  Supreme  Court  United  States  : 

"  I  find  your  very  handsome  Book,  the   '  Story  of  an  Old  Farm,'  full  of  interest 
from  beginning  to  end." 
By  the  DAILY  STATE  GAZETTE,  of  Trenton,  New  Jersey  : 

"Writing  the  '  Story  of  an  Old  Farm  '  was  a  labor  of  love  and  Mr.  Mellick  has 
performed  it  with  marked  literary  ability.  The  'Story'  is  a  copious  and  important 
contribution  to  the  Colonial  period  of  the  State's  historj'.  A  graphic  picture  is  drawn 
of  the  physical,  social,  political  and  economic  condition  of  New  Jersey  in  that  early 
period.  It  should  have  a  place  in  the  library  of  every  Jerseyman  who  aims  to  be  well 
informed  in  the  history  of  the  State." 


8 

By  AUSTIN  SOOTT,  Ph.D.,  President  of  Rutgers  College,  N  J. 

"  I  have  to  thank  you  for  the  pleasure  chapters  XIII.  and  XIV.  of  j^our  '  Story 
of  an  old  Farm'  have  given  me.  The  narrative  flows  on  down  the  Raritan  as 
pleasantU'  as  the  stream  itself,  and  with  the  diversity  and  picturesqueness  of  its 
banks.  You  have  greatly  enhanced  the  enjoyment  I  shall  take  in  my  customary 
drives  to  Bound  Brook  and  back  to  Brunswick,  thence  again  to  Piscataway  and  on  to 
Amboy  ;  and  I  have  been  much  instructed  in  the  local  histor3'  of  this  vallej'." 

By  BENSON  J.  LOSSING,  Esq ,  referring  to  the  chapter  in  defense  of  the 
Hessians : 
"  I  thank  you  very  much  for  j'our  valuable  contribution  to  history.  I  have  long 
been  satisfied  the  German  contingent  of  the  British  forces  in  America  were  '  more 
sinned  against  than  sinning.'  You  have  performed  a  filial  duty  most  nobl3'  in  j-our 
earnest  words  for  their  defense,  for  which  posterity  will  bless  you.  For  3-our  ser\'ice  in 
the  cause  of  truth,  I  most  sincerelj'  thank  you." 

By  DOCTOR    JOHN    SHRADY,   of   New  York  City : 

"  The  book  has  opened  to  me  a  perfect  mine  of  pleasure.  We  should  have  more  of 
such  annals,  written  from  the  standpoint  of  the  common  people,  and  not  so  much  of 
the  hero  worship  which  makes  up  so  much  of  the  historj-  of  the  past.  At  all  events 
the  public  are  well  prepared  for  such  efforts.  Who  of  us  does  not  want  to  know 
ever3'thing  about  those  honest  old  Palatines  and  those  much-misunderstood  Hessians  ? 
I  certainl3-do,  for  I  am  not  a  whit  ashamed  of  the  meeting  of  both  bloods  in  m3- veins." 

By  J.  E   LEARNED,  Esq.,  Managing  Editor  Evening  Post,  New  York : 

"  Apart  from  its  literar3-  interest  the  book  has  distinct  value  as  a  thorough  piece 
of  bookmaking,  with  its  apparatus  of  genealog3',  authorities,  index,  etc.;  and  me- 
chanicall3',  with  its  print  and  fine  margins,  and  binding  which  allow  it  to  lie  open. 
I  was  reall3^  amazed  by  the  Somerville  imprint  on  such  pages." 

By  WILLIAM  O.  McDO'WELL,  Esq  ,  of  Newark,  New  Jersey: 

"  As  an  officer  of  the  National  Societ3'  Sons  of  the  American  Revolution  I  want  to 
thank  you  for  j'our  splendid  contribution  to  America's  Revolutionar3'  history.  Every 
German  in  America  owes  3'ou  a  debt  of  gratitude  for  what  you  have  said  in  3'our 
book.  I  am  glad  that  you  defended  the  Hessians  ;  the3'  were  certainh-  entitled  to 
sympathj' ;  in  fact,  on  the  liberty  end  of  the  line  the  German,  above  all  others  in  his 
r.Dtivc  land,  is  to-day  entitled  to  world-v.-ide  sympathy." 

NEW    JERSEY    HISTORICAL    SOOIEPY,    PROCEEDINGS    OF: 

"  It  seems  quite  within  the  province  of  this  report  to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that 
since  the  last  meeting  of  this  Societj',  one  of  its  members  has  published  one  of  the. 
most  ambitious  as  well  as  entertaining  and  valuable  contributions  to  the  histor3-  of 
New  Jersey  that  has  appeared  in  many  j'ears.  'The  Stor3-  of  an  Old  Farm,'  bj' 
Andrew  D.  Mellick,  Jr.,  of  Plainfield,  is  a  most  creditable  production." 
By  NATHANIEL  H.  BISHOP,  Esq  ,  of  Lake  George,  N.  Y. 

"  As  a  member  of  council  of  East  Jerse3-  Proprietors  I  thank  3'Ou  for  giving  the 
truth  regarding  the  moral  status  of  the  earl3'  societ3-  of  m3-  adopted  State  and  for 
publishing  so  much  material  that  will  be  new  to  the  reading  public.  I  have  been 
investigating  original  documents  relating  to  the  beginning  of  things  in  New  Jerse3', 
and  I  can  sa3-,  therefore,  with  some  knowledge,  that  30U  have  filled  a  gap  which  has 
long  been  a  serious  blemish  to  our  histor3'  of  the  State  " 
By  Rev.  HENRY  VAN  DYKE,  D.D.,  of  New  York  City: 

"  Those  portions  of  3'our  work  which  describe  the  state  of  religion  in  the  Revolu- 
tionarj'  da3's,  seem  to  me ,particularl3'  interesting.  You  have  done  well  to  notice  and 
emphasize  the  services  which  were  rendered  b3-  the  Presbyterian  and  Dutch  Reformed 
clergy  to  the  cause  of  American  Independence.  You  have  entered  upon  an  interesting 
field  in  the  description  of  the  religious  life  of  that  period." 
By  Rev.  TALBOT  "W.  CHAMBERS   D  D.,  of  New  York  City : 

"  I  have  read  with  a  great  deal  of  interest  Chapter  XVII.  of  3'our  volume  (tell- 
ing of  the  growth  of  the  Dutch  congregations  of  the  Raritan  valley).  The  matter  it 
contains,  so  far  as'.m3-  knowledge  extends,  is  entirel3-  accurate,  and  much  of  it  will 
be  quite  new  to  the  present  generation  Your  book  will  have  great  value  for  its  in- 
trinsic merits  aad  as  furnishing  material  for  future  historians." 
By  Hon.  SAMUEL  "W.  PENNYP ACKER,  of  Philadelphia,  Pa.: 

"It  is  evident  that  3'ou  have  made  a  careful  stud3-  of  the  condition  of  German5\ 
especially  of  the  Palatinate  and  the  region  of  the  Upper  Rhine.  You  have  succeeded 
in  giving  in  a  succinct  wa3'  a  verj-  clear  idea  of  that  distressful  situation  of  the 
people  there  which  had  so  much  to  do  with  their  seeking  new  homes  be3-ond  the 
seas.  I  found  3'our  chapters  p3rticularl3'  interesting  in  their  references  to  the  German 
settlements  in  New  Jersey  and  New  York,  about  which  there  is  little  authentic  and 
accessible  information."  ^  r 

HI)} 


By   AUSTIN 
"Ihavf 
of  att  old 
pleasanth 
banks, 
drives  t 
Amboy 

By  B- 

bee 

si- 

e 


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REFERENCE  DEPARTMENT 


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